''Feuerschutzpolizei'' () was a firefighter unit in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

and a branch of Nazi Germany's

Ordnungspolizei The ''Ordnungspolizei'' (), abbreviated ''Orpo'', meaning "Order Police", were the uniformed police force in Nazi Germany from 1936 to 1945. The Orpo organisation was absorbed into the Nazi monopoly on power after regional police jurisdiction w ...

, formed in 1938 when the German municipal professional fire brigades were transferred to the national police. The previously red fire vehicles, blue uniforms and fire service ranks were replaced by green fire vehicles, green uniforms and police ranks.''Gesetz über das Feuerlöschwesen vom 23. November 1938''
2016-08-09.

Organization

In 1941 there were Fire Protection Police units in 86 cities in Germany, in

Ostmark Ostmark is a German term meaning either Eastern march when applied to territories or Eastern Mark when applied to currencies. Ostmark may refer to: *the medieval March of Austria and its predecessors ''Bavarian Eastern March'' and ''March of Pann ...

(occupied Austria) and in General Government (occupied Poland).''FEUERSCHUTZPOLIZEI (FSchP)''
2016-08-09. Outside these cities, the German fire services consisted of volunteer fire brigades, in cooperation with compulsory fire brigades ''(Pflichtfeuerwehr)'' and industrial fire brigades ''(Werkfeuerwehr)''.Andreas Linhardt, ''Feuerwehr im Luftschutz 1926–1945'' (2002), pp. 200–201. In spite of being a branch of the ''Ordnungspolizei'', the Fire Protection Police was a municipal institution; respective cities having the budgetary responsibility for staff and equipment. Administratively and operationally the Fire Protection Police were, however, subordinated to the ''Ordnungspolizei''.

Field Units

During the war, the Feuerschutzpolizei organized six motorized firefighting regiments. Their mission was to follow the German army's advance and have the main responsibility for the occupied territories fire protection and civil defense. Each regiment consisted of some 1000 firefighters.
2016-08-09. In 1943 the regimental organization was abolished, the battalions becoming independent units. The fourth regiment was stood down, while nine battalions were formed from the rest. Each battalion consisted of about 400 fire fighters in three companies. A fourth company of non-citizens (

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 sin ...

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...

and

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in C ...

), were later added. *Feuerschutzpolizei-Regiment 1 Sachsen, 1939–1943 *Feuerschutzpolizei-Regiment 2 Hannover, 1941–1943 *Feuerschutzpolizei-Regiment 3 Ostpreussen, 1941–1943 *Feuerschutzpolizei-Regiment 4 Ukraine, 1941–1943 *Feuerschutzpolizei-Regiment 5 Böhmen-Mähren, 1942–1943 *Feuerschutzpolizei-Regiment 6 Niederlande, 1942–1943

Ranks

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * *

External links

www.feuerloeschpolizei.de

Österreichischer Bundesfeuerwehrverband: Handbuch zur Feuerwehrgeschichte
{{Uniforms, insignia and ranks of Nazi Germany Police units of Nazi Germany Fire departments of Germany 1939 establishments in Germany 1945 disestablishments in Germany