Many Executors and Few Deniers
During the war up to 355 000 men and women belonged to the Order Police, Criminal Investigation Police and Gestapo. The Order Police had the most manpower with around 310 000 members in 1942. These were supplemented by auxiliary formations and, in the occupied territories, by police units recruited from the local population. Ten thousands of Order Police grouped in more than 100 police battalions were deployed in the occupied territories.
Every policeman was seen as a stanchion of the Nazi regime, although they had different functions and responsibilities. Many officers were particularly zealous in this regard. They dutifully performed their given tasks, be it traffic control or mass executions. Only a very small minority made use of the possibilities available to them of not committing crimes or even of helping those who were being persecuted.
