Belgrade Special Police

The SP UGB exchanged information with a number of different agencies, including the German military intelligence service, the Abwehr, and other collaborationist organisations such as the Serbian Volunteer Corps.

[3] Intending to secure his southern flank for the impending attack on the Soviet Union, Adolf Hitler began placing heavy pressure on Yugoslavia to join the Axis.

Two days later, a group of pro-Western, Serbian nationalist Royal Yugoslav Air Force officers deposed the country's regent, Prince Paul, in a bloodless coup d'état, placed his teenaged nephew Peter on the throne, and brought to power a "government of national unity" led by General Dušan Simović.

[6] On 21 April 1941, the German military area commander for Belgrade, Oberst Ernst Moritz von Kaisenberg, appointed Dragomir Jovanović to lead the city administration.

The Gestapo had encountered Paranos during Hermann Göring's 1936 visit to Yugoslavia to meet with Yugoslav Prime Minister Milan Stojadinović, and they considered him an experienced and loyal officer.

[10] On 30 April 1941, the Germans settled on a leader for the Serbian puppet administration, Milan Aćimović, a staunch anti-communist who served as Yugoslavia's Minister of Internal Affairs during the winter of 1939–40.

[11] By the time of the communist-led uprising, the SP UGB was receiving praise from von Kaisenberg, as well as knives, rubber truncheons, rifles and handguns.

[16] The SP UGB operated a network of informants who reported on the arrival of suspicious persons, meetings and conversations, and conducted regular inspections of companies, factories, institutions and hospitals.

Although the SP UGB was tied to the administration of the City of Belgrade, it began to send teams of agents to regional centres, such as Niš, Kragujevac, Šabac, Valjevo, Požarevac and Leskovac.

For example, in November 1941, the head of Einsatzgruppe Serbien directed the SP UGB to conduct an investigation into the "Snaga i svetlost" power station, where, according to German information, there was a grouping of communists.

[20] The SP UGB also exchanged information with the collaborationist Serbian Volunteer Corps, the German military intelligence bureau, the Abwehr, and Mihailović's Chetniks.

[8] On September 11, 1943, Special Police, alongside Serbian State Guard and battalion of Posava brigade of Chetniks, blockaded pro-Partisan village of Vranić, near Belgrade.

One villager was killed by Chetniks and around a dozen were arrested, 4 of which were taken to prison Special Police, where they were interrogated and tortured, and later isolated at Banjica concentration camp.