The Ordenienst, or Jewish police in Westerbork, were universally detested by camp inmates for their cruelty and role in collaborating with the Nazis. Composed of Jews from Holland and other European countries, members of the OD were responsible for guarding the punishment block and generally maintaining order in the camp. The OD consisting of 20 men in mid-1942, grew to a peak of 182 men in April 1943 and stood at 67 in February 1944. Wearing the "OD" badge on the left breast was decreed in Camp Order No. 27 of 23 April 1943.
Photo credit: Rijksinstituut voor Oorlogsdocumentatie, courtesy of USHMM Photo Archives
This struck me as odd. If Hitler was so generally disposed against Jews in WW2, why would the Jews be carrying out police duties in the camps? Seems like a security risk to me, since "Judea declares war on Germany".
According to Wikipedia:
Quote:
During World War II the Nazis used the facilities and turned it into a deportation camp for Jews, about 400 Gypsies and in the very end of the War for some 400 women from the resistance movement.
If there were 400 Gypsies in the Camp, and the Gypsies hadn't declared war on Germany, why weren't the Gypsies in charge of the camp policing? Maybe it's just me. This just seems odd...
