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| SS Polizei-Selbstschutz-Regiment Sandschak | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1943–1944 |
| Size | 5,000[1] |
| Nickname |
|
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Hoxha Patchariz |
SS Polizei Selbstschutz Regiment Sandschak (fromGerman; "SSPoliceSelf-Protection Regiment Sandžak",Serbo-Croatian Latin:SS-policijska pukovnija samozaštite Sandžaka), also known as theKrempler Legion (Serbo-Croatian Latin:Legija "Krempler",Serbo-Croatian Cyrillic:Легија „Кремплер") was a unit established on the territory ofSandžak by the seniorWaffen-SS officerKarl von Krempler under the command of Hoxha Patchariz[3] inAxis occupied Yugoslavia. Krempler went to the Sandžak region (named after the Ottoman administrative unit"Sanjak") in October and reorganized the local volunteer militia of around 5,000 anti-communist, anti-Serb Muslim men headquartered inSjenica.[1]
The SS Police Self-DefenceRegiment Sandžak was created by joining threebattalions ofAlbanian collaborationist troops with one battalion of theSandžak Muslim militia.[4] At one point around 2,000 members of the regiment operated in Sjenica.[5]
All newly recruited members of this police were sent for two-months military training toRaška andVučitrn. They sang Bosnian songs while they marched through populated places.[6]
In August 1944 took part in operationOperation Rübezahl under command of5th SS Mountain Corps.[7] On 14 October 1944Yugoslav partisans defeated the regiment during a surprise attack in which they took Sjenica and pushed it back to Duga Poljana, 23 kilometres (14 mi) to the east. This action marked the end of the unit in Sandžak, although Germans recaptured Sjenica on 25 October 1944. In November 1944, Pačariz together with his troops retreated to Sarajevo where the regiment was put under command ofUstaše GeneralMaks Luburić. Pačariz was promoted to the rank of Ustaše Colonel.[citation needed]
In 1945 Pačariz was captured nearBanja Luka, put on trial and found guilty for massacres of civilians. He was executed as a war criminal.[8]
In Sanjak, the border region between South- West Serbia and Northern Montenegro, the Italians formed a 3,000-strong anti-Partisan Moslem Militia, under Hodza Pačariz, reformed in early 1944 as the Moslem Legion, under SS-Major Karl von Krempler.Cite error: The named reference "Nigel" was defined multiple times with different content (see thehelp page).
A Muslim unit, the Legija Kempler, operated in the Sandžak region (in Serbia).
Легију „Кремплер", састављени од три батаљона албанских квислиншких трупа и муслиманске фашистичке милиције у Санџаку.
Немци су тада на подручју Сјенице имали ... и око 2000 СС добровољачка легија Кремплер