Hauptmann Rudolf Hoetz, a commander of Ordnungspolizei at Drohobycz, in Summer uniform. JR.

Ordinary men ? (3)

Schutzpolizei (Schupo) men stationed at Drohobycz, probably 1941-'43.  The uniform is standard for armed Polizei of the period; all are of enlisted/non-commissioned rank.  The man furthest left has the Polizei rank of Meister (equivalent of SS-Sturmscharfuhrer); the pair to the right appear to hold the rank of Wachtmeister (equals SS-Unterscharfuhrer); the fourth man, behind the Meister, is a Hauptwachtmeister (SS equivalent Hauptscharfuhrer).  The relatively elderly profile of personnel in Police/Special Police units deployed in occupied territories and rear areas is reflected in this image.  JR.

Ordinary men ? (2)

Oberscharfuhrer Felix Landau, a senior Gestapo resident officer at Drohobycz, and compiler of a diary which in part documents the activities of the German security forces in the region, 1941-'44.  JR.