What happened to the rank-and-file members of the SS Einsatzgruppen following the Second World War?

by robroymacgregor

I have done a little reading and discovered that a number (14?) of the groups' leaders were brought to trial and executed...however, I am curious as to the fate of those who served in the ranks of the organisation and must have been the physical perpetrators of the various mass killings and other atrocities.

[deleted]

Many were tried and either spent time, or were executed. One of the overt points to the Nuremberg Trials and others like it was to set the precedent for international courts that "Just following orders!" wasn't an excuse. Everyone was to be held accountable.

The only reasons someone wouldn't be tried were either due to a lack of evidence, or inability to find the individuals. Even today, decades after the fact, some people make it their job to track down folks who didn't get tried, but arguably should have. Whether it's justified to drag 70 and 80 year olds in front of a court over something that happened 60 years ago, I'll leave up to you.