Schutzmannschaft Schutzmannschaft ( abbr . " Schuma " ) as well as Hilfspolizei ( abbr . " Hipo " ) were the collaborationist auxiliary police battalion s of native policemen in countries occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II . Created to fight the anti - Nazi resistance , many of them participated in massacres conducted by the German Ordnungspolizei , mostly in Eastern Europe . The term " Hilfspolizei " refers also to auxiliary police units such as HIPO Corps in occupied Denmark , Waffen - SS divisions , Selbstschutz , etc . The term is mostly historical ; it has been also applied to some units created in 1933 by the early Nazi government ( mostly from members of SA and SS ) and disbanded the same year due to international protests . Within the territories seized from the Soviet Union , the Germans utilised local police auxiliaries much more freely . These volunteers were called " Hilfswilligen " ( " those willing to help " ) , often abbreviated to " Hiwis " . As the so - called " Protective Detachments " ( Schutzmannschaft ) ; they usually augmented the Order Police ( " Ordnungspolizei " , Orpo ) and Einsatzgruppen in their operations with organizational pragmatics . Eventually , they were numbered tens of thousands . The " Schutzmannschaft " battalions were organized by nationality at each location : Ukrainians , Belarusians , Russians , Estonians , Lithuanians , Latvians , Tatars , and Poles ( failed attempt ; with two volunteers , and forcible draft of 360 men in Kraków , most of whom deserted to join the AK against the massacres of Poles in Volhynia ) . Each battalion had an authorized strength of about 500 . Everywhere , local police far outnumbered the equivalent German personnel . For example , in the Brześć Litewski area , there were 26 German " gendarmerie " as opposed to 308 Belorussians . In the district of Baranowicze , there were 73 German " gendarmerie " and 816 native auxiliaries . By 1 July 1942 , eighteen - and - a - half Ukrainian Schutzmannschaft battalions had been formed , with a further three battalions set up in Belarus mainly staffed by Ukrainians . Local police units were deployed in occupied territories to Anti - partisan operations and during the Holocaust . Subsequently , as German casualties on the Eastern front mounted , many " Schutzmannschaft " battalions in Estonia , Latvia , Ukraine and elsewhere were joined in SS raised military divisions wearing national insignia . Participation in the Holocaust . Following Operation Barbarossa , between September 1941 and July 1944 , the " SS " began the process of recruiting collaborationist auxiliary police from among Soviet nationals in regions conquered by the Wehrmacht . They were known as " Trawniki men " ( German : " Trawnikimänner " ) for deployment in all major killing sites of Operation Reinhard on Polish territories ( most deadly phase of " the Final Solution " ) – it was their primary purpose of training . " Trawnikis " took an active role in the executions of Jews at Belzec , Sobibor , Treblinka II , Warsaw ( three times , see Stroop Report ) , Częstochowa , Lublin , Lwów , Radom , Kraków , Białystok ( twice ) , Majdanek as well as at Auschwitz , not to mention Trawniki itself , and the remaining subcamps of KL Lublin / Majdanek including Poniatowa , Budzyn , Kraśnik , Puławy , Lipowa , but also during massacres in Łomazy , Międzyrzec , Łuków , Radzyń , Parczew , Końskowola , Komarówka and all other locations , augmented by the " SS " and the " Reserve Police Battalion 101 " ( alone , responsible for the annihilation of at least 83 , 000 Jews ) . " Schutzmannschaften " became an indispensable component of the mass execution of Jews in Nazi occupied Soviet Union . In places such as Zhitomir , Korosten , Kherson , Kakhovka , Uman and many others throughout Ukraine , local militia formed part of the killing squads . The militia were paid by the German authorities , often with funds confiscated from the Jews . Ukrainians were frequently used in the shooting of the families of Jewish men , so that in Radomyshl ( Radomyśl ) for example , " Einsatzkommando " IVa could restrict itself to the killing of adult men and women . The " Einsatzgruppen " Operational Report USSR No . 88 of September 6 , 1941 records that , 1 , 107 Jewish adults were shot in Radomyshl while the Ukrainian militia unit assisted by liquidating 561 Jewish children and youths . By December 29 , 1942 , a year - and - a - half after the outbreak of war with the USSR the number of Jews executed on Soviet territories with the help of " Schutzmannschaften " amounted to 363 , 211 dead ( Meldung # 51 to Hitler ) , with 285 " Schutzmänner " registered as “ killed in action ” . " SS - Gruppenführer " Erich von dem Bach - Zelewski established a special department in charge of foreign " Schutzmannschaften " that dealt with recruitment and deployment of units for security tasks , guard duties , and labour commando management . Although numerically fewer , Belarusian Auxiliary Police were used just as intensively as were the Ukrainians , even if , as " Einsatzgruppe B " noted , the general Belarusian population was " incapable " of acting on its own against the Jews . Organization in Eastern Europe . Each battalion had a German command , and a projected number of four companies of 124 men each , one with a group of machine gun and three groups of infantry . In reality , the numbers varied greatly between occupied territories . Schuma uniforms had a Escutcheon of nationality on the right sleeve . Some " Schutzmannschaften " were armed with Soviet rifle Mosin - Nagant 91 / 30 , but also with Mauser Mk 98k rifles and MP38 and MP41 submachine gun s . Reichskommissariat Ostland ( Baltic Land ) . The OKW ' s " Guidelines for Special Fields " ( Directive No 21 , Case " Barbarossa " ) issued on March 13 , 1941 in Berlin , divided the new territories following the commencement of war with the USSR , into " North " ( Baltic ) , " Centre " ( Belarus ) , and " South " ( Ukraine ) .