A new book on the police battalions

[CARNARO]

Hello and Merry Christmas

I'm very happy to inform you that, after a long wait, the release of my book "Ordnungspolizei. Encyclopedia of the german police battalions, September 1939-July 1942", has been finally announced
Look at:

http://www.leforlag.se/?p=litteratur&id=38

The book has 480 pages, in which every police battalion formed in the period September 1939/July 1942, has been examined. Each chapter deals with a single battalion, so there are 145 chapters, i.e. 145 battalions examined, the Series 200 included, as well as the "esoteric" territorial battalions in the Protectorate BuM (PB "Prag", "Klattau", "Jung Bunzlau" etc). "Special" battalions are also examined: RPB "Leipzig" and "Ostland".

The text has 3.867 footnotes and 42 tables, a full >200-volumes bibliography, the index of the peoples with about 800 names and the index of places, with >1.500 entries. Moreover there are 100 pictures, of which 33 never published pics of the PB 72 in Slovenia, taken from the massive photo-album of a platoon leader of the 2/72.

The text is in english and will be published in April 2009 and distributed through Casemate Publishing in May

I'll inform you about the details, so, keep you on alert

Max

[Chap15]

Why stop at July, 1942?

[CARNARO]

The book stops at July 1942 basically because in this date the Police Regiments were formed, and the battalions substantially lost their original identity: actually, no more the battalions were identified with their old ancillary number, but with a more anonymous regimental number - for example the PB 85 became the II/Polizei-Regiment 13, etc.
I consider this date as a sort of turning point in the history of the police battalions.

Then, in the future, I have the idea to write a second volume, covering the history of the regiments, from July 1942 onwards. But this will be a very long & hard work, that will require deep researches, mainly based on unpublished sources and archivial resources

Max

[Michael Fay]

Hello Canaro and Merry Christmas and Julmond,
Thank you for sharing this upcoming book.
do you know if this book will explore in any way the political claims , beliefs, ideas or ideology of those who commanded the Police ?
--Michael

[CARNARO]

Hello Mike

well... I have begun my researchs many years ago, after reading Christopher Browning's "Ordinary Men", and in a way or another, my book was inspired by it.
As you know, Browning began a real debate, concerning the dynamics that brought next-door men to perform brutal warcrimes, without being sadist criminals or particularly indoctrinated soldiers: a debate that is still open.

In this sense, in my book I give my personal opinion about this matter, but this is not the aim of the book. Instead, in it, I examine the military history of the battalions, from their beginning until their reorganization into regiments.
Clearly, this history includes a complete examinations of the war crimes in which the battalions were involved and of which I have knowledge: and this has been done under the point of view of the unit, and not of the single perpetrator, even though all of them (or at least, all of which I know) were mentioned.
To resume, my book is, substantially, an history of the units and not an history of the men.


Max