| Army Group South Rear Area | |
|---|---|
| Rückwärtiges Heeresgebiet Süd | |
| Active | 1941-43 |
| Country |  Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Army (Wehrmacht) |
| Part of | Army Group Centre andArmy High Command |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Karl von Roques Erich Friderici Joachim Witthöft Friedrich Mieth |
Army Group South Rear Area (Rückwärtiges Heeresgebiet Süd) was one of the threeArmy Group Rear Area Commands, established during the 1941 Germaninvasion of the Soviet Union. Commanded by GeneralKarl von Roques, it was an area of military jurisdiction behindWehrmacht'sArmy Group South.
The Group South Rear Area's outward function was to provide security behind the fighting troops. It was also a site of mass murder duringThe Holocaust and othercrimes against humanity targeting the civilian population. In the words of historian Michael Parrish, the army commander "presided over an empire of terror and brutality".[1]
The commander of the Army Group South Rear Area, GeneralKarl von Roques, was responsible for the rear area security. Its headquarters was subordinated toArmy Group South, while also reporting to the Wehrmacht's Quartermaster GeneralEduard Wagner, who had the overall responsibility for rear area security.[2]
Roques controlled threeSecurity Divisions (213th,444th, and454th) and oversaw the units ofSecret Field Police of the Wehrmacht. He operated in parallel, and in cooperation, withFriedrich Jeckeln, theHigher SS and Police Leaders appointed by the head of theSS,Heinrich Himmler.[2]
The area commanders' duties included security of communications and supply lines, economic exploitation and combatting guerillas (partisans) in Wehrmacht's rear areas, which were the primary tasks of the security divisions.[3] In addition, security and police formations of the SS and theSD (SS Security Service) operated in the areas, being subordinated to the respective Higher SS and Police Leaders. These units included multipleEinsatzgruppendeath squad detachments,Police Regiment South and additionalOrder Police battalions. These units perpetrated mass murder duringThe Holocaust and othercrimes against humanity. While under military jurisdiction, the area was the site of the massacres atBabi Yar andKamianets-Podilskyi.[4]
The security formations, often in coordination with or under the leadership of the Wehrmacht, conducted security warfare targeting the civilian population. The so-called anti-partisan operations in "bandit-infested" areas amounted to destruction of villages, seizure of livestock, deporting of able-bodied population for slave labour to Germany and murder of those of non-working age.[5]