 |
| Police in Combat |
German Order Police
Orpo, formed from
Schupo (Municipal Police) and
Gendarmerie (Rural Police)
by the German Interior Ministry in
1936. This act integrated the regular German
police forces in the SS, incorporating all local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. The police were
divided into
Orpo (Regular Police),
Sipo (Security Police), and Kripo (Criminal Investigation Police).
The
Orpo troops wore green uniforms, which is why they were commonly called "Green Police".
The
Orpo was commanded by
SS-Oberstgruppenführer Kurt Daluege,
who was responsible to
Reichsführer-SS und Chef der Deutschen Polizei
Heinrich Himmler.
 |
| Orpo-Man #1 |
The
Orpo was divided into the following offices:
Hauptamt Ordungspolizei - Central Command Office of the
Orpo,
Schutzpolizei - Municipal Police,
Gendarmerie - Rural Police,
Verwaltungspolizei - Administrative branch of the
Orpo, command
authority for all
Orpo police stations,
Verkehrspolizei - Traffic enforcement and road safety
administration,
Wasserschutzpolizei - Water Protection Service,
Bahnschutzpolizei - Railway Protection
Service,
Postschutz - Postal Protection Service,
Feuerschutzpolizei - Fire Protection Police,
Luftschutzpolizei - Protection Service for civil defence and air raid rescue,
Technische Nothilfe -
Technical Emergency Corps,
Funkschutz - Security Service to protect radio stations, and Investigation
Service for illegal reception of foreign radio broadcasts,
Werkschutzpolizei - Factory Protection Police.
 |
| Orpo-Man #2 |
 |
| Orpo-Man #3 |
In
1938, military
Orpo units were established: police battalions,
police regiments, and Schupo regiments.
In the occupied countries these units performed police duties, fought against partisans, supported regular
Wehrmacht troops, and were called in guarding the ghettos, evacuations, deportations and mass killings (see
Einsatzgruppen).
The
Orpo was integrated in the SS but had separate insignias and ranks. SS-men could also belong to the
Orpo, for example with the rank
SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei.
Sources:
Gutman, Israel, ed.
Encyclopedia of the Holocaust, Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, 1990
Wikipedia
© ARC 2005
