Estonian Auxiliary Police
Estonian Auxiliary Police | |
---|---|
Active | July 1941 – November 1944 |
Allegiance | Battle of Emajõgi |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Harald Riipalu |
Estonian Auxiliary Police (Estonian: Eesti kaitsepataljonid, Eesti politseipataljonid, German: Estnische Hilfspolizei) were Estonian police units that collaborated with the Nazis during World War II.[citation needed]
Formation
Estonian units were first established on 25 August 1941, when under the order of Field Marshal Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, commander of the Army Group North, Baltic citizens were permitted to be recruited into Wehrmacht service and grouped into volunteer battalions for security duties.[1] In this context, General Georg von Küchler, commander of the 18th Army (Germany), formed six Estonian volunteer guard units (Estnische Sicherungsgruppe, Eesti julgestusgrupp; numbered 181–186) on the basis of the Omakaitse squads (with its members contracted for one year).
After September 1941, the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (High Command of the Armed Forces) started to establish the Estonian Auxiliary Police Battalions ("Schuma") in addition to the aforementioned units for rear-security duties in the Army Group North Rear Area. During the war, 26 "Schuma" battalions were formed in Estonia, numbered from 29th to 45th, 50th, and from the 286th to 293rd. Unlike similar units deployed in the Reichskommissariat Ukraine and White Ruthenia, which were controlled by the Germans, the Estonian Police battalions were made up of national staff and included only one German monitoring officer. As of 1 October 1942, the Estonian police forces comprised 10,400 men, with 591 Germans attached to them.
Operational history
The police battalions were mostly engaged in the Wehrmacht
From 22 November to 31 December 1942 the
Police battalions
- 29. Eesti Politseipataljon – Estnische Polizei-Füsilier-Bataillon 29
- 30. Eesti Politseipataljon – Estnische Polizei-Füsilier-Bataillon 30
- 31. Eesti Politseipataljon – Estnische Polizei-Füsilier-Bataillon 31
- 32. Eesti Politseipataljon – Estnische Polizei-Füsilier-Bataillon 32
- 33. Eesti Politseipataljon– Estnische Polizei-Füsilier-Bataillon 33
- 34. Eesti Politsei Rindepataljon – Estnische Polizei-Front-Bataillon 34
- 35. Politsei Tagavarapataljon - Polizei-Ersatz-Bataillon 35
- 36th Estonian Police Battalion – Schutzmannschaft-Front-Bataillon nr. 36
- 37. Eesti Politseipataljon – Estnische Polizei-Bataillon 37
- 38. Eesti Politseipataljon - Estnische Polizei-Bataillon 38
- 39. Kaitse Vahipataljon Oberpahlen – Schutzmannschaft-Wacht-Bataillon nr. 39
- 40. Eesti Politseipataljon – Estnische Polizei-Bataillon 40
- 41. Kaitse Tagavarapataljon
- 42. Kaitse Pioneeripataljon – Schutzmannschaft-Pioneer-Bataillon 42
- 286. Politsei Jalaväepataljon – Polizei-Füsilier-Bataillon 286
- 287. Politsei Vahipataljon – Polizei-Wacht-Bataillon 287
- 288. Politsei Jalaväepataljon – Polizei-Füsilier-Bataillon 288
- 289. Politsei Jalaväepataljon – Polizei-Füsilier-Bataillon 289
- 290. Politsei Pioneeripataljon – Polizei Pionier-Bataillon 290
- 291. Politsei Jalaväepataljon – Polizei-Füsilier-Bataillon 291
- 292. Politsei Jalaväepataljon – Polizei-Füsilier-Bataillon 292
- 293. Politsei Jalaväepataljon – Polizei-Füsilier-Bataillon 293
- 521. Eesti Politseipataljon – Estnische Polizei-Füsilier-Bataillon 521