36th Estonian Police Battalion
| 36th Estonian Police Battalion | |
|---|---|
| Active | 23 November 1941 – 18 January 1943 |
| Country |  Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Schutzmannschaft Estonian Auxiliary Police |
| Type | Battalion |
| Role | Rear security |
| Size | 438 (August 1942) |
| Part of | SS of Nazi Germany |
| Engagements | Battle of Stalingrad |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Harald Riipalu |
36th Estonian Police Battalion (also known as Schutzmannschaft Front Bataillon 36 Arensburg (German) and 36. Kaitse Rindepataljon (Estonian)) was an Estonian rear-security unit during World War II that operated under command of the German SS.
Operational history
The battalion was established on 23 November 1941, and was formed in western Estonia and on Estonian islands. Between May and August 1942 the battalion was in training and received additional reinforcements from other units, bringing its total strength to 23 officers, 161 non-commissioned officers, and 254 troops.[1] The battalion participated rear-security and anti-partisan operations in Belarus and guarded the prisoner-of-war camps in the coal mines of Stalino and Makeyevka.[2][3]
According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933–1945, the battalion took part in the murder of Jews in Novogrudok, Belarus in August 1942.[4] The battalion's report under Harald Riipalu's signature establishes the unit's presence in Novogrudok, Belarus at period from 5 August to 25 August 1942.[5] According to the Estonian International Commission for Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity, "the 36th Police Battalion participated on August 7, 1942 in the gathering together and shooting of almost all the Jews still surviving in the town of Novogrudok". The Commission's report noted:[6]
In the published records, this unit was described as fighting against partisans at the time. The Commission believes that although there clearly were numerous engagements between police units and partisans, "fighting against partisans" and "guarding prisoner of war camps" were at times ways of describing participation in actions against civilians, including Jews.
16 August 1942 battalion report stated that it had suffered casualties of 1 killed and 2 wounded.[7] From 22 November to 31 December 1942 the battalion took part of the Battle of Stalingrad.[3] Having suffered casualties of 39 killed, 97 wounded, and 11 missing, the battalion was brought back to Estonia in January 1943 and disbanded, with many men joining the Estonian Legion.[8] The battalion was reformed in May 1943, and in autumn was sent to the front at Nevel where it was merged into 288th battalion.[8]
Investigation and response by Estonian authorities
The Estonian Internal Security Service (KaPo) disagreed with the conclusions of the Commission. In its opinion, the findings were not based on documentary evidence or eyewitness accounts and were therefore unfounded. According to the KaPo report, the conclusions of the commission were exclusively based on the forced confessions of the POWs by the NKVD, and the commission failed to interview or call to witness any of the surviving members of the battalion, or the survivors of the massacre in Novogrudok.[9] Its criminal investigation into the battalion's activities concluded that there is no evidence about the participation in war crimes or crimes against humanity.[7]
Historian Peeter Kaasik of the National Archives of Estonia stated that it was not possible to determine the battalion's possible involvement due to lack of sources and discrepancies in the existing information, rendering matter largely into a "question of faith".[10]
References
- ^ Hiio, Toomas (2011). "Eesti üksustest Wehrmacht'i, SSi ja politsei ning Relva-SSi alluvuses Teise maailmasõja ajal". Estonian Yearbook of Military History (in Estonian): 208. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
- ^ Massimo Arico, Ordnungspolizei - Encyclopedia of the German police battalions September 1939 - July 1942, p. 144-145.
- ^ a b Aivar Niglas, Toomas Hiio (2006). "Estonian defence battalions / police battalions". In Toomas Hiio; Meelis Maripuu; Indrek Paavle (eds.). Estonia 1940–1945: Reports of the Estonian International Commission for the Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity. Tallinn. pp. 825–876.
{{cite book}}: Check|author=value (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Geoffrey P. Megargee (ed.) (2012): The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933–1945: Ghettos in German-Occupied Eastern Europe, Indiana University Press, p. 1249]
- ^ Erelt, Pekka (10 May 2001). "EE: Eestlased võisid osaleda Valgevene massimõrvas" (in Estonian). Eesti Ekspress. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
- ^ "PHASE II : THE GERMAN OCCUPATION OF ESTONIA IN 1941–1944" (PDF). Estonian International Commission for Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity. p. XXI. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
- ^ a b "Kilode viisi arhiividokumente andsid sama vastuse: Zuroffil pole tõendeid" (in Estonian). Eesti Päevaleht. 25 January 2003. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
- ^ a b Hiio, Toomas (2011). "Eesti üksustest Wehrmacht'i, SSi ja politsei ning Relva-SSi alluvuses Teise maailmasõja ajal". Estonian Yearbook of Military History (in Estonian): 209. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
- ^ Hinnang M. Jakobsoni rahvusvahelise komisjoni raportile.
- ^ Kaasik, Peeter (2017). "What Did the 36th Estonian Front Defence Battalion Do in Novogrudok?". Tuna. 2. Retrieved 4 August 2018.