Volksdeutscher Selbstschutz
Though they were formally under the command of the army, the "Einsatzgruppen" received their orders from Heydrich and for the most part acted independently of the army. Many senior army officers were only too glad to leave these genocidal actions to the task forces, as the killings violated the rules of warfare as set down in the Geneva Conventions. However, Hitler had decreed that the army would have to tolerate and even offer logistical support to the "Einsatzgruppen" when it was tactically possible to do so. Some army commanders complained about unauthorised shootings, looting, and rapes committed by members of the "Einsatzgruppen" and the "Volksdeutscher Selbstschutz", to little effect. For example, when "Generaloberst" Johannes Blaskowitz sent a memorandum of complaint to Hitler about the atrocities, Hitler dismissed his concerns as "childish", and Blaskowitz was relieved of his post in May 1940. He continued to serve in the army but never received promotion to field marshal.