When Himmler’s SS Police Division Paid for What They Did

The 4th SS Police Panzergrenadier Division began not as a conventional Waffen-SS formation, but as a force largely composed of ordinary German policemen. Created in October 1939, shortly after the German invasion of Poland, the division was part of Heinrich Himmler’s effort to expand the military forces under SS control. Around 16,000 men were initially drawn from the Ordnungspolizei, Nazi Germany’s uniformed police, while retaining their police ranks and insignia. After security duties in occupied Poland, the division entered combat during the Battle of France in 1940. The following year it joined Operation Barbarossa, advancing with Army Group North towards Leningrad. At Luga, repeated attacks against Soviet positions brought severe losses. In February 1942, the formation was formally transferred to the Waffen-SS, transforming its policemen into SS soldiers. By late 1943 and early 1944, the rebuilt division had been transferred to the Balkans. In occupied Greece, its mission increasingly centred on operations against resistance groups, particularly ELAS. German reprisals against suspected partisan support brought devastating consequences for local communities. Soldiers of the division were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of civilians in places including Kleisoura, Pyrgoi, Distomo, Ipati and Spercheiada. As Germany’s position deteriorated, the division withdrew through Yugoslavia, Hungary and Slovakia before returning to the fighting in Pomerania in 1945. Thousands of its soldiers were lost during the war, while surviving elements eventually surrendered to American forces near Wittenberge. Through archival material and historical research, this documentary traces the transformation of German policemen into Waffen-SS soldiers, their path across occupied Europe, the crimes committed in Greece, and the final collapse of a division created under Himmler’s expanding SS system. Join World History channel and get access to benefits: https://www.youtube.com/channel