Zollgrenzschutz: Border Guards on the Frontier of the Reich, Hauptzollamt Villach, 1941–1945 - Hardcover

Chiussi, Tommaso

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0764367056 ISBN 13: 9780764367052

Publisher: Schiffer Military History, 2023

Synopsis

A new illustrated history of a relatively small, obscure German police unit, which occupied a lonely outpost along the mountainous southeastern border of the Third Reich.

After occupying the Balkans early in the war, the Axis powers constantly struggled to police the region. The partisan presence was quite substantial, and while the various fractured guerrilla groups expended a great deal of energy fighting among themselves, they were still a threat to German/Italian control.

The Germans and Italians were heavily engaged with the Allies across multiple fronts, so manpower was thinly spread. Therefore, much of the responsibility for combating a ruthless and in some cases highly militarized resistance contingent fell to nonmilitary police units.

An example of such a unit is the Zollgrenzschutz (customs-border protection) of the Hauptzollamt (main customs office) Villach. Villach lies where the borders of Austria (then part of Greater Germany), Italy, and Slovenia meet.

It is the gateway to the Julian Alps and during the Second World War was the frontier between Nazi Germany and the Balkans.

Italian author Tommaso Chiussi has pieced together the history of the unit through painstaking original research in German, Austrian, Italian, and Slovenian archives.

Included with the manuscript are more than 90 photos, most of which are previously unpublished.

About this title

About the Author

Tommaso Chiussi coauthored Globocnik’s Men (Schiffer, 2016) with Stefano Giusto. He is passionate about the history of the North Adriatic region.

Edition details

• Publisher: Schiffer Military History
• Publication date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0764367056
• ISBN 13: 9780764367052
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 160