einsatzgruppe
/ˈaɪ̯n.zɑːtsˌɡɹʊp.ə/
einsatzgruppe means any of four paramilitary units (Einsatzgruppen A, B, C, D) operated by the SS in German-occupied territory in the east (mainly Poland and the Soviet Union) during World War II, notorious for carrying out large numbers of massacres. It carries an Arena rating of 1067, earned across 110 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, einsatzgruppe ranks #27 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #1,301 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #1,572 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words, #2,935 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words.
einsatzgruppe is pronounced /ˈaɪ̯n.zɑːtsˌɡɹʊp.ə/.
Why “einsatzgruppe” is a great word
EINSATZGRUPPE — [Noun] A mobile paramilitary death squad of the SS deployed in Eastern Europe during World War II, responsible for the systematic mass murder of civilians, primarily Jews. Borrowed from German Einsatzgruppe, from Einsatz ("deployment, mission") + Gruppe ("group"). Unlike "Wehrmacht," which denotes conventional armed forces engaged in combat, or a neutral "task force," assembled for any objective, an Einsatzgruppe specifies a bureaucratic machinery for extermination. It is the pistol shot in a sunlit ravine, the orderly ledger of corpses beside a trench, the sanitized radio report of a mission completed—a word where profound evil organizes itself as a quiet, efficient procedure, hollowed out and filled with ash.
Etymology
Borrowed from German Einsatzgruppe (literally “deployment group”).
noun
- Any of four paramilitary units (Einsatzgruppen A, B, C, D) operated by the SS in German-occupied territory in the east (mainly Poland and the Soviet Union) during World War II, notorious for carrying out large numbers of massacres.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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