Serbian State Guard

Serbian State Guard
Serbian State Guard
Active	1942–1945
Allegiance	Germany  Government of National Salvation (until October 1944)  Chetniks (October 1944 – January 1945)
Type	Gendarmerie
Role	Anti-Partisan operations
Size	25,000–36,000
Nickname(s)	Nedić's men Nedićevci
Engagements	World War II in Yugoslavia
Commanders
Notable commanders	Dragomir Jovanović Milan Kalabić

The Serbian State Guard (Serbian: Srpska državna straža, SDS; Serbian Cyrillic: Српска државна стража; German: Serbische Staatsgarde/Serbische Staatswache), also known as the Nedićevci, was a collaborationist paramilitary force used to impose law and order within the German occupied territory of Serbia during World War II. It was formed from two former Yugoslav gendarmerie regiments, was created with the approval of the German military authorities, and for a long period was controlled by the Higher SS and Police Leader in the occupied territory. It assisted the Germans in imposing one of the most brutal occupation regimes in occupied Europe and helped guard and execute prisoners at the Banjica concentration camp in Belgrade. Its leaders and much of the rank and file were sympathetic to the Chetnik movement of Draža Mihailović, and it was purged by the Germans on several occasions for that reason. In October 1944, as the Soviet Red Army closed on Belgrade, the SDS was transferred to Mihailović's control by a member of the fleeing Nedić administration, but it quickly disintegrated during its withdrawal west, with only a small number of former SDS members being captured by the British near the Italian-Yugoslav border in May 1945.