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39-555: In Germany, in November 1941 the Ukrainian personnel of the Legion (Nachtigall and Roland battalions) was reorganized into Schutzmannschaft Battalion 201 . It numbered 650 persons, who served for a year in the occupied Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (present-day Belarus) before disbanding. Prior to Operation Barbarossa, both Stepan Bandera and Andriy Melnyk , who led rival branches of

78-649: A commander of the Legion from the OUN-B side. OUN expected that the unit would become the core of the future Ukrainian army. In the spring the OUN received 2.5 million marks for subversive activities against the USSR. In the spring of 1941 the Legion was reorganized into 2 units. One of the units became known as Nachtigall Battalion, a second became the Roland Battalion, and the remainder was immediately dispatched into Soviet Union to sabotage

117-625: A new unit, however, none of the Ukrainians signed up, and very few reported to Lublin. Some were arrested and placed in the jail on Lonsky street, Roman Shukhevych escaped, and went into hiding. Nachtigall Battalion The Nachtigall Battalion (English: Nightingale Battalion ), also known as the Ukrainian Nightingale Battalion Group ( German : Bataillon Ukrainische Gruppe Nachtigall ), or officially as Special Group Nachtigall ( German : Sondergruppe 'Nachtigall' )

156-491: A number of Ukrainian witnesses between November 1959 and March 1960, the commission concluded: "After four months of inquiries and the evaluation of 232 statements by witnesses from all circles involved, it can be established that the accusations against the Battalion Nachtigall and against the then Lieutenant and currently Federal Minister Oberländer have no foundation in fact". The Ukrainian side states that none of

195-535: A polemic, written from the Soviet perspective, and one-sided. According to OUN's own records, more than 2,000 Soviet partisans were killed by battalion personnel during its 9-month stay in Belarus. Historian Per Anders Rudling noted, that the so-called "partisans" were nearly synonymous with Jews, as according to Arthur Nebe , the leader of Einsatzgruppe B , "The view that “The Jews are without exception identical with

234-464: A specialist in Ukrainian history during World War II, and Ivan Katchanovski of the University of Ottawa both note that while no one has studied the specific activities of the 201st battalion from this perspective, it is known that Schuma battalions such as the 201 in Belarus were used to fight partisans and murder Jews, that (according to Katchanovsky) there was a strong likelihood that the 201 Battalion

273-675: A speech after declaration meeting ended. The German administration did not support these activities but did not act harshly against organizers until mid-September 1941. The first company of the Nachtigall Battalion left Lviv with the Brandenburgers on July 7 in the direction of Zolochiv . The remainder of the unit joined later during their eastward march towards Zolochiv , Ternopil and Vinnytsia . The unit participated in action against Stalin Line where some of its members were awarded by

312-408: The 201st Schutzmannschaft Battalion . Russian historian Sergei Chuyev states that despite the ending, OUN achieved its ultimate goals – 600 members of their organization had received military training and had battle experience and these men took positions as instructors and commanders in the structure of the newly formed Ukrainian Insurgent Army. Stepan Bandera wrote: "The end of OUN

351-710: The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists actively cooperated with Nazi Germany. According to the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and other sources, Bandera held meetings with the heads of Germany's intelligence, regarding the formation of the Nachtigall and Roland Battalions. On 25 February 1941, the head of the Abwehr , Wilhelm Franz Canaris , sanctioned the creation of the "Ukrainian Legion" under German command. The unit would have had 800 persons. Roman Shukhevych became

390-555: The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists . It served for a year in Belarus before being disbanded. Roman Shukhevych , the supreme commander of the UPA from 1943 to 1950 was an officer of the battalion. Many of its members, especially the commanding officers, would later be recruited into the Ukrainian Insurgent Army . This formation was formed on 21 October 1941 with 4 companies . Their commanders were: The formal commander of

429-667: The Roland Battalion . The battalion was part of the Army Group Centre that operated in Belarus . Nachtigall was an intelligence and diversion group of Abwehr , but according to other historians a Security Police unit, composed almost exclusively from members of the OUN(b)  [ pl ; ru ; uk ] , who were transported from Vinnytsia to Neuhammer on 13 August 1941 and disarmed at gunpoint due to political disagreement with

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468-506: The Soviet Union ) with Army Group South between June and August 1941. After returning to Germany, in November 1941 the Ukrainian members of the Legion were reorganized into the 201st Schutzmannschaft Battalion . It numbered 650 persons who served for one year in Byelorussia (present-day Belarus) before disbanding. Many of its members, especially the commanding officers, went on to join

507-555: The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (founded in 1942), and 14 of its members joined SS Division Galicia in spring 1943. Prior to Operation Barbarossa, the Stepan Bandera 's Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) sought contact with Nazi Germany and in fact received its training there in order to use this as an opportunity to restore independence of Ukraine. According to the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and other sources, OUN-B leader Stepan Bandera held meetings with

546-636: The Army's Group South. On 27 June 1941, they were placed under command of the German 11th Army with the task of moving in the Campulung Moldovenesc - Gura Humorului - Suceava - Botoşani direction, with the tasks of clearing road and transportation corridors, organizing groups of Ukrainian home guards, guarding transportation of food, helping with the evacuation of prisoners of war, and guarding strategic objectives. On 30 June 1941, Abwehr received an order to prevent

585-501: The Battalion became former Polish Army major and Roland Battalion commander Yevhen Pobihushchyi , however, the SD liaisons officer Wilhelm Mocha became the actual commander of the Battalion. According to the memoirs of Pobihushchyi, by the time of the battalion's formation most of the Ukrainian soldiers considered both Germany and the Soviet Union to be enemies of Ukraine, but considered

624-535: The German and Ukrainian officers were poor. The stay in Belarus provided the Ukrainian soldiers not only with to opportunity to gain experience in partisan warfare but also provided insight into the German tactics of fighting against partisans. German-Polish historian Professor Frank Golczewski ( University of Hamburg ) describes the activities of the Schutzmannschaft Battalion 201 in Belarus as "fighting partisans and killing Jews". John-Paul Himka ,

663-686: The German leadership. Historian Frank Golczewski says the Battalion fought against partisans and participated in the Jewish genocide in Belarus. According to historian John-Paul Himka no one has specifically studied the activities of Schuma 201 in relation to the destruction of the Jewish population. But we do know – wrote Himka – that the Germans routinely used the Schuma battalions in Belarus both to fight partisans and to murder Jews. Battalion 201 numbered 650 persons, most of whom belonged to Stepan Bandera ’s wing of

702-513: The German, Theodor Oberländer . (Oberländer was later to become Federal Minister for Displaced Persons, Refugees and War Victims in the Federal Republic of Germany .) Ex-Brandenburger Oberleutnant Dr. Hans-Albrecht Herzner ( de ) was placed in military command of the Battalion. The Nachtigall unit was outfitted in the standard Wehrmacht uniforms. Before entering Lviv, they placed blue and yellow ribbons on their shoulders. Four days before

741-506: The Germans. During the march at three villages of the Vinnytsia region "all Jews which were met" were shot. The German refusal to accept the OUN(b)'s June 30 proclamation of Ukrainian independence in L'viv led to a change of the Nachtigall battalion direction. As the result, the battalion was recalled to Cracow and disarmed on August 15. It was later transformed together with Roland battalion into

780-568: The Nazis should not be indicted as a group and that mere membership in such units was not sufficient to justify prosecution. Yad Vashem 's Encyclopedia of the Holocaust contends that between June 30 and July 3, 1941, in the days that the Battalion was in Lviv, the Nachtigall soldiers together with the German army and the local Ukrainians participated in the killings of Jews in the city. The Encyclopedia of

819-741: The Red Army's rear. The battalion was set up by the Abwehr and organized by Richard Yary of the OUN (b) in March 1941, prior to the German invasion of the Soviet Union. Approximately 350 Bandera's OUN followers were trained at the Abwehr training centre at the Seibersdorf under the command of the former Polish Army major and OUN member Yevhen Pobihushchyi . In comparison to Nachtigall, which used ordinary Wehrmacht uniform,

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858-512: The Roland Battalion was outfitted in the Czech uniform with yellow armband with text "Im Dienst der Deutschen Wehrmacht" (In the service of the German Wehrmacht). They were given Austrian helmets from World War I. The battalion had arms consisting of 2 Czech light machine guns and German light weaponry. The Roland Battalion moved to Romanian-Soviet border by 15 June 1941 and placed under command of

897-552: The Roland personnel remained as translators at the established occupational administrations of the Reich. They were restricted however, from political activity, and after 30 days they were all relieved of duty. The rest of the battalion returned to Focşani on 26 August 1941. Their weapons were taken from them while they traveled; they were transported to the town of Mayerling near Vienna and their weapons returned to them. By 21 October 1941,

936-528: The Soviets to be the greater enemies to be fought first. During the training period there were tensions between the German command and the Ukrainians. They departed for Belarus on 19 and 22 March 1942. The Battalion were given German Police Uniforms. On 16 March 1942, the battalion traveled east and on 19 March, its first subunits arrived in Belarus where it served in the triangle between Mahiliou - Vitsebsk - Lepel . The battalion wasn't concentrated in one place, but

975-505: The allegations have been proven by any documents and that the Battalion's main priority was securing the radio station, newspapers and proclaiming Ukrainian independence. Canadian Investigation: The Canadian Commission on War Criminals in Canada ( Deschênes Commission ) that look into allegations of war criminals residing in Canada, has not named any of the members of the Nachtigall Battalion. Moreover, it concluded, that units collaborating with

1014-407: The attack on the Soviet Union, the Battalion was moved to the border. On the night of June 23–24, 1941, the Battalion crossed the border near Przemyśl while traveling in the direction of Lviv. The Nachtigall Battalion traveled along with a Panzer-Jaeger Division and some tank units went along through Radymno - Lviv - Ternopil - Proskuriv - Vinnytsia path. As part of the 1st Brandenburg Battalion,

1053-570: The battalion was directed to front-line, crossing the Dniester at Dubossari , and headed to Odesa. On 10 August 1941, the command of the 11th Army received a telegram from Abwehr, saying, "After consultations with the Reichsminister of the occupied territories of the East, the Roland organization should be excluded from campaign because of political reasons". On 14 August, the battalion was recalled. 50 from

1092-472: The concept of partisan” was a key assumption of the architects of the German counter-insurgency campaigns". On 1 December 1942 after the expiration of their contracts, the members of the Legion refused to promulgate it. As the result, the 201st Battalion personnel was taken into detention and relocated to Lvov . The German command suggested to all those who had been in the Battalion to gather in Lublin to form

1131-710: The first soldiers of the Nachtigall Battalion entered Lviv on June 29. The battalion took up guard of strategic objects, the most important of which was the radio station on the Vysoky Zamok Hill in the centre of Lviv. From the radio station, the proclamation of the Act of Ukrainian Independence was made. The Nachtigall servicemen participated in and organized the Declaration of Ukrainian Independence proclaimed by Yaroslav Stetsko on June 30. Battalion chaplain Ivan Hrynokh made

1170-494: The formation and activities of the UPA and in its future conflicts. During its short history, the Nachtigall Battalion had 39 casualties and 40 wounded soldiers. Accusations have placed the Battalion in Lviv in July 1941 and claimed that the unit participated in the pogrom that took place. Some members of the unit did indeed participate in the pogrom, which implicates the unit as a whole. World opinion: An international commission

1209-470: The future Ukrainian army. In the spring the OUN received 2.5 million marks for subversive activities against the USSR. In the spring of 1941 the Legion was reorganized into two units. One of the units became known as Nachtigall Battalion, a second became the Roland Battalion . Training for Nachtigall took place in Neuhammer near Schlessig. On the Ukrainian side, the commander was Roman Shukhevych and on

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1248-399: The heads of Germany's intelligence, regarding the formation of the Nachtigall and Roland Battalions. February 25, 1941, Wilhelm Canaris , head of the Abwehr , sanctioned the creation of the "Ukrainian Legion" under German command. The unit would have had 800 persons. Roman Shukhevych became a commander of the Legion from the OUN-B side. OUN expected that the unit would become the core of

1287-481: The unit from taking any military action, and it was held at Frumusola. On 24 July the Roland Battalion was transferred to the command of the 54th army corps with the task to guard roads to East of the Dniester river. At that time the battalion had 9 officers and 260 soldiers. In time the battalion was planned to be topped up with another 150 volunteers from the occupied areas and spend some time near Yassy . From 28 July

1326-504: The unit was transferred to Neuhammer where it was merged with the Nachtigall Battalion to form Schutzmannschaft Battalion 201 . Schutzmannschaft Battalion 201 The Schutzmannschaft Battalion 201 was a World War II Ukrainian Schutzmannschaft auxiliary police battalion formed by Nazi Germany on 21 October 1941, predominantly from the soldiers of Ukrainian Nachtigall Battalion dissolved two months prior and

1365-704: Was a subunit under command of the German Abwehr special-operations unit Lehrregiment "Brandenburg" z.b.V. 800 in 1941. Along with the Roland Battalion it was one of two military units which originated on February 25, 1941, when the head of the Abwehr, Admiral Wilhelm Franz Canaris , sanctioned the formation of a "Ukrainian Legion" under German command. The Legion was composed of volunteer Ukrainians many of whom were members or supporters of Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN-B). The Battalion participated in early stages of Operation Barbarossa (the Axis invasion of

1404-424: Was involved in genocide of Jews and Belarusians, and that this topic is worthy of more investigation, although it hasn't been studied in depth. David R. Marples notes that Wiktor Poliszczuk claimed that Schutzmannschaft Battalion 201 in Belarus completed brutal pacification of Belarusian villages, and the men had experience with elimination of the Jewish population; however he also describes Poliszczuk's book as

1443-531: Was set up at The Hague in the Netherlands in 1959 to carry out independent investigations. The members were four former anti-Hitler activists, Norwegian lawyer Hans Cappelen , former Danish foreign minister and president of the Danish parliament Ole Bjørn Kraft , Dutch socialist Karel van Staal , Belgian law professor Flor Peeters , and Swiss jurist and member of parliament Kurt Scoch . Following its interrogation of

1482-433: Was spread out in order to guard various strategic areas. For example, one group guarded large ammunition and weapon warehouses while other groups were stationed in various Belarusian villages. They guarded bridges, protected the German administration, and hunted in the woods for Soviet partisan bases. The conflicts between Germans and Ukrainians, evident during the training, continued during these operations; relations between

1521-416: Was such: the revolutionary columns were commanded by Roman Shukhevych with a small party of officers who had not only undergone military training but had come to a clear understanding of military tactics. Most importantly, they brought with them - an understanding of organization, strategies and tactics of partisan fighting, and the German method of dealing with partisan groups. This knowledge was very useful in

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