The WAFFEN SS

[Kurttis Thomas]

It was founded in Germany in 1939 after the SS was split into two units but the title of Waffen-SS only became official on 2 March 1940. Although nominally under the leadership of Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, a political and internal security appointee, the Waffen-SS saw action throughout the Second World War under de facto operational control of the Wehrmacht. During the war it grew to 39 divisions, which served as elite combat troops alongside the regular army.

The original cadre of the Waffen-SS came from the Freikorps and the Reichswehr along with various fascist paramilitary formations. Formed at the instruction of Adolf Hitler in 1933, the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler was the first formation of what was to become the Waffen-SS. When the SA was rendered powerless in the Night of the Long Knives, many ex-SA men requested transfer to the SS, swelling its ranks and resulting in the formation of several new units including the SS-Verfügungstruppe, SS-VT to become the SS Division Das Reich and the SS-Totenkopfverbände, SS-TV, the concentration camp guard unit to become the SS Division Totenkopf.

The majority of the Waffen-SS men originally received second rate weapons and equipment with many formations receiving Czech and Austrian weapons and equipment. With the exception of a select few of the 'Germanic' SS Divisions, this policy was continued throughout the war. The majority of the best equipment went to the Heer's elite divisions Panzergrenadier-Division Großdeutschland and Panzer-Lehr-Division.

The premier Waffen-SS divisions began to receive standard equipment once they proved themselves in the Eastern front and were upgraded to panzergrenadier and later panzer divisions. The remainder of the SS Divisions made do with either standard or second rate equipment.

Although it varied through divisions, in the early stages of the war, recruits had to be at least 5"11 tall, extremely fit, and also of Aryan appearance though this policy would relax over the years. It was also generally required that they come from rural areas, as opposed to the cities the Wehrmacht were made up of men from urban backgrounds.

SS combat training consisted primarily of several months of intensive basic training with three objectives; physical fitness, small-arms proficiency and political indoctrination. After basic training, the recruits were sent to specialist schools where they received specific-to-trade training in their chosen combat arm.

For officers, the focus was on leadership and combat command, usually at the SS-Junkerschule at Bad Tölz. The principle of Auftragstaktik which underpinned Wehrmacht and SS training is standard in all armies today, although the concept was invented by the Heer General Staff rather than the SS. A strong emphasis was placed on creating a bond between the officers and men, and officer candidates were made to pass through basic training alongside the enlisted candidates. This created a mutual trust and respect between the officers and men, and meant that the relationship between these groups was very relaxed, unlike the Heer, where strict discipline and a policy of separation between the officers and enlisted men existed. In the Waffen-SS, it was not a requirement to salute officers and a more casual salute was adopted the right arm raised vertically from the elbow - a relaxed version of the Heil salute. This salute is portrayed in many war films. Added to this, the practice of addressing a superior as Herr. was also forbidden, with everyone up to Himmler being addressed simply by their rank.

During the war the Waffen-SS was presented as a multinational force protecting Europe from the terrible evils of Communism.

As the outbreak of war neared Hitler ordered the formation of several combat formations from the SS-Standarten. The resulting three formations took part in the Invasion of Poland as well as Fall Gelb. During this campaign, as for most of the war, Waffen SS units were operationally under the control of the OKW. This meant that they functioned completely as army units but their parent was not the army. During the campaign in the west, both the Totenkopf and LSSAH were implicated in atrocities. The overall performance of the Waffen-SS had been poor during these campaigns.

The poor initial performance of the Waffen-SS units was mainly due to the emphasis on political indoctrination rather than the long and effective military training achieved by the army before the war. This was largely due to the shortage of experienced NCOs, who preferred to stay with the regular army. Despite this, the experience gained from the Polish, French and Balkan campaigns and the peculiarly egalitarian form of training soon turned the best Waffen-SS units into elite formations.

On several occasions, the Waffen-SS was criticised by Heer commanders for their reckless disregard for casualties while taking or holding objectives However, the Waffen-SS divisions eventually proved themselves to a skeptical Heer as capable soldiers, although there were exceptions such as Kampfgruppe Nord's rout from the town of Salla during its first engagement in Lapland.


The Waffen-SS demonstrated their mature combat ability during the Third Battle of Kharkov, where the II.SS-Panzerkorps under SS-Brigadeführer Paul Hausser recaptured the city and blunted the Soviet offensive, saving the forces of Erich von Manstein's Army Group South from being cut off and destroyed.

In mid 1943, the II.SS-Panzerkorps took part in Operation Citadel and the Leibstandarte, Das Reich and Totenkopf took part in the immense armour battles near Prokhorovka on the southern flank of the Kursk salient.


In the wake of the defeat at Kursk, the divisions of the Waffen-SS, particularly those considered 'elite' such as the Leibstandarte and the Wiking were increasingly deployed as armoured 'fire brigades', hurried to the most crucial sectors of the German theatres of operation. Hitler's increasing reliance on the men of the Waffen-SS during the final years of the war is well-exemplified by their prominence in the final major German operations, such as the Battle of the Bulge and Operation Spring Awakening.

Foreign SS Volunteers

Himmler, wishing to expand the Waffen-SS, advocated the idea of SS-controlled foreign legions. The Reichsführer, with his penchant for medieval lore, envisioned a united Aryan 'crusade', fighting to save what Nazis saw as Aryan race from what they described as Subhuman. While native Germanic-speaking volunteers were approved almost instantly, Himmler eagerly pressed for the creation of more and more foreign units.

In late 1940, the creation of a multinational SS division, the Wiking, was authorised. Command of the division was given to SS-Brigadeführer Felix Steiner. Steiner immersed himself in the organisation of the volunteer division, soon becoming a strong advocate for an increased number of foreign units. The Wiking was committed to combat several days after the launch of Operation Barbarossa, proving itself an impressive fighting unit.

Soon Danish, Belgian, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish and Dutch Freiwilligen formations were committed to combat, gradually proving their worth. Hitler, however, was hesitant to allow foreign volunteers to be formed into formations based on their ethnicity, preferring that they be absorbed into multi-national divisions. Hitler feared that unless the foreign recruits were committed to the idea of a united Germania, then their reasons for fighting were suspect, and could damage the German cause.

Himmler was allowed to create his new formations, but they were to be commanded by German officers and NCOs. Beginning in 1942–43, several new formations were formed from Bosnians, Latvians, Estonians, and Ukrainians. There were plans for a Greek division, but the plan was abandoned after the Greek partisan resistance blew up the organizing party's headquarters. Many Greeks from Southern Russia, however, entered the divisions as Ukrainians. Himmler ordered that new Waffen-SS units formed with men of non-Germanic ethnicity were to be designated Division der SS rather than SS Division. In some of these cases, the wearing of the SS runes on the collar was forbidden, with several of these formations wearing national insignia instead.

All soldiers of non-German citizenship in these units had their rank prefix changed from SS to Waffen. An example of a Division der SS is the Estonian 20.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS. The combat ability of the divisions der SS varied greatly. For example, the Latvian, French, Spanish and Estonian formations performed exceptionally, while the Albanian and Croatian units performed poorly.

Many Latvian "volunteers" were actually conscripted after February 1943, even though Nazi propaganda claimed that they had consented to join the Waffen-SS Latvian Legion 15th and 19th Divisions. The Nazis called these Latvian conscripts volunteers in order to avoid the 1907 Hague Convention Rules which stated that citizens from occupied countries could not be conscripted by occupying forces. However, prior to February 10th, 1943 some Latvians actually did join these divisions as volunteers but the vast majority did so not for Nazi ideals but because they wanted arms and financing to liberate their country from the Soviet occupation that began in 1940. Therefore, amongst themselves they referred to their divisions as the Latvian Legion rather than as Waffen-SS fighting for Hitler.

Towards the end of 1943, it became apparent that numbers of volunteer recruits were inadequate to meet the needs of the German military, so conscription was introduced. The Estonian 20.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS is an example of such a conscript formation, which produced outstanding soldiers with an unblemished record.

Himmler not satisfied with the growing number of volunteer formations, Himmler sought to gain control of all volunteer forces serving alongside Germany. This put the SS at odds with the Heer, as several volunteer units had been placed under Heer control. Despite this, Himmler constantly campaigned to have all foreign volunteers fall under the SS banner. In several cases, like the ROA and the 5.SS-Freiwilligen-Sturmbrigade Wallonien he was successful, and by the last year of the war, most foreign volunteers units did fall under SS command. Still another unit, the Indian Legion was composed of Indian troops, mostly prisoners of war recruited by the Germans with help from a marginal Indian anti-colonial leader named Mohammed Shedai. The unit became a part of the political plans of another, more famous, Indian nationalist: Subhas Chandra Bose, who ousted Shedai from his position of favor with the German military authorities, and who wanted the Legion to participate in a German invasion of British India. After Bose left Germany for Japanese-controlled south-east Asia in 1943 to take charge of the Indian National Army, the Indian Legion was diverted from its original goal of fighting the British in India and absorbed into the German attempt to hold on to occupied Europe. Morale dropped sharply in consequence. The unit was deployed in France, where it earned a reputation for atrocities, although some individual members deserted to the French resistance. The Indian Legion disintegrated in the aftermath of D-Day.

While several volunteer units performed poorly in combat, the majority acquitted themselves well. French and Spanish SS volunteers, along with remnants of the 11.SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Division Nordland formed the final defence of the Reichstag in 1945.

some of the more unusual units to exist in the Waffen SS was the British Free Corps, a unit composed of citizens of the British Commonwealth, was led by John Amery but never had a strength of more than 27 men at any given time. An attempt to use IRA agents to recruit an Irish unit from among British Army POWs was a similar failure. However two Irishmen are known to have served in the Waffen SS, they were James Brady and Frank Stringer.

After the surrender, many volunteers were tried and imprisoned by their countries. In several cases, volunteers were executed.To avoid this, many ex-volunteers from these regions joined underground resistance groups which were engaged fighting the Soviets until the 1950s.

Helped by ODESSA network, Walloon volunteer leader Leon Degrelle, who fought at the Battle of Berlin and was decorated by Hitler, escaped to Spain, where, despite being sentenced to death in absentia by the Belgian authorities, he lived in exile until his death in 1994. John Amery, the leader of the British Free Corps, was tried and convicted of treason by the British government. He was executed in December 1945. US airman Martin James Monti was charged with treason and sentenced to 25 years and was paroled in 1960. In Estonia and Latvia, the majority of Waffen SS veterans were conscripts who were at least partly considered freedom fighters. In an April 13, 1950 message from the U.S. High Commission in Germany, signed by General Frank McCloy to the Secretary of State, clarified the US position on the "Baltic Legions": they were not to be seen as "movements", "volunteer", or "SS". In short, they were not given the training, indoctrination, and induction normally given to SS members. Subsequently the US Displaced Persons Commission in September 1950 declared that

The Baltic Waffen SS Units are to be considered as separate and distinct in purpose, ideology, activities, and qualifications for membership from the German SS, and therefore the Commission holds them not to be a movement hostile to the Government of the United States.

Still, much debate is continuing on this issue and because of renewed condemnation of Nazi regime across the globe, official statements of the position of Estonian and Latvian Waffen SS veterans remain ambiguous. Although a minority of such veterans did (and still do) adhere to the Nazi ideologies, the vast majority of Baltic Legion veterans actually did not like their SS superiors or their ideology. Latvian Legion Day, commemorated on16 March, had been marked privately by Latvian veterans abroad since 1952, and also in Latvia from the early 1990s, as a day to remember those nationals who fought to protect their country from the Soviet dictatorship that was imposed on them in 1940. In 1998, the Latvian Parliament declared 16 March an official commemorative day, but chose to call it the more neutral-sounding "Remembrance Day for Latvian Soldiers" Latviešu karavīru atceres diena. This distinction was made by the 1998 Latvian government because the vast majority of Latvians do not remember the Nazi years in a positive light and feel that the Waffen-SS not only ruined their international reputation but also pillaged their country during the Nazi occupation years. However, under pressure from the European Union,the members of the cabinet and personnel of National Armed Forces withheld their participation in commemorative events in 1999 and the parliament eventually reversed its decision in 2000. and the parliament eventually reversed its decision in 2000.

By the end of the war, around 60% of Waffen-SS members were non-German.

Sorry this took so long to post I had to go back and review allota books. I will post pictures later give me time.

[Kurttis Thomas]

I started writing this at 12:00 PM.

[Kurttis Thomas]

Finnish SS members
Correction not SS my mistake.


Waffen SS members in Russia I think the year is 1943 and they are close to the Kursk offensive.



French SS members


1st Waffen SS somtime around the Kursk offensive.


Waffen SS Calvary men not somthin you see every day.


Like I metioned the Indians.


Hitler Youth Waffen SS in Normandy.

[Kurttis Thomas]

SS Soldiers in Russia Close to the Kursk offensive note the hand heled anti tank wepon.


Spanish member of the SS.

[Kurttis Thomas]

Waffen SS poster

[McCoy]

Originally Posted by Kurttis Thomas

Finnish SS members

This photo isn't at all Finnish Waffen SS soldiers. It's Finns allright but it's Finnish soldiers in Finland fighting the Russians for Finland n' has nothin' at all to do with Germany or Waffen SS.

[Freightshaker]

Originally Posted by Kurttis Thomas

Hey!! I got that book!! That's an old one, I think I picked it up when I was in high school. Paul Hausser is my favorite WW2 commander. He had quite an illustrious career both in the Heer and the SS but never lost touch with his troops. He is considered the father of the Waffen SS.

[Kurttis Thomas]

Sorry McCoy two sorces and a book said they were SS. My mistake. Thanks for the correction I will fix it right away.

[Kurttis Thomas]

These are Finnish SS.

[Kurttis Thomas]

One of Piepers Royal Tiger tanks.
[IMG][/IMG] What the hell hit that thing had to be somthing big look at the holes