The 4th SS Police Regiment (german: SS-Polizei-Regiment 4) was named the 4th Police Regiment (''Polizei-Regiment 4'') when it was temporarily formed in 1939 from existing
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 ...
(''Ordnungspolizei'') units for security duties during the
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 ...
. The second formation was ordered in 1942 from existing
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 Group ...
in
Occupied France
The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...
. It was redesignated as an
SS unit in early 1943.
Formation and organization
The 4th Police Regiment was formed on 16 September 1939 in
Kielce
Kielce (, yi, קעלץ, Keltz) is a city in southern Poland, and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the bank ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
, from elements of Police Group 6 (''Polizeigruppe 6'') for security duties in the rear area of the
3rd Army during the
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 ...
. The regimental headquarters was redesignated as
Police Regiment Warsaw (''Polizei-Regiment Warschau'') around November.
The regiment was ordered to be reformed in July 1942 in France, but the regimental headquarters was not formed until 16 April 1943; in the meantime its battalions were controlled by Police Regiment Griese (''Polize-Regiment Griese'').
[Tessin & Kanapin, p. 617] Police Battalion 316
The Police Battalion 316 (''Polizeibattalion 316'') was a formation of the Order Police (uniformed police) during the Nazi era. During Operation Barbarossa, it was subordinated to the SS and deployed in German-occupied areas, specifically the Ar ...
in
Upper Carniola
Upper Carniola ( sl, Gorenjska; it, Alta Carniola; german: Oberkrain) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The centre of the region is Kranj, while other urban centers include Jeseni ...
,
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
, and
Police Battalion 323
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...
in
Occupied Poland
' (Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October 2 ...
were redesignated as the regiment's first and second battalions, respectively, and the third battalion was newly formed. The first two battalions were transferred to France shortly afterwards.
[Arico, pp. 457, 492; Tessin & Kanapin, p. 616] All of the police regiments were redesignated as SS police units on 24 February 1943.
[Tessin & Kannapin, p. 557]
Notes
References
* Arico, Massimo. ''Ordnungspolizei: Encyclopedia of the German Police Battalions'', Stockholm: Leandoer and Ekholm (2010).
*Tessin, Georg & Kannapin, Norbert. ''Waffen-SS under Ordnungspolizei im Kriegseinsatz 1939–1945: Ein Überlick anhand der Feldpostübersicht'', Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio Verlag (2000).
{{SS Police Regts
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