Selbstschutz: Difference between revisions

{{infoboxInfobox military unit

|image=[[File:Inspection of Selbstschutz unit in Bydgoszcz.jpg|370px]]

|caption=Inspection of {{lang|de|Selbstschutz}} unit in [[Bydgoszcz]] (in [[German language|German]], Bromberg), [[Poland]]. From l. to r.: Josef "Bloody" Meier, leader of {{lang|de|Selbstschutz}} in Bydgoszcz; Werner Kampe, new ''[[SS]]'' mayor of Bydgoszcz; and [[Ludolf von Alvensleben]], leader of {{lang|de|Selbstschutz}} in [[Pomerania]]

|country=[[Central Europe|Central]] and [[Eastern Europe]],: [[occupied Poland]], [[Czechoslovakia]], [[Yugoslavia]] and the [[UkraineSoviet Union]]

|allegiance= - Post-WWI (in Ukraine): Imperial Germany / Russian White [[Volunteer Army]]<br>WWII: Nazi Germany/the ''[[SS]]''

'''''Selbstschutz''''' ({{lang-de|SelfGerman for "self-protection}}") is the name given to different iterations of ethnic-German self-protection units formed both after the First World War and in the lead-up to the Second World War. The name has also been applied to units of ethnic German, Austrian, and Swiss civil defence after World War&nbsp;II.

The first incarnation of the ''Selbstschutz'' was a German [[paramilitary]] organisation formed after [[World War I]] for ethnic Germans who lived outside Germany in the territories occupied by Germany and Austria-Hungary following the conclusion of the [[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk]]. The purpose of these units was to protect local ethnic-German communities and, indirectly, to serve German security interests in southern Ukraine. Another iteration of the ''Selbstschutz'' concept was established in Silesia and aimed at returning Polish-inhabited territories back to Germany following the rebirth of Poland. In 1921, the units of ''Selbstschutz'' took part in the fights against the Polish [[Third Silesian Uprising]].

The secondthird incarnation operated in territories of [[Central Europe|Central]] and [[Eastern Europe]] before and after the beginning of [[World War II]] notably in [[Poland]], the [[Free City of Danzig]], [[Czechoslovakia]], [[Yugoslavia]] and Ukrainethe [[Soviet Union]]. This ''Selbstschutz'' organization took on the character of the Nazi-era in which it was formulated and organized.

In 1938, a campaign was started by local ''Selbstschutz'' [[Sudetendeutsches Freikorps]] in the Czechoslovakian [[Sudetenland]] in order to subjugate the local Czechs prior to the [[Munich Conference]]. During the [[Invasion of Poland (1939)|Invasion of Poland]] of 1939, a number of similar units conducted sabotage actions directed by the emissaries trained in [[Nazi Germany]]. These groups were officially merged into one organization, the ethnic German ''[[Volksdeutscher Selbstschutz]]'' (Self-Defense Force) of more than 100,000 men. They took part in fighting the Poles as the [[Fifth Column]], but also served as auxiliary forces of the [[Gestapo]], ''[[SS]]'' and [[Sicherheitsdienst|SD]] during the early stages of the occupation of Poland, and helped the Nazi administration in the newly formed ''[[Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia]]'' and ''[[Reichsgau Wartheland]]''. They served as local controllers, informers, and members of execution squads particularly active in the wave of mass murders of [[Polish intelligentsia]] during [[Operation Tannenberg]] and other more local and vengeful atrocities. The killings of Poles and Jews ascribed specifically to members of ''Volksdeutsche Selbstschutz'' is estimated at the minimum of 10,000 men, women and children.<ref>Jansen and Weckbecker, 1992, pp. 7-8</ref> The force was disbanded in winter 1939/40 and the majority of its members joined the German ''SS'' or Gestapo by the spring of the following year.

After the occupation of Ukraine by German and Austro-Hungarian forces in 1918, the German occupying authorities assisted in establishing ''Selbstschutz'' units drawn from the numerous ethnic-German communities in southern Ukraine. The ''Selbstschutz'' assisted in serving German security interests in Ukraine following the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. [[Russian Mennonite]] men were included in this program and members were drawn from the [[Molotschna]] and [[Chortitza]] [[Mennonite]] colonies with training and armaments provided by the [[Imperial German Army|German imperial army]]. Before the end of the occupation, German soldiers supervised the creation of several ''Selbstschutz'' units, leaving weapons, ammunition, and a few officers to command the groups. Together with a neighboring Lutheran German colony, the young men from Molotschna formed twenty companies totaling 2,700 infantry and 300 cavalry. During the [[Russian Civil War]], these forces were initially successful in holding back the forces of [[anarchist]] [[Nestor Makhno]] until March 1919. However, the [[self-defense groups]] were ultimately overwhelmed and forced to retreat and disband bywhen Makhno's partisans allied with and were reinforced by, the [[Red Army]]. As the Russian Civil War progressed, some Mennonites were integrated within ethnic battalions of the Russian [[Volunteer Army]].<ref> For discussion see: "The Makhnovists and the Mennonites: war and peace in the Ukrainian Revolution" https://libcom.org/history/makhnovists-mennonites-war-peace-ukrainian-civil-war</ref>

The attempt to defend the villages departed from the traditional Mennonite teaching of [[nonresistance]] and was disapproved of by many colonists. Others regarded the collapse of effective governmental authority as sufficient justification for the creation of self-defense units. This sentiment was reinforced by horrific atrocities committed by anarchist bands against Mennonite communities.

While ''Selbstschutz'' units had some success in protecting Mennonite communities from further atrocities and in providing time for the civil population to flee to areas held by [[White movement|White Russian forces]], the abandonment of nonresistance proved to be highly divisive. Some believed that the self-defense actions may have inflamed anarchist atrocities committed against Mennonite civilians. As a result, later church conferences and delegations officially condemned the self-defense measures as a "grave mistake".<ref>Smith, 1981, p. 316</ref><ref name="Krahn">{{cite web |author=Krahn, Cornelius and Al Reimer |origyearorig-year=1989 |year=2008 |title=Selbstschutz, Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online |accessdateaccess-date=2014-05-20 |url=http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/S444ME.html/? |format=Internet Archive |deadurlurl-status=yesdead |archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100202025851/http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/S444ME.html/? |archivedatearchive-date=February 2, 2010 }}</ref>

The ''Selbstschutz'' were reintroduced during the late 1930s in Poland and Czechoslovakia. The ''Selbstschutz'' Sudetendeutsches Freikorps activists worked to indoctrinate ethnic Germans locally and commit acts of terrorism against the Czech population in the Sudetenland.<ref>[http://avalon.law.yale.edu/imt/12-03-45.asp The Avalon Project : Nuremberg Trial Proceedings Vol. 3 - Eleventh Day<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

In the interwar period, the German minority organizations in Poland such asincluded ''[[Jungdeutsche Partei]]'' (Young German party), ''Deutsche Vereinigung'' (German Union), ''Deutscher Volksbund'' (German peoples Union) and ''[[Deutscher Volksverband]]'' (German peoples United).<ref name="Chu2012">{{cite book|author=Winson Chu|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=00pnVVpoddYC&pg=PA18|title=The German Minority in Interwar Poland|date=25 June 2012|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-00830-4|page=18}}</ref> All of them actively cooperated with Nazi Germany throughin anti-Polish espionage, sabotage, provocations, and political indoctrination. They maintained close contact with and were directed by the [[NSDAP]] (Nazi Party), '' Auslandsorganisation'' (Foreign Affairs Organization), [[Gestapo]] (Secret Police), [[Sicherheitsdienst|SD]] (Security Service) and [[Abwehr]]. It is estimated that 25% of the German minority in Poland were members of these organisations(Defense).<ref name="Kampania Wrześniowa 1939.plSobczak1975">[{{cite book|author=Kazimierz Sobczak|url=https://webbooks.archivegoogle.orgcom/web/20061217024726/http://www.1939.pl/epizody/kolumna.htmbooks?id=NEEDAAAAMAAJ|title=Encyklopedia II Piątawojny kolumnaświatowej|publisher=Wydawictwo (JungdeutscheMinisterstwa Partei,Obrony Deutsche Vereinigung, Deutscher Volksbund, Deutscher Volksverbarid).] Kampania Wrześniowa 1939.pl (2006).Narodowej|year=1975|page=420}}</ref>

With the beginning of the [[Invasion of Poland (1939)|Invasion of Poland]] on 1 September 1939, Selbstschutz units engaged in hostilityhostilities towards the Polish population and military, and performed sabotage operations helping the German attack on the Polish state. In mid-September, the chaotic and autonomous activities of this organization were coordinated by [[Schutzstaffel|SS]] officers. Himmler placed Gustav Berger, a police official from [[Offenbach (district)|Offenbach]], in charge of the organization and district commanders in occupied zones made by the German army were put in place &mdash; [[West Prussia]], [[Upper Silesia]] and ''[[Reichsgau Wartheland|Warthegau]]''.

{{seeSee also|Nazi crimes against the Polish nation}}

The ''Selbstschutz'' set up locations for massacres of interned Poles. At times, they were organized in places where the [[Wehrmacht]] and ''[[Ordnungspolizei]]'' already established concentration camps. There were 19 such locations recorded in the following Polish cities: [[Bydgoszcz]] (see [[Bromberg-Ost]]), [[Brodnica]] (renamed ''Strasburg''), [[Chełmno]] (see [[Chełmno extermination camp]]), [[Dorposz Szlachecki]], [[Kamień Krajeński]], Karolewo, Lipno (renamed Lippe), [[Łobżenica]], [[Nakło nad Notecią|Nakło]] (Nakel), [[Nowy Wiec]] near [[Skarszew]], [[Nowe]] on the [[Vistula]], [[Piastoszyn]], [[Płutowo]], [[Sępólno Krajeńskie]], [[Solec Kujawski]] (Schulitz), [[Tuchola]] (Tuchel), [[Wąbrzeźno]] (Briesen), [[Wolental]] near [[Skórcz]], and [[Wyrzysk]] (Wirsitz). The majority of the arrested Poles – men, women and youth – were murdered on the spot by the ''Selbstschutz'' executioners.<ref name="Stutthof Museum">{{cite web|url=http://www.kki.net.pl/~museum/rozdz3,2.htm |title=Oboz dla Jencow Cywilnych (''Zivilgefangenenlager'') |trans_titletrans-title=Internment of Civilian Prisoners |publisher=[[Stutthof concentration camp|Stutthof Museum]] (Państwowe Muzeum Stutthof w Sztutowie) |work=Obozy Podlegle Organom Policyjnym (Monografia ''KL STUTTHOF''. Chapter 2) |date=2006 |accessdateaccess-date=20 May 2014 |author=Konrad Ciechanowski |quote=''Translation from Polish:'' Rozstrzeliwanych dobijano łopatami, kolbami, a niekiedy zakopywano jeszcze żywych. Matki zmuszano do układania w wykopanych dołach swoich dzieci, a potem je same rozstrzeliwano. Przed rozstrzelaniem gwałcono dziewczęta i kobiety. |deadurlurl-status=yesdead |archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071029144245/http://www.kki.net.pl/~museum/rozdz3,2.htm |archivedatearchive-date=October 29, 2007 }}</ref>

After the [[German invasion of Poland]], the ''Selbstschutz'' worked together with the ''[[Einsatzgruppen]]'' in the mass murder of ethnic Poles. For example, they took part in the [[massacres in Piaśnica]], the first elimination "aktion" of Polish intelligentsia. Between 12,000 and 16,000 civilians were murdered there. The ''[[Intelligenzaktion]]'' was aimed at eliminating Poland's leadership in the country. The murder operations began soon after the attack on Poland and lasted from the fall of 1939 until the spring of 1940.<ref name="Kampania Wrześniowa 1939.pl"/><ref>Encyklopedia PWN, [http://encyklopedia.pwn.pl/haslo.php?id=3915048 Intelligenzaktion. September–November 1939.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607153129/http://encyklopedia.pwn.pl/haslo.php?id=3915048 icon|date=2011-06-07 }} {{in lang|pl}}</ref> As the result of Nazi genocidal policy, in 10 regional actions 60,000 Polish teachers, entrepreneurs, landowners, social workers, military veterans, members of national organisations, priests, judges, and political activists were killed.<ref>Maria Wardzyńska, "Był rok 1939 Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion". IPN [[Instytut Pamięci Narodowej]], 2009, {{ISBN |978-83-7629-063-8}}</ref> The ''Intelligenzaktion'' was continued by the [[German AB-Aktion operation in Poland]].<ref>Meier, Anna "Die Intelligenzaktion: Die Vernichtung Derder Polnischenpolnischen Oberschicht Imim Gau Danzig-WestpreusenWestpreußen" [[VDM Verlag Dr. Müller]], {{ISBN |3-639-04721-4}} {{ISBN |978-3-639-04721-9}}</ref>

In West Prussia, the ''Selbstschutz'' organization led by ''SS-Gruppenführer'' [[Ludolf von Alvensleben]] was 17,667 men strong, and by 5 October 1939 had already executed 4,247 Poles. Notably, Alvensleben complained to the ''Selbstschutz'' officers that too few Poles had been shot. German officers had reported to him that only a fraction of Poles had been "destroyed" in the region, with the total number of those executed in West Prussia during this action being about 20,000. One ''Selbstschutz'' commander, Wilhelm Richardt, said in [[Karolewo, Bydgoszcz County|Karolewo]] (Karlhof) that he did not want to build big camps for Poles and feed them, and that it was an honour for Poles to fertilize the German soil with their corpses.<ref name="Browning 2004 33">{{cite book |last=Browning |year=2004| title=The Origins of the Final Solution |url=https://archive.org/details/originsoffinalso00brow |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/originsoffinalso00brow/page/33 33]|publisher=University of Nebraska Press |isbn=9780803213272 }}</ref> There was visible enthusiasm for activities of the ''Selbstschutz'' among those involved in the action.<ref name="Browning 2004 33"/> Only in one case a ''Selbstschutz'' commander was relieved of duty after failing to finish his job with "only" 300 Poles executed.<ref name="Browning 2004 33"/>

The total number of ''Selbstschutz'' members in Poland is estimated by historians at 82,000. The organization was ordered to be dissolved on 26&nbsp;November 1939 in favour of service with the ''SS'', yet the work continued until the spring of 1940. Among the reasons for dissolution were the ''Selbstschutz''{{'}}s extreme corruption, disorderly behaviour and conflicts with other organizations, as well as excessive use of force.

The existence of a large paramilitary organization of ethnic Germans with Polish citizenship who engaged in widespread massacres of ethnic Poles in the course of the German war against Poland was one of the reasons for the [[Expulsion of Germans after World War II|expulsion of Germans after the war]]. A description of the ''Selbstschutz''{{'}}s involvement, made available by the Polish State Museum in [[Sztutowo]], contains material compiled three years before the war broke out, for the Nazi authorities to use in extermination of the Poles thereafter.<ref name=Museum-2>{{cite web |url=http://stutthof.org/english/node/8 |title=History of concentration camp Stutthof |publisher=State Museum of Stutthof (Muzeum Stutthof w Sztutowie) |accessdateaccess-date=20 March 2013 |archive-date=12 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012085930/http://stutthof.org/english/node/8 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Footnotes for an explanation of how to generate footnotes using the <ref> and </ref> tags, and the template below.

*{{cite book |last1=Jansen |first1=Christian |last2=Weckbecker|first2=Arno |authorlink= |title=Der "Volksdeutsche Selbstschutz" in Polen 1939/40 (Schriftenreihe der Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte - Bd. 64) |url= |accessdate= |year=1992 |publisher=R. Oldenbourg Verlag |location=München |isbn=3-486-64564-1}}

*C. Henry Smith, Revised and expanded by Cornelius Krahn (1981), "Smith's Story of the Mennonites", Faith and Life Press, Newton, Kansas, {{ISBN |0-87303-069-9}}

*{{cite book |last=Browning |first=Christopher R. |authorlinkauthor-link=Christopher R. Browning |title=The Origins of the Final Solution: The Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy, September 1939-March 1942 |url= |accessdate=https://archive.org/details/originsoffinalso00brow |year=2004 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |location=Lincoln |isbn=0-8032-1327-1 |url-access=registration }}

*Georges Jerome Les milices d'autoprotection de la communauté allemande de Pomérélie, Posnanie et Silésie polonaise 1939 1940. Revue Guerres mondiales et conflits contemporains PUF n°163 1991

*[http://www.deutsche-und-polen.de/_/themen/thema_jsp/key=selbstschutz.html Selbstschutz, Deutsche und Polen] {{de(in icon}}German)

*[http://wwwstutthof.kki.net.plorg/~museumenglish/rozdz1.htmnode/8 Hitler's preparations for aggression and extermination against Poles in Pomorze, Gdańsk and Free City of Danzig] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012085930/http://stutthof.org/english/node/8 |date=2013-10-12 }} from Polish State Museum of Stutthof {{pl icon}}

[[Category:HistoryGermany–Poland ofmilitary Poland (1918–39)relations]]

[[Category:Germany–Poland relations (1918–1939)]]