Married to a half-Jewish ( '' Mischling '' ) woman , Heinrici supported many Nazi nationalistic and fascistic policies including the '' Lebensraum '' concept of territorial expansion , but disagreed with many of their racial policies . He was disgusted by the anti-Jewish pogroms of '' Kristallnacht '' , although this did not lead him to distance himself from the Nazi regime . On the eve of Operation Barbarossa , Heinrici , on receiving the Commissar Order , justified it as easing pressure on the front lines through the exercise of " preventive terror " in the rear . He repeatedly ignored " scorched-earth " orders , such as the order to destroy the historically significant city of Smolensk
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Gotthard Heinrici