Open AccessFORMING THE LOCAL AUXILIARY POLICE AND ENGAGING ITS SUBDIVISIONS IN PUNITIVE OPERATIONS OF NAZI INVADERS ON THE TERRITORY OF ZHYTOMYR REGION IN 1941
Author(s) -
Ivan Kovalchuk
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
intermarum: ìstorìâ, polìtika, kulʹtura
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2518-7708
pISSN - 2518-7694
DOI - 10.35433/history.111816
Subject(s) - ukrainian , nazism , administration (probate law) , german , law , population , political science , politics , public administration , sociology , geography , demography , archaeology , philosophy , linguistics
The article considers the process of the Ukrainian local police formation within the structure of the auxiliary Ukrainian administration. It was determined that both Organizations of Ukrainian Nationalists had taken an active part in the process. The members of their march units arrived in Zhytomyr region. During the period of military administration the Nazi occupation authority specified the number of military personnel, the main functions and direct reporting relationship of the Ukrainian auxiliary police. Originally, the given formation was qualified as the public organization subordinated to the local authorities, however, commandant's offices could engage it to perform their tasks. Its aggregate number could not exceed 1% of the population of a specific populated locality. The main function of the auxiliary police was to tackle crime and protect different objects. In its arsenal, the police had the captured Soviet rifles and a set of 5 cartridges for each one. Within a short period of time the whole network of the auxiliary police was established on the territory of Zhytomyr region. It consisted of country commands, district, municipal and regional divisions.Among the governing bodies and municipal police, for example, in Zhytomyr city, there were many of those who came from Western Ukraine and political immigrants from Western Europe who arrived on the territory occupied by Nazi after the beginning of the Soviet-German war. Nevertheless, after some time the occupation authorities at first resorted to a dissolution of the Ukrainian auxiliary police formations, and then it was re-structured and staffed according to new plans and Nazi perspective. In that format the Ukrainian auxiliary police were fully deprived of both Organizations of Ukrainian Nationalists influence, imbedded into the occupation structure and had to carry out the dirty work Nazi could not do because of lack of human resources and means. Since that time Nazi occupation authorities engaged officials from different divisions and departments of the local auxiliary police in their punitive actions against the local population, in particular in a genocide of specific ethnic groups.