Security Divisions (German: ''Sicherungs-Divisionen'') were German rear-area military units engaged in

Nazi security warfare Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was frequen ...

occupied Europe German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...

during World War II. Almost all divisions were employed in areas on the Eastern front with the exception of the 325th Security Division which operated within

occupied France The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...

. The units were tasked with fighting local

partisan Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Ital ...

s, intelligience and counter-insurgency against resistance groups, rounding up

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

s and other ethnic groups as part of

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

, and conducting punitive actions in civilian areas. These divisions carried out numerous

war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

s. Many of their commanders were punished after the war at the subsequent Nuremberg trials for their conduct during the war.

History

The

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

security divisions were set up at the beginning of 1941 and were intended to perform policing, security and counter-insurgency duties in the rear of the main German field armies, under the direction of the respective army rear area command, or ''

Korück ''Korück'' (short for ) is an abbreviation for Army Rear Area Commander. It referred also to the staff of various units and of varying sizes assigned to the ''Wehrmacht'' ''Armeeoberkommando''. In military jargon, “Korück” did not only stand ...

''. They were organised from

divisions Division may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication * Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 t ...

initially raised in the 3rd wave of mobilisation, these being former ''

Landwehr ''Landwehr'' (), or ''Landeswehr'', is a German language term used in referring to certain national army, armies, or militias found in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. In different context it refers to large-scale, low-strength fo ...

'' divisions largely manned by second-line

reservist A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person ca ...

s. As Rear Security Divisions they were not well equipped like front line troops, some of the divisions started out as infantry divisions but once they were assigned to rear security, their heavy weapons were sent off to be used by front line troops. Many of the Security Divisions were thrown into frontline service during the major

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

offensives of 1944, such as

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration () was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (), a military campaign fought between 22 June and 19 August 1944 in Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Byelorussia in the Eastern ...

, and destroyed in the process. Some were rebuilt as standard infantry divisions due to the chronic manpower shortages of the ''Wehrmacht'' in this period.

Organization

Security divisions were often made up of soldiers from the reserve and in 1942 Landeschützen (territorial guard) troops. Police battalions were also part of the divisions, which were supposed to be provided with one standard regiment of troops, plus an artillery detachment, as a 'strike force', though in practice this was often used for frontline duty as local conditions demanded. In many cases, the Security Divisions also included battalions of Ukrainian, Russian or French soldiers as well as a unit of captured foreign tanks. Their exact organisation varied widely between individual formations and during the course of the war (see the 286th Security Division for example). * 52nd Security Division * 201st Security Division *

203rd Security Division The 203rd Security Division, was a rear-security division in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany. The unit was deployed in German-occupied areas of the Soviet Union, in the Army Group Centre Rear Area and was responsible for large-scale war crimes and ...

* 207th Security Division * 213th Security Division * 221st Security Division * 281st Security Division * 285th Security Division * 286th Security Division * 325th Security Division * 390th Security Division *

391st Security Division 391st may refer to: * 391st Bombardment Group, non-flying unit of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, stationed at Horsham Air National Guard Station * 391st Bombardment Squadron, part of the 6th Air Mobility Wing at MacDill Air Force Base, Florid ...

403rd Security Division The 403rd Security Division (''403. Sicherungs-Division'') was a rear-security division in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany. Throughout the war, the unit was mainly deployed in the Army Group South Rear Area behind the Eastern Front, which was a la ...

* 444th Security Division *

454th Security Division The 454th Security Division (''454. Sicherungs-Division'') was a rear-security division in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany. The unit was deployed in German-occupied areas of the Soviet Union, in the Army Group South Rear Area. Operational history ...

* 707th Infantry Division Almost all the Security Divisions operated on the Eastern front, with the exception of the 325th which operated in

Security Division war crimes

The Security Divisions of the ''Wehrmacht'' were responsible for a large number of war crimes and in many cases for systematic programmes of repression against the civilian population. This notably occurred on the Eastern Front, particularly in the rear areas of

Army Group Centre Army Group Centre () was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created during the planning of Operation Barbarossa, Germany's invasion of the So ...

, where they acted with extreme brutality.In addition to evidence given in accounts of individual actions, Gerlach (in ''Kalkulierte Morde'') and others have shown that the number of people reported killed in supposed "

anti-partisan operations During the Second World War, resistance movements that bore any resemblance to irregular warfare were frequently dealt with by the German occupying forces under the auspices of anti-partisan warfare. In many cases, the Nazis euphemistically used ...

" consistently exceeded the number of weapons actually recovered by a factor of up to ten (Gerlach, pp.957-8), suggesting that the majority of those killed were, in fact, unarmed civilians.

References

Bibliography

* Bartov, Omer. ''Hitler's Army: Soldiers, Nazis, and War in the Third Reich'', OUP, 1992. * Gerlach, Christian. ''Kalkulierte Morde'', 2000. * Shepherd, Ben. ''War in the Wild East: The German Army and Soviet Partisans'', Harvard University Press, 2004. {{Infantry Divisions of the Wehrmacht Security divisions of Germany during World War II