Hiwis

E537485

Hiwis were auxiliary forces, often recruited from Soviet prisoners of war and local collaborators, who assisted Nazi Germany in carrying out tasks such as guarding and operating concentration and extermination camps during World War II.

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Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf World War II auxiliary units
auxiliary military personnel
collaborationist auxiliary forces
associatedWith German police units
SS NERFINISHED
Wehrmacht NERFINISHED
country Nazi Germany
employer Nazi Germany NERFINISHED
hasEtymology abbreviation of Hilfswillige
historicalContext Nazi occupation of Eastern Europe
languageOfName German
legalStatus auxiliary volunteers
non-German auxiliaries
meaningOfName those willing to help
notableFor guarding Jewish prisoners
involvement in the Holocaust
involvement in war crimes
participation in Nazi occupation policies
operatedIn Eastern Front NERFINISHED
German-occupied Poland NERFINISHED
Nazi concentration camps system
occupied Soviet Union
opposedBy Allied forces NERFINISHED
Soviet partisans
participantIn World War II
partOf German armed forces auxiliary system
SS and police auxiliary units NERFINISHED
Wehrmacht auxiliary units NERFINISHED
perpetratorIn crimes against humanity
war crimes on the Eastern Front
recruitedFrom Eastern European civilians
Soviet prisoners of war
local collaborators
occupied Soviet territories
roleIn Holocaust in the East NERFINISHED
guarding forced labor sites
mass shootings of civilians
timePeriod 1941–1945
usedFor anti-partisan operations
combat support roles
guarding concentration camps
guarding extermination camps
logistical support
operating concentration camps
operating extermination camps
rear-area security duties
victimGroupOfRecruitment Soviet POWs under coercive conditions

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.