Do not put every formation in one box

OUN, UPA, SS 'Galizien' and auxiliary police: who was who?

OUN was a political underground organisation, UPA was an insurgent army, Ukrainian auxiliary police served within the German occupation system, and the SS 'Galizien' formation belonged to the German Waffen-SS. Personnel and networks sometimes overlapped, but the organisations were not identical. Distinguishing them is necessary for assigning responsibility to the correct command structure.

OUN: the political organisation

The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists was founded in 1929 as a clandestine nationalist movement seeking an independent Ukrainian state. It used political organisation, propaganda, sabotage and terrorism. In 1940 it split into competing factions commonly identified with Andriy Melnyk and Stepan Bandera. OUN-B later built the political underground that created and directed much of UPA, but a political organisation and its armed formations should still be named separately.

UPA: the insurgent army

The Ukrainian Insurgent Army emerged in 1942-1943 and fought for Ukrainian independence through guerrilla warfare. Its enemies changed over time and included German forces, Soviet partisans and security troops, Polish underground units and other opponents. UPA also carried out the organised anti-Polish campaign in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia, including attacks on civilian settlements. The formation had regional commands and units, so responsibility should be traced through the relevant operational structure whenever sources allow.

Auxiliary police under German occupation

Local Ukrainian auxiliary police units operated under German occupation authorities. They guarded ghettos and prisons, carried out arrests, escorted victims and in many places participated in mass shootings and anti-partisan operations. Some policemen had nationalist connections, and in 1943 significant numbers deserted and later entered UPA or local underground structures. This personnel flow is historically important, but it does not make every police action an UPA operation or every UPA unit a former police formation.

SS 'Galizien' and related police regiments

The 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, commonly called SS 'Galizien', was a German Waffen-SS formation recruited largely from Ukrainians of Galicia and commanded within the German military system. It was not an UPA division. Before the division's full deployment, associated police regiments and training formations operated under German command; investigations into Huta Pieniacka concern personnel from the 4th SS Police Regiment together with other armed participants. Precise naming matters because the German chain of command, local collaboration and possible cooperation with nationalist units must be analysed separately.

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