Leningrad Sector: ϟϟ-Polizei-Division

Grenadier of the Polizei-Division on the Eastern Front

SS Grenadier disarming a Soviet Red Army soldier

SS-Polizei Division with Soviet POWs in the Leningrad area

The Polizei-Division was formed in 1939 as part of the Ordnungspolizei or uniformed national police. They were not at this time considered part of the Waffen-SS because of the manner that members of the unit were allowed to join. This status was reflected in their retention of police insignia and rank structure. The division was moved to the Volkhov River sector in January 1942 under command of Generaloberst der Polizei Alfred Wünnenberg. Finally, on February 24 1942, the Division was given official SS status and was transferred to the Waffen-SS. Its title was changed to the SS-Polizei Division. The formation was involved in heavy fighting between January and March 1942 which resulted in the destruction of the Soviet 2nd Shock Army. The remainder of the year was spent on the Leningrad front. The SS-Polizei-Division saw action south of Lake Ladoga on the Leningrad front in 1943 and was involved in a number of Soviet offensives when it was forced to withdraw to a new defensive line at Kolpino where it was successful in holding the Soviet Red Army, despite suffering heavy casualties. In May 1943, the SS-Polizei-Division were transferred to the west to retrain and upgrade to a Panzergrenadier division. It was redesignated as 4.SS-Polizei-Panzergrenadier-Division in October 1943 under SS-Oberführer Friedrich-Wilhelm Bock. The Polizei's manpower strength was 16,081 officers and men in December 1943. Credit: Wikipedia inter alia. Top clip: a soldier of the Polizei filmed earlier in the campaign during a lull in the fighting. Middle clip: a Soviet POW being frisked for concealed weapons by a Waffen-SS soldier prior to being moved to the collection point. According to various sources, the grenadier is a member of the Polizei. In the film, you can see that he is holding a captured Russian Tokarev TT33 pistol in his right hand. Bottom clip: Grenadiers of the SS-Polizei-Division gathering Soviet Red Army POWs on the Leningrad front in 1943. All footage from Die Deutsche Wochenschau. Fair use.