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German-Croatian Police
The German-Croatian Police (German: ; Croatian: ), also known as the German-Croatian SS Police and Gendarmerie, was a force established by the SS for internal security operations in the Independent State of Croatia. In all, 32,000 Croats served in the various units of this Police force, under German command, with the task of preserving order and help defend Axis strategic positions throughout the country. Background Four days after the German ''Wehrmacht'' invaded the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, on 6 April 1941, the Croatian fascist Ustasha under Poglavnik Ante Pavelić proclaimed the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), with Axis support. On 17 April 1941, Yugoslavia surrendered to the Axis powers, that same month the NDH, resolved to create a “pure” Catholic Croatian state, established the first Ustasha concentration camps and introduced discriminatory laws against Serbs, Jews and Roma, mass arrests and deportations started a few days later under the supervision of the Ustasha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Independent State Of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, after the invasion by the Axis powers. Its territory consisted of most of modern-day Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as some parts of modern-day Serbia and Slovenia, but also excluded many Croat-populated areas in Dalmatia (until late 1943), Istria, and Međimurje regions (which today are part of Croatia). During its entire existence, the NDH was governed as a one-party state by the fascist Ustaša organization. The Ustaše was led by the '' Poglavnik'', Ante Pavelić."'' Poglavnik''" was a term coined by the Ustaše, and it was originally used as the title for the leader of the movement. In 1941 it was institutionalized in the NDH as the title of first the Prime Minister ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sicherheitsdienst
' (, ''Security Service''), full title ' (Security Service of the '' Reichsführer-SS''), or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Established in 1931, the SD was the first Nazi intelligence organization and the Gestapo (formed in 1933) was considered its sister organization through the integration of SS members and operational procedures. The SD was administered as an independent SS office between 1933 and 1939. That year, the SD was transferred over to the Reich Security Main Office (''Reichssicherheitshauptamt''; RSHA), as one of its seven departments. Its first director, Reinhard Heydrich, intended for the SD to bring every single individual within the Third Reich's reach under "continuous supervision". Following Germany's defeat in World War II, the tribunal at the Nuremberg trials officially declared that the SD was a criminal organisation, along with the rest of Heydrich's RSHA (including the Gestapo) both individually and as br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Einsatzkommando
During World War II, the Nazi German ' were a sub-group of the ' (mobile killing squads) – up to 3,000 men total – usually composed of 500–1,000 functionaries of the SS and Gestapo, whose mission was to exterminate Jews, Polish intellectuals, Romani, and communists in the captured territories often far behind the advancing German front.Thomas Urban, reporter of the Süddeutsche Zeitung; Polish text in Rzeczpospolita, Sept 1–2, 2001 ''Einsatzkommandos'', along with '' Sonderkommandos'', were responsible for the systematic murder of Jews during the aftermath of Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. After the war, several commanders were tried in the Einsatzgruppen trial, convicted, and executed. Organization of the ''Einsatzgruppen'' ''Einsatzgruppen'' (german: special-ops units) were paramilitary groups originally formed in 1938 under the direction of Reinhard Heydrich – Chief of the SD, and '' Sicherheitspolizei'' (Security Police; SiPo). They we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reich Security Main Office
The Reich Security Main Office (german: Reichssicherheitshauptamt or RSHA) was an organization under Heinrich Himmler in his dual capacity as ''Chef der Deutschen Polizei'' (Chief of German Police) and '' Reichsführer-SS'', the head of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS). The organization's stated duty was to fight all "enemies of the Reich" inside and outside the borders of Nazi Germany. Formation and development Himmler established the RSHA on 27 September 1939. His assumption of control over all security and police forces in Germany was a significant factor in the growth in power of the Nazi state. With the formation of the RSHA, Himmler combined under one roof the Nazi Party's ''Sicherheitsdienst'' (SD; SS intelligence service) with the '' Sicherheitspolizei'' (SiPo; "Security Police"), which was nominally under the Interior Ministry. The SiPo was composed of two sub-departments, the ''Geheime Staatspolizei'' (Gestapo; "Secret State Police") and the ''Kriminalpoliz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Capitulation Of Italy
The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brigade General Giuseppe Castellano for Italy at a conference of generals from both sides in an Allied military camp at Cassibile, in Sicily, which had recently been occupied by the Allies. The armistice was approved by both the Italian King Victor Emmanuel III and Marshal Badoglio, the Prime Minister of Italy at the time. Germany moved rapidly by freeing Benito Mussolini (12 September) and attacking Italian forces in Italy (8–19 September), southern France and the Balkans. The Italian forces were quickly defeated, and most of Italy was occupied by German troops, who established a puppet state, the Italian Social Republic. The king, the Italian government, and most of the navy escaped to territories occupied by the Allies. Background ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hitler Oath
The Hitler Oath (German: or Führer Oath)—also referred in English as the Soldier's Oath—refers to the oaths of allegiance sworn by the officers and soldiers of the German Armed Forces and civil servants of Nazi Germany between the years 1934 and 1945. The oath pledged personal loyalty to Adolf Hitler in place of loyalty to the constitution of the country. Historians view the personal oath of the Third Reich as an important psychological element to obey orders for committing war crimes, atrocities, and genocide. During the Nuremberg trials, many German officers unsuccessfully attempted to use the oath as a defense against charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Background During the Weimar era, the oath of allegiance, sworn by the Reichswehr, required soldiers to swear loyalty to the Reich Constitution and its lawful institutions. Following Hitler's appointment as Chancellor in 1933, the military oath changed, the troops now swearing loyalty to people and co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Volksdeutsche
In Nazi German terminology, ''Volksdeutsche'' () were "people whose language and culture had German origins but who did not hold German citizenship". The term is the nominalised plural of ''volksdeutsch'', with ''Volksdeutsche'' denoting a singular female, and ''Volksdeutsche(r)'', a singular male. The words ''Volk'' and '' völkisch'' conveyed the meanings of "folk". The Volksdeutsche (ethnic Germans at the time) shed their identity as Auslandsdeutsche (Germans abroad) and morphed into the Volksdeutsche in a process of self-radicalisation. This process gave the Nazi regime the nucleus around which the new Volksgemeinschaft was established across the German borders. ''Volksdeutsche'' were further divided into "racial" groups—minorities within a state minority—based on special cultural, social, and historic criteria elaborated by the Nazis. Origin of the term According to the historian Doris Bergen, Adolf Hitler coined the definition of ''Volksdeutsche'' which appeared in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Generalmajor
is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and Royal Danish Air Force. As a two-star rank it is the equivalent to the rank of counter admiral in the Royal Danish Navy. The rank is rated OF-7 within NATO. It has the grade of M404 within the Ministry of Defence's pay structure. The rank of major general is reserved for the Chief of the army and air force. History On 25 May 1671, the ranks were codified, by King Christian V, with the publication of the Danish order of precedence. Here generals of the branch were placed below Lieutenant field marshal ( da, Feltmarskal Lieutenant), and above the noble rank of Count and the military rank of Lieutenant general. As part of the Army Reform of 1867, the ranks of Major, Lieutenant colonel were removed and only a single "General" rank was kept. After the 1880 reform, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brigadeführer
''Brigadeführer'' (, ) was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that was used between the years of 1932 to 1945. It was mainly known for its use as an SS rank. As an SA rank, it was used after briefly being known as '' Untergruppenführer'' in late 1929 and 1930. The rank was first created due to an expansion of the SS and assigned to those officers in command of ''SS-Brigaden''. In 1933, the ''SS-Brigaden'' were changed in name to ''SS-Abschnitte''; however, the rank of ''Brigadeführer'' remained the same. Originally, ''Brigadeführer'' was considered the second general officer rank of the SS and ranked between ''Oberführer'' and ''Gruppenführer''. This changed with the rise of the Waffen-SS and the ''Ordnungspolizei''. In both of those organizations, ''Brigadeführer'' was the equivalent to a ''Generalmajor'' and ranked above an ''Oberst'' in the German Army or police. The rank of ''Generalmajor'' was the equivalent of brigadier general, a one-star general ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
