On 17 July 1941, the OKW declared that the Wehrmacht was to:itself from all elements among the prisoners of war considered Bolshevik driving forces. The special situation of the Eastern Campaign therefore demands "special measures" [an euphemism for killing which are to be carried out free from bureaucratic and administrative influence and with a willingness to accept responsibility. While so far the regulations and orders concerning prisoners of war were based solely on "military" considerations, now the "political" objective must be attained, which is to protect the German nation from Bolshevik inciters and forthwith take the occupied territory strictly in hand. As such, all Soviet POWs considered to be commissars together with all Jewish POWs were to be handed over to the "Einsatzgruppen" to be shot. The OKW attached great importance to the killings of POWs believed to be commissars as it was believed that if the captured commissars reached POW camps in Germany that they would stage another German Stab-in-the-back like that believed to have caused Germany's defeat in World War I. Between July–October 1941, between 580,000 and 600,000 POWs in Wehrmacht custody were turned over to the SS to be killed. In September 1941, both Helmuth James von Moltke and Admiral Wilhelm Canaris wrote memos pointing out to the OKW that the order of July 17, 1941 was illegal under international law.