Jews, of course, were handed over to the Einsatzgruppen (special task force), but the Wehrmacht was informed at every stage in the extermination program and took upon itself the task of organizing its prologue. The Einsatgruppen were expected to complete the extermination of the Jews, following the military campaigns, which were expected to be brief. .
The perception that the army was not a reliable tool for the grisly acts that Hitler envisioned was reinforced by the protest that some of the leaders registered after being confronted by the excesses perpetrated by the five SS task forces which shadowed their troops (a practice developed from the Anschluss in Austria and the occupation of Czechoslovakia) However, in the end, the army proved just as ready to accomplish these goals. When the expectation of a quick victory proved to be illusory, the extermination program was immediately set into motion and the Wehrmacht was extensively involved. This order targeted the people that international law had always tried to protect: women, the elderly, the sick, and especially children. .
An example of such behavior can be seen when German troops invaded Yugoslavia in April of 1941 and subsequently subdivided the country. This left approximately 17,000 Jews living in Serbia under German rule. One year later, Serbia was "free of Jews". How was this accomplished? The first step, which occurred 6 weeks after the occupation had begun, was to identify, register, and to require all Jews and Gypsies to wear a gold armband. The second step was to isolate them by dismissing from public offices and private businesses. The third step was to "aryanize" the property and introduce forced labor. The establishment of a ghetto in the town of Majdanpek was also considered, but never implemented. The attack of the Soviet Union in June 1941 set the stage for a bloody repression in Serbia. As early as June 22, 1941, the chief of the military administrative staff ordered the arrest of all leading communists and veterans of the Spanish Civil War.
