Polnisches Schutzmannschaftsbataillon 202

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Polnisches Schutzmannschaftsbataillon 202 was a collaborationist police battalion, composed primarily of Poles forcefully^[who?] drafted by Germans from inhabitants of General Gouvernment supporting the Nazi security police.

Created in May-June 1942,^[1] the battalion, which operated mostly in Volhynia and Podolia, was subordinated to the German Schutzpolizei. The initial volunteer recruitment gave only 2 members. Afterwards the German authorities resorted to forceful draft among members of Blue Police. Due to attempts to dodge the draft, another method included false advertisements for paid work in "Polish Police". German major Walery Sauermann, was made the commander of the unit, and Germans made up all of the officers. In November 1943 more than half of the battalion deserted. The unit was practically destroyed in combat with the Red Army at the beginning of 1944.^[1] The remains of the unit were transferred to Lviv. Officially the battalion was disbanded on May 8, 1944. It is believed that some of its former members subsequently joined the Blue Police in General Government.

The battalion was armed with Mauser Mk 98k rifles and MP38 and MP41 machine guns.

While the major target of the unit was fighting the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and NKVD partisans, it committed a number of crimes against the civilian population, including Jews, Czechs, and Old Believers. It also murdered members of the Armia Krajowa.^{[citation needed]}