The Einsatzgruppen (EG) were mobile units consisting of the Gestapo, police department, and security forces. They were organized in May 1941 with Germany's assault against the Soviet Union.Their purpose was to kill Jews, gypsies, and Communist leaders that they could find. In adddition, any other person that was deemed a threat to Hitler's conquest would also be exterminated. There were six mobile units that consisted of approximately 500-800 men led by Nazis. The units acted on the orders from Hitler and the German army assisted in support. The Einsatz units were responsible for keeping and providing daily reports that were kept secret and amassed in Berlin. The records disclosed the corruption of their actions. The killing units rounded up their victims, took them to hidden areas and shot and buried them in mass graves. Prior to being shot, their possessions were taken and they were ordered to stand or kneel near the large ditch that they had prepared for this mass execution. Each victim fell into the pit on top of the corpes that were dying. In 1942 some EG units used gas vans to asphyxiate the women, children, and elderly. The Einsatzgruppen was dispersed in 1943 and an effort was made to hide all of their evidence. At the Nuremberg trials, the EG leaders showed no regrets for their crimes against humanity. They defended their actions by stating that secret killing units were a necessity of war and they were merely following Hitler's orders. Germany was at war and all possible enemies had to be removed by any possible means. 22 leaders of the EG were found guilty at the trials and sentenced to prison or death. Source: Ferencz, Benjamin B. "Einsatzgruppen". Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes. Ed. Dinah L. Shelton Volume 1. Detroit: MacMillan Reference, 2005 Laquer, Walter. "Einsatzgruppen". The Holocaust Encyclopedia. Ed. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2001 Trials of War Criminals before the Nurenberg Military Tribunals under Control Council Law No. 10 (1946-1949). Vol IV: The Einsatzgruppen Case". Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.