20th SS Police Regiment

Last updated
20th SS Police Regiment
CountryFlag of German Reich (1935-1945).svg  Nazi Germany
Branch Schutzstaffel
TypeSecurity
Size Regiment
Garrison/HQ Wehrkreis Böhmen-Mähren

The 20th SS Police Regiment (German : SS-Polizei-Regiment 20) was initially named Police Regiment Bohemia (Polizei-Regiment Böhmen) when it was formed in 1939 after the German occupation of Czechoslovakia from existing Order Police (Ordnungspolizei) units for security duties in Bohemia. It was redesignated as the 20th Police Regiment in mid-1942 before it received the SS title in early 1943.

German language West Germanic language

German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol (Italy), the German-speaking Community of Belgium, and Liechtenstein. It is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg and a co-official language in the Opole Voivodeship in Poland. The languages which are most similar to German are the other members of the West Germanic language branch: Afrikaans, Dutch, English, the Frisian languages, Low German/Low Saxon, Luxembourgish, and Yiddish. There are also strong similarities in vocabulary with Danish, Norwegian and Swedish, although those belong to the North Germanic group. German is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English.

The German occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945) began with the German annexation of Czechoslovakia's border regions known collectively as the Sudetenland, under terms outlined by the Munich Agreement. German leader Adolf Hitler's pretext for this action was the alleged privations suffered by the ethnic German population living in those regions. New and extensive Czechoslovak border fortifications were also located in the same area.

Bohemia Historical land in Czech Republic

Bohemia is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech lands in the present-day Czech Republic. In a broader meaning, Bohemia sometimes refers to the entire Czech territory, including Moravia and Czech Silesia, especially in a historical context, such as the Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by Bohemian kings.

Contents

Formation and organization

Police Regiment Bohemia was created shortly after the occupation of Czechoslovakia in March 1939. Assigned were six battalions numbered I through VI, although they were renumbered in the 200 series in October. Some of these were transferred elsewhere and only partially replaced so that the regiment had five battalions in early 1941, Police Battalions (Polizei-Batallion) 32, 316, 317, 319, and 320. All of these units were transferred to Russia after Operation Barbarossa in June and gradually replaced by three newly formed battalions, Reserve Police Battalion Prague, Reserve Police Battalion Kolin, and Reserve Police Battalion Klattau. When the regiment was renamed in July 1942, the battalions were redesignated as the regiment's first through third battalions, respectively, although their headquarters companies were not formed until 23 January 1943. [1] All of the police regiments were redesignated as SS police units on 24 February. In April, I Battalion became part of Police Rifle Regiment 33 (Polizei-Schützen-Regiment) and was later replaced by Police Training Battalion Klagenfurt and Graz. In October it became independent and was sent to Italy. II Battalion was transferred to Hungary in March 1944 and was redesignated as II Battalion of the 1st SS Police Regiment in August. [2]

The Police Battalion 316 was a formation of the Order Police during the Nazi era. During Operation Barbarossa, it was subordinated to the SS and deployed in German-occupied areas, specifically the Army Group Centre Rear Area, of the Soviet Union, as part of Police Regiment Centre. Alongside detachments from the Einsatzgruppen and the SS Cavalry Brigade, it perpetrated mass murder in the Holocaust and was responsible for large-scale crimes against humanity targeting civilian populations. In mid-1942, the battalion was reassigned to the 4th Police Regiment and operated in Slovenia.

The Police Battalion 320 was a formation of the German Order Police during the Nazi era. During Operation Barbarossa, it was subordinated to the SS and deployed in German-occupied areas, specifically the Army Group South Rear Area, of the Soviet Union, as part of Police Regiment Special Purpose. Alongside detachments from the Einsatzgruppen of the SD, it perpetrated mass murder in the Holocaust and was responsible for large-scale crimes against humanity targeting civilian populations.

Operation Barbarossa 1941 German invasion of the Soviet Union during the Second World War

Operation Barbarossa was the code name for the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, which started on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. The operation stemmed from Nazi Germany's ideological aims to conquer the western Soviet Union so that it could be repopulated by Germans, to use Slavs as a slave-labour force for the Axis war effort, and to seize the oil reserves of the Caucasus and the agricultural resources of Soviet territories.

War crimes

The regiment has been implicated in two incidents of war crimes in Italy in June 1944 with 4 civilians killed. [3]

Notes

  1. ↑ Arico, pp. 502–05, 511–512; Tessin & Kanapin, pp. 536, 554, 624
  2. ↑ Tessin & Kannapin, pp. 557, 624
  3. ↑ "SS-Polizei-Regiment 20" (in Italian). Atlas of Nazi and Fascist Massacres in Italy. Retrieved 21 September 2018.

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