Ordnungspolizei Flag of the Ordnungspolizei The Ordnungspolizei was the name for the regular German police force that existed in Nazi Germany between the years of 1936 and 1945. Translated as the "Order Police", the Ordnungspolizei were formed by an act of the German Interior Ministry in the summer of 1936. The act absorbed the regular German police forces in the SS, incorporating all local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. The police were divided into the Ordnungspolizei (Orpo or Regular Police), the Sicherheitspolizei (Sipo or Security Police), and the Kriminalpolizei (Kripo or Criminal Police. The Orpo comprised the Schutzpolizei (Safety Police), the Gendarmerie (Rural Police), and the Gemeindepolizei (Local Police), while the Sipo consisted of the Gestapo and Sicherheitsdienst. The Kriminal Polizei was a core of professional detectives who were tasked with investigating violent and serious crimes. The Kripo existed on a fine line between full SS and regular police, until 1942 when the Kripo, SD, and Gestapo were all combined under the authority of the RSHA. The Orpo was commanded SS-Oberstgruppenführer Kurt Daluege, who answered to Heinrich Himmler, who was the Reichsführer-SS. As part of his duties as commander of the SS, which now controlled the Orpo, Himmler was also named as 'Chef dem Deutschen Polizei. The Ordnungspolizei was considered a full branch of the SS but maintained a separate system of insignia and Orpo ranks. It was also possible for SS members to hold dual status in both the Orpo and the SS, and SS-Generals were referred to simultaneously by both rank titles. For instance, an Obergruppenführer in the SS, who was also a Police General, would be referred to as Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei. In addition, all Orpo Police Generals gained equivalent Waffen-SS rank in 1944, so that they would be treated as military officers, instead of police officials, if captured by the Allies. Thus an Orpo general, who was also a member of the SS, would be referred to as SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei und Waffen-SS. By the close of the Second World War, the Orpo controlled not only the regular German police, but also has absorbed minor law enforcement agencies such as the Postal Police, Railway Security Police, Water Protection Police, and even night watchmen who were considered state employees. The Orpo also maintained a military division, considered part of the Waffen-SS as well as a number of Police Regiments which performed security duties under the authority of the RSHA. The traditions of the Orpo continued in East Germany which maintained a state police force designed closely after Orpo and SS structures. In West Germany, however, the police were decentralized and law enforcement functions given back to local authorities. The exception was the Landespolizei which continues to this day as the Federal Police of Germany. Many Landespolizei regulations, procedures, and even some uniforms and insignia, can be traced back to Orpo origins. External links Description of the Sipo Landespolizei Link Flags of the Ordnungspolizei FAVORITE ARTICLES: History of the World    History of the United States    History of Europe    Ancient History    History    Military History    World War I    Bombing of Dresden    California    US Constitution    Frank Sinatra    Boston    Marbury v. Madison This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. You must provide a link to http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html To view or edit this article at Wikipedia go to http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordnungspolizei