Wehrmacht Polizei

Wehrmacht Polizei
Unit name	Wehrmacht Polizei
Dates	1935–1945
Country	Nazi Germany
Branch	German Army (Heer), Wehrmacht
Type	Military police
Size	Variable; battalion and regiment formations
Notable commanders	Heinrich Himmler, Wilhelm Keitel, Walther von Brauchitsch
Garrison	Berlin, regional military districts (Wehrkreise)

Wehrmacht Polizei

The Wehrmacht Polizei was the military police apparatus attached to the Wehrmacht during the Nazi Germany era, charged with maintaining discipline, traffic control, security of military installations, and rear-area policing. It operated alongside and often in cooperation with entities such as the SS, the Ordnungspolizei, and the Abwehr, while being governed by regulations issued through the Reichswehrministerium and later the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht. The organization played roles on the Western Front (World War II), Eastern Front, and in occupied territories, intersecting with occupation policies and counterinsurgency actions.

Origins and Legal Framework

The roots of the force trace to the post-World War I reorganization of German forces under the Reichswehr, with precedents in the Feldgendarmerie of the Imperial German Army and the policing functions of the Sicherungsgefolge of earlier conflicts. Legal authority derived from statutes and directives such as orders from the Reichskriegsministerium, later codified via commands of the Oberkommando des Heeres and the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW). Jurisdictional boundaries were continually negotiated with the Reichssicherheitshauptamt and ministries under Adolf Hitler and Hermann Göring, producing administrative instruments that assigned responsibilities for deserters, black market control, and security of Wehrmacht supply lines.

Organization and Structure

The structure comprised units often designated as Feldgendarmerie, Wehrmacht Polizeiabteilungen, and Feldpolizei detachments, organized at corps, division, and army levels. Command channels ran through military district headquarters modeled on the Wehrkreis system and coordinated with branch commands of the Heer, Luftwaffe, and Kriegsmarine. Personnel were drawn from conscript pools and career soldiers, with cadre designated by rank from Unteroffizier to Offizier. The force maintained administrative links to the Heerespersonalamt and used mobilization tables similar to those of infantry and support branches.

Roles and Operations

Operational duties included traffic regulation on roads and railways used by Heer formations and convoys, conduct of checkpoints, security of depots and military installations, apprehension of deserters and AWOL personnel, and investigation of crimes affecting military order. Units executed rear-area security, anti-partisan operations, and escorted prisoners of war under directives from superordinate commands such as the Heeresgruppe Mitte or Heeresgruppe Süd. In joint operations, they liaised with units of the Abwehr for counterintelligence tasks and with the Feldjägerkorps for disciplinary enforcement across large formations.

Relations with SS and Ordnungspolizei

Relations with the Schutzstaffel and the Ordnungspolizei were complex and often competitive. Coordination with the SS and its subdivisions—Waffen-SS, SS-Totenkopfverbände, and the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA)—varied by theater and local command prerogatives, producing instances of close cooperation and jurisdictional disputes. The Wehrmacht Polizei sometimes subordinated tasks to the Ordnungspolizei for civilian control in occupied cities, while in other cases retained independent authority under directives from the OKH and commanders such as Friedrich Paulus in designated sectors.

Involvement in Occupied Territories and War Crimes

Deployments into Poland, Soviet Union, France, Norway, and the Balkans placed the force at the interface of occupation administration and security operations. Units participated in anti-partisan sweeps, cordon-and-search operations, and security of lines of communication—activities that, in conjunction with SS and police units, have been documented in association with reprisals, deportations, and other crimes. Command directives such as the criminally consequential orders issued under Kommissarbefehl and related policies fostered environments in which some Wehrmacht Polizei elements were implicated in atrocities recorded in military archives and postwar trials involving collaboration with Einsatzgruppen and local auxiliary forces.

Personnel, Training, and Uniforms

Recruitment emphasized prior service and suitable disciplinary records, with training delivered at military police schools and through on-the-job instruction within divisions. Courses covered traffic control, military law as promulgated by the Wehrmacht disciplinary codes, counterinsurgency tactics, and coordination with civil police agencies. Uniforms typically featured standard Wehrmacht field tunics augmented by distinctive gorget-style police badges, cuff titles, and unit insignia; headgear varied from field caps to helmets marked for police use. Equipment included light arms, vehicular units for traffic control, and communication gear compatible with army corps signals units.

Dissolution and Postwar Accountability

Following the capitulation of Nazi Germany in May 1945 and directives from the Allied Control Council, Wehrmacht policing formations were disbanded; many personnel were interned, with some prosecuted in Allied military tribunals and German postwar courts. Investigations by the International Military Tribunal and subsequent proceedings addressed crimes in cooperation with SS and police organizations, while denazification tribunals and intelligence assessments by the Office of Strategic Services catalogued involvement. Survivors later integrated into postwar police structures in the Federal Republic of Germany or the German Democratic Republic, influencing debates over continuity and reform of policing institutions.

Category:Wehrmacht