Police Battalion 45
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Police Battalion 45 (''Polizeibattalion 45'') was a formation of the German
Order Police 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 ...
(uniformed police) during the Nazi era. During
Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...
, it was subordinated to the SS and deployed in German-occupied areas, specifically the
Army Group Centre Rear Area Army Group Centre Rear Area () was one of the three Army Group Rear Area Commands, established during the 1941 German invasion of the Soviet Union. Initially commanded by General Max von Schenckendorff, it was an area of military jurisdiction beh ...
, of the Soviet Union, as part of Police Regiment South. Alongside detachments from the '' Einsatzgruppen'' of the SD and the 1st SS Infantry Brigade of the
Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...
, it perpetrated mass murder in the
Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
and was responsible for large-scale crimes against humanity targeting civilian populations.


Background and formation

The German
Order Police 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 ...
(uniformed police) was a key instrument of the security apparatus of
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 ...
. During the prewar period, SS chief
Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...
and
Kurt Daluege Kurt Max Franz Daluege (15 September 1897 – 24 October 1946) was chief of the national uniformed ''Ordnungspolizei'' (Order Police) of Nazi Germany. Following Reinhard Heydrich's assassination in 1942, he served as Deputy Protector for th ...
, chief of the Order Police, cooperated in transforming the police force of the
Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...
into militarised formations ready to serve the regime's aims of conquest and racial annihilation. Police troops were first formed into
Order Police battalions The Order Police battalions were militarised formations of the German Order Police (uniformed police) during the Nazi era. During World War II, they were subordinated to the SS and deployed in German-occupied areas, specifically the Army Grou ...
for the 1939
invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...
, where they were deployed for security and policing purposes, also taking part in executions and mass deportations. Twenty-three
Order Police battalions The Order Police battalions were militarised formations of the German Order Police (uniformed police) during the Nazi era. During World War II, they were subordinated to the SS and deployed in German-occupied areas, specifically the Army Grou ...
were slated to take part in the 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union, known as
Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...
. Nine were attached to security divisions of the
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
. Two battalions were assigned to support the '' Einsatzgruppen'', the mobile
death squads A death squad is an armed group whose primary activity is carrying out extrajudicial killings or forced disappearances as part of political repression, genocide, ethnic cleansing, or revolutionary terror. Except in rare cases in which they are f ...
of the SD, and
Organisation Todt Organisation Todt (OT; ) was a civil and military engineering organisation in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, named for its founder, Fritz Todt, an engineer and senior Nazi. The organisation was responsible for a huge range of engineering pr ...
, the military construction group. Twelve were formed into regiments, three battalions each, and designated as Police Regiments Centre,
North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...
, South, and Special Purpose. The goals of the police battalions were to secure the rear by eliminating the remnants of the enemy forces, guarding the prisoners of war, and protecting the lines of communications and captured industrial facilities. Their instructions also included, as Daluege stated, the "combat of criminal elements, above all political elements". Along with Police Battalions 303 and
314 __NOTOC__ Year 314 ( CCCXIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Rufius and Annianus (or, less frequently, year 1067 '' ...
, Police Battalion 45 was assigned to Police Regiment South. The regiment was placed under the command of
Hermann Franz Hermann Franz (16 August 1891 – 18 February 1969) was a high-ranking commander in the police of Nazi Germany. He was the commander of the Police Regiment South, which perpetrated mass murder in the Holocaust in the Army Group South Rear Area. ...
, a career policeman who had previously served in the Order Police in the occupied Poland. When the regiment crossed the German-Soviet border, it came under the control of
Friedrich Jeckeln Friedrich Jeckeln (2 February 1895 – 3 February 1946) was a German SS commander during the Nazi era. He served as a Higher SS and Police Leader in the occupied Soviet Union during World War II. Jeckeln was the commander of one of the largest ...
, the Higher SS and Police Leader (HSS-PF) for
Army Group South Army Group South (german: Heeresgruppe Süd) was the name of three German Army Groups during World War II. It was first used in the 1939 September Campaign, along with Army Group North to invade Poland. In the invasion of Poland Army Group So ...
in Ukraine.


Operational history

The actions of Police Battalion 45 quickly escalated to genocide while in the occupied Soviet Union. The regiment began executing Jewish women and children in July 1941. Police Battalion 45 murdered the entire Jewish population of
Shepetovka Shepetivka ( uk, Шепеті́вка; pl, Szepetówka) is a city located on the Huska River in Khmelnytskyi Oblast (province) in western Ukraine. Shepetivka is the administrative center of Shepetivka Raion (district). It hosts the administrati ...
while stationed there between 26 July and 1 August. The orders came down from the regimental commander, who had referred to an order from Heinrich Himmler. During the summer months, the battalion took part in joint actions with the 1st SS Infantry Brigade of the
Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...
, both providing support and undertaking independent killings. The brigade's report of 19 August to the Command Staff Reichsführer-SS (SS operational staff set up for the invasion) noted that Police Battalions 45 and 303 and the brigade jointly participated in "combat of gangs". The 22 August report noted that the battalion shot three "partisan women", 19 "bandits", and 537 Jews. In September, Police Battalion 45 participated in the murder of Jews in
Berdichev Berdychiv ( uk, Берди́чів, ; pl, Berdyczów; yi, באַרדיטשעװ, Barditshev; russian: Берди́чев, Berdichev) is a historic city in the Zhytomyr Oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center ...
, cordoning off the execution site and leading the victims to the pits where they were shot by Jeckeln's staff company. About 16,000 Jews were killed. During the massacre at
Babi Yar Babi Yar (russian: Ба́бий Яр) or Babyn Yar ( uk, Бабин Яр) is a ravine in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and a site of massacres carried out by Nazi Germany's forces during its campaign against the Soviet Union in World War II. T ...
, the battalion cordoned off the area, while ''Sondercommando 4a'' and a platoon of Waffen-SS troops did the shooting. Police Battalions 303 and 314 participated in the massacre, as well. The killing activities of both the ''Einsatzgruppen'' detachments and the Police Regiment South slowed down the farther the
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
advanced, as more Jews were able to escape east and the density of the pre-war Jewish population was lower in Eastern Ukraine. Nonetheless, the murder operations continued, targeting Jews,
communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
, and "suspicious elements". In July 1942, the regiment was redesignated as the 10th Police Regiment.


Aftermath

The Order Police as a whole had not been declared a criminal organisation by the Allies, unlike the SS. Its members were able to reintegrate into society largely unmolested, with many returning to police careers.


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * *


Further reading

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Police Battalion 45 1941 establishments in Germany 1942 disestablishments in Germany The Holocaust in Ukraine The Holocaust in Russia SS and Police units