Polish Blue Police Nazi Collaborators (b/w photo)

The Blue Police Collaborators were formed by Nazi Germany officially on October 30, 1939 by reinstating Polish state police (Einheimische Polizei) existing before the invasion of Poland, with German instead of Polish leadership. It was an auxiliary organization purposed to keep law and order in the General Government territory. Similar police organizations existed in all German occupied countries based on professional local police force. Initially used to deal with purely criminal activities, property crimes and common banditry in occupied Poland, which greatly increased after the invasion; the Blue Police was later used also to prevent smuggling, which was an essential element of underground economy under Nazism.