Strafbattalion
| Strafbataillon | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1942–1945 |
| Country |
 Nazi Germany
|
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Penal unit |
| Role | Punishment |
| Disbanded | May 8, 1945 |
Strafbataillon (English: penal battalion) is the generic term for penal units created from prisoners during the Second World War in all branches of the Wehrmacht. Soldiers and civilian criminals sentenced to these units were generally poorly armed and required to undertake dangerous high-casualty missions. Strafbataillons were operated and administered by the Feldgendarmerie, the German military police.
By 1943, the course of World War II had turned against Nazi Germany. Due to military losses and the need to maintain discipline by example, the German High Command ordered that further punishment units should be formed from the thousands of Wehrmacht military prisoners held in its . These Strafbataillon, which were under the control of the Feldgendarmerie, were then used to conduct dangerous operations (sometimes akin to suicide missions) for the Heer such as clearing minefields, assaulting difficult objectives and defending positions against overwhelming attacking forces. They were also made to do manual hard labor in front-line locations, building and repairing military infrastructure and defenses.
Prisoners that survived their missions would be deemed 'fit to fight' and returned to the field with the 'rights' of a combat soldier. Although Strafbataillon were mainly used on the Eastern Front, some were sent to the Ardennes on the Western Front during the last major German offensive in December 1944.
The Strafbataillon were developed from the Sonderabteilungen (English: special departments) that existed in pre-war Nazi Germany. Initially, Nazi policy was to rebuild the armed forces by keeping "potential troublemakers" away from the troops and removing any "destructive elements" from military service. But on 21 May 1935, Adolf Hitler decreed that under the new Nazi Defence Act any conscript who was deemed "unfit for military service because of subversive activity" would be arrested. However soldiers who were deemed disruptive to military discipline but were otherwise "worthy of service" would be sent to military Sonderabteilungen.
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