SS: Hitler's Foreign Divisions

Foreign Volunteers in the Waffen-SS 1940-45

Chris Bishop

• Publisher: Amber Books Ltd
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781908273994
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: World War II
• Index: History

The divisions of the Waffen-SS were the elite of Hitler's armies in World War II, but the most fanatical of them were not even German. The book offers a comprehensive examination of every foreign Waffen-SS formation, including well-known divisions such as Wiking, Nord, and Prinz Eugen, notoriously brutal units such as the Kaminski Brigade and the British-recruited Britisches Freikorps. Each unit's history, structure and combat record is described in detail.Despite their non-Germanic background, the Norwegians, Dutch, Danes, Belgians, Latvians, Estonians, Cossacks, Ukrainians and other nationalities – often motivated by an extreme anti-Communist zeal – fought hard on the Eastern Front for the Nazi cause, even when their position was hopeless. Often treated badly by their German commanders, the foreign SS units were not all excellent combat formations, however. Some, like the British and Indian volunteers, were used for propaganda purposes only, while others like the notorious Dirlewanger Brigade, who helped brutally surpress the Warsaw Rising in 1944, were nothing more than murderous criminals in uniform. Other divisions formed in the final months of the war never reached functional strength, and were disbanded before they saw action. SS: Hitler's Foreign Divisions is a definitive history of the 350, 000 foreigners who fought for Hitler and Germany in World War II.

THE FOREIGN SS DIVISIONS

From its earliest days, the SS was a volunteer organization which saw itself as an elite within the Nazi state. Troops of the first SS divisions were exceptionally fit, and the first foreign recruits were expected to be of the same standard. However, by the middle of the war manpower shortages meant that to fill out newly forming units like the Prinz Eugen and the Florian Geyer divisions the SS had to accept recruits of a considerably lower standard.

5th SS-Panzer Division Wiking

• Nov 1940 – Jan 1941: SS-Division (motorisierte) Germania

• Jan 1941 – Nov 1942: SS-Division (motorisierte) Wiking

• Nov 1942 – Oct 1943: SS-Panzergrenadier Division Wiking

• Oct 1943 – May 1945: 5th SS-Panzer Division Wiking

Wiking has not been accused of any war crimes, but the infamous Joseph Mengele served (briefly) in the Pioneer Battalion (where he was also awarded the Iron Cross) during his time in the Waffen-SS.

Initially authorized in May 1940 as SS-Division (motorisierte) Germania, the division was renamed within days, becoming the SS-Division (motorisierte) Wiking, to avoid confusion with the Germania Regiment of the SS-VT Division. The Germania Regiment would form the core of the new division, but it was intended that the bulk of the formation’s personnel would be provided by Scandinavian volunteers – hence the name Wiking.

Joining the Germania Regiment in the division would be the Nordland and Westland SS Regiments. The first truly international division of the Waffen-SS, Wiking numbered Dutch, Danes, Norwegians, Finns, Walloons and Flemings among its personnel, together with a smattering of Volksdeutsche from the Balkans. However, in spite of the propaganda, which made much of its international nature, the bulk of the division’s personnel (as much as 90 per cent) was German. Formation of the division began in the autumn of 1940, and by the time of the German invasion of Russia in June 1941 (Operation Barbarossa), Wiking was a fully fledged, fully trained SS motorized infantry division.

First battles

Wiking first saw action on 29 June 1941. Assigned to Army Group South, it took part in the fighting for Tarnopol in Galicia. In August 1941, the division was at the head of the army group as it fought to establish a bridgehead across the Dnieper River. Continuing the drive, Wiking fought its way through Dnepropetrovsk and on to Rostov. When the Germans were pushed out of Rostov by the first truly successful Red Army counter-attack, Wiking moved back to the line of the Mius River where it spent the winter months.

Although it suffered heavy losses, it achieved an excellent reputation, even earning the grudging respect of the Soviets in several battle reports for its pugnacious fighting spirit. Soviet commanders were always concerned to learn that their troops were facing the soldiers of the Wiking Division. When the Germans launched their major offensive in the summer of 1942, Wiking was again one of the spearhead divisions. It fought its way into and through the Caucasus, and would remain in the area until von Kleist’s Army Group was forced to pull back after the fall of Stalingrad early in 1943. By this time it had been converted from a motorized infantry division to a panzergrenadier, or armoured infantry, division.

Individual elements of the Wiking Division were added and removed many times in its existence. As a replacement for the disbanded Finnish battalion of the Nordland Regiment, the Estonian Narwa Regiment was transferred to Wiking. The Nordland Regiment itself was detached to help establish another Waffen-SS division, providing the nucleus of the new Nor...