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Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts

February 07, 2024

During World War II, the Waffen-SS recruited significant numbers of non-Germans, both as volunteers and conscripts. In total some 500,000 non-Germans and ethnic Germans from outside Germany, mostly from German-occupied Europe, were recruited between 1940 and 1945.[1] The units were under the control of the SS Führungshauptamt (SS Command Main Office) beneath Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler. Upon mobilisation, the units' tactical control was given to the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (High Command of the Armed Forces).[2]

Ukrainian volunteers of the SS Galician Division marching in Sanok, May 1943
Bosniak volunteers of the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS "Handschar" (1st Croatian) being inspected by Haj Amin al-Husseini, alongside SS-Brigadeführer Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig, November 1943

History of the Waffen-SS edit

Main article: Waffen-SS

The Waffen-SS (Armed SS) was created as the militarised wing of the Schutzstaffel (SS; "Protective Squadron") of the Nazi Party. Its origins can be traced back to the selection of a group of 120 SS men in 1933 by Sepp Dietrich to form the Sonderkommando Berlin, which became the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH).[3] In 1934, the SS developed its own military branch, the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT), which together with the LSSAH, evolved into the Waffen-SS.[3] Nominally under the authority of Heinrich Himmler, the Waffen-SS developed a fully militarised structure of command and operations. It grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions during World War II, serving alongside the Heer (army), while never formally being a part of it.[4] Adolf Hitler did not want the Waffen-SS integrated into either the army or the state police. Instead it was to remain an independent force of military-trained men at the disposal of the Führer.[5][6]

Recruitment and conscription edit

In 1934, Himmler initially set stringent requirements for recruits. They were to be German nationals who could prove their Aryan ancestry back to 1800, unmarried, and without a criminal record. Recruits had to be between the ages of 17 and 23, at least 1.74 metres (5 ft 9 in) tall (1.78 metres (5 ft 10 in) for the Leibstandarte). Recruits were required to have perfect teeth and eyesight and provide a medical certificate.[7] By 1938, the height restrictions were relaxed, up to six dental fillings were permitted, and eyeglasses for astigmatism and mild vision correction were allowed.[8] Once World War II began in Europe, the physical requirements were no longer strictly enforced.[8] Following the Battle of France in 1940, Hitler authorised the enlistment of "people perceived to be of related stock", as Himmler put it, to expand the ranks.[9] A number of Danes, Dutch, Norwegians, Swedes, and Finns volunteered to serve in the Waffen-SS under the command of German officers.[10][better source needed][11] Non-Germanic units were not considered to be part of the SS directly, which still maintained its strict racial criteria; instead they were considered to be foreign nationals serving under the command of the SS.[12]

Not all members of the SS-Germanischen Leitstelle (SS-GL) or the RHSA stressed the nationalistic tenets of the Nazi state with respect to the war and occupation but instead looked to pan-Germanic ideas that included disempowering the political elites, while at the same time, integrating Germanic elements from other nations into the Reich on the basis of racial equality.[13] One of the leaders of the SS-GL, Dr. Franz Riedweg (an SS-Colonel), unambiguously emphasized:

"We must be clear about the fact that Germanic politics can only be resolved under the SS, not by the state, not by the bulk of the party!...We cannot build Europe as a police state under the protection of bayonets, but must shape the life of Europe according to greater Germanic viewpoints."[13][a]

Recruitment began in April 1940 with the creation of two regiments: Nordland (later SS Division Nordland) and Westland (later SS Division Wiking).[9] As they grew in numbers, the volunteers were grouped into Legions (with the size of battalion or brigade); their members included the so-called Germanic non-Germans as well as ethnic German officers originating from the occupied territories. Against the Führer's wishes—who forbade using military units of so-called "racially inferior" persons—the SS added foreign recruits and used them to flexibly overcome manpower shortages.[14] Some of these foreign Waffen-SS units were employed for security purposes, among other things.[14]

After Germany invaded the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa, recruits from France, Spain, Belgium, the territory of occupied Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and the Balkans were signed on.[15] By February 1942, Waffen-SS recruitment in south-east Europe turned into compulsory conscription for all German minorities of military age.[16] From 1942 onwards, further units of non-Germanic recruits were formed.[11] Legions were formed of men from Estonia, Latvia as well as men from Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia, Ukraine, Russia, and Cossacks.[17] However, by 1943 the Waffen-SS could no longer claim to be an "elite" fighting force overall. Recruitment and conscription based on "numerical over qualitative expansion" took place, with many of the "foreign" units being good for only rear-guard duty.[18]

A system of nomenclature developed to formally distinguish personnel based on their place of origin. Germanic units would have the "SS" prefix, while non-Germanic units were designated with the "Waffen" prefix to their names.[19] The formations with volunteers of Germanic background were officially named Freiwilligen (volunteer) (Scandinavians, Dutch, and Flemish), including ethnic Germans born outside the Reich known as Volksdeutsche, and their members were from satellite countries. These were organised into independent legions and had the designation Waffen attached to their names for formal identification.[20] In addition, the German SS Division Wiking included recruits from Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Estonia throughout its history.[21] Despite manpower shortages, the Waffen-SS was still based on the racist ideology of Nazism.[22] Early in 1943, the Waffen-SS accepted 12,643 of the 53,000 recruits it garnered in western Ukraine and by 1944 the number reached as high as 22,000.[23]

Recruitment efforts in 1943 in Estonia yielded about 5,000 soldiers for the 20th Estonian SS Division.[24] In Latvia, however, the Nazis were more successful, as, by 1944, there were upwards of 100,000 soldiers serving in the Latvian Waffen-SS divisions.[24] Before the war's end, the foreigners who served in the Waffen-SS numbered "some 500,000", including those who were pressured into service or conscripted.[1] Historian Martin Gutmann adds that some of the additional forces came from "Eastern and Southeastern Europe, including Muslim soldiers from the Balkans."[25]

Post-war edit

 
Former Baltic Waffen-SS conscripts, wearing black uniforms with blue helmets and white belts, guarding Hermann Goering, Rudolf Hess, and other top Nazis during the Nuremberg Trials

During the Nuremberg Trials, the Waffen-SS was declared a criminal organisation for its major involvement in war crimes and for being an "integral part" of the SS.[26][27] Conscripts who were not given a choice as to joining the ranks and had not committed "such crimes" were determined to be exempt from this declaration.[28][b]

Belgian collaborator Léon Degrelle escaped to Spain, despite being sentenced to death in absentia by the Belgian authorities.[29] About 150 Baltic soldiers from Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia who fought against the Soviets and escaped to Sweden were extradited to the Soviet Union in 1946.[30]

The men of the XV SS Cossack Corps found themselves in Austria at the end of the war and surrendered to British troops. Though they were given assurances that they would not be repatriated, the Cossack prisoners of war were nonetheless forcibly returned to the Soviet Union. Most along with their families were executed for treason.[31][c]

After the war, members of Baltic Waffen-SS units were considered separate and distinct in purpose, ideology and activities from the German SS by the Western Allies.[32][d] During the 1946 Nuremberg trials, Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians who were drafted into the Waffen-SS were determined not to be criminals for having been "wedged between, and subject to, the dictates of two authoritarian regimes."[33]

Amid the 11,000 Ukrainian members of the former SS Galizien, who had fled westwards to surrender—replete in their German SS uniforms—to the British in Italy, only 3,000 of them were repatriated to the Soviet Union. The rest remained temporarily lodged at Rimini as displaced persons, many of whom became British or Canadian citizens as a result of Cold War expediency.[34]

Foreign Waffen-SS units recruited by Nazi Germany edit

Albania edit

Total: 6,500 to 8,000[35]

Belarus edit

Belgium edit

Total: 18,000 (about "evenly divided between Flemings and Walloons")[41]

Bohemia and Moravia edit

Total: 77. Created after mid-March 1945, never saw combat

Bulgaria edit

Total: 700

Caucasian peoples edit

Croatia edit

Denmark edit

Total: 6,000[60]

Estonia edit

Total: 20,000 officially entered in the Waffen-SS[62][n]

Finland edit

Total: 1,180[63] to 3,000[35]

France edit

Total: 9,000[citation needed]

Hungary edit

Total: 20,000[35]

Iceland edit

Approximately about 20 to 40 Icelanders served in the Waffen SS, including Björn Sveinsson Björnsson, son of the first president of Iceland Sveinn Björnsson (1944–1952). Most of the Icelandic volunteers fought in the 5th SS Panzer-Division "Wiking", or in the SS Nordland Division[citation needed]

India edit

Total: 4,500[72]

Italy edit

Total: 15,000[35]

Latvia edit

Total: 60,000[76][better source needed] to 80,000[35][r]

Netherlands edit

Total: 20,000 to 25,000[s]

Norway edit

Total: 6,000[77]

Romania edit

Total: 250,000–300,000[t]

Russia edit

Serbia edit

Spain edit

Total: 300[82][better source needed][v]

Sweden edit

  • Waffen-SS Abteilung "Sveaborg"[x]
  • Historians estimate between 100 and 300 Swedish volunteers joined Waffen-SS units, including the 5th SS Panzer Division "Wiking",[83] and the III Germanisches Panzer Korps, among others.[84]

Switzerland edit

In total, approximately 1,300 Swiss volunteers joined the Waffen-SS.[85][y]

Turkic peoples edit

Ukraine edit

Total: 20,000[86][better source needed][19]

United Kingdom edit

Total: 54[87]

See also edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Waffen-SS.

References edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ The original German reads: "Wir müssen uns darüber im klaren sein, daß die germanische Politik nur unter der SS gelöst werden kann, nicht vom Staat, nicht vom Gros der Partei!...Wir können Europa nicht als Polizeistaat aufbauen unter dem Schutz von Bajonetten, sondern müssen das Leben Europas nach großgermanischen Gesichtspunkten gestalten"[13]
  2. ^ A number of volunteers were executed, while others were tried and imprisoned by their countries. Still others either lived in exile or returned to their homeland.
  3. ^ Most of these Cossacks had left Russia before or soon after the end of the Russian Civil War or had been born abroad, and thus had never been Soviet citizens. See the following primary source document:
  4. ^ Also see: Richard Rashke, Useful Enemies: America's Open-Door Policy for Nazi War Criminals, Open Road Media (2013)
  5. ^ Composed of Albanian muslim volunteers (mostly Kosovo Gheg Albanians), that operated principally in the Kosovo region until the general withdrawal of Axis troops.[37] Some soldiers came from Croatian Ustaša militias or from the SS "Handschar" division (1st Croatian), others volunteered or were supplied by the League of Prizren and the Albanian collaborationist government.[38]
  6. ^ An Albanian Muslim unit set up in the Sandžak by SS- und Polizeiführer Karl von Krempler[39]
  7. ^ Incorporated from Regiment SS-Westland and SS-Nordland into the 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking[43]
  8. ^ The regiment was at only battalion strength and never saw combat.[45][better source needed]
  9. ^ A mixed police force of 20,000 men, established by the SS on 10 March 1943,[48] its members wore German SS uniforms and were under the command of the Reichsführer-SS Plenipotentiary for Croatia SS-Brigadeführer Konstantin Kammerhofer.[49]
  10. ^ Formed on 1 March 1943 as "Croatian SS-Volunteer Division", this unit was the first non-Germanic Waffen-SS division.[51] The contingent was composed mostly of Bosnian Muslims, but also contained Kosovo Albanian Muslims, (from 1943 to 1944) and Catholic Croatian volunteers.[52] The unit operated under German and Austrian cadres of the 7th SS Mountain Division “Prinz Eugen”[53] and reached a strength of 21,000 men in January 1944.[52]
  11. ^ Composed of Bosnian Muslims and Croat volunteers under German command,[54] the division was created during the spring of 1944 as the sister division of 13th SS Handschar; the unit only reached 3,793 officers and men.[55]
  12. ^ Composed mainly of ethnic Germans Volksdeutsche from the frontier region of the Banat, Croatia, Hungary and Romania. The division was headquartered in the Zagreb/karlovac area of Croatia from 1942.[57] At its core were two Croatian units, an SS Selbstschutz and an EinsatzStaffel (an Ustasha Active Unit).[58]
  13. ^ Established in Hungary in July 1944 to command Croatian and Albanian units of the Waffen SS.[59]
  14. ^ Historian Rolf-Dieter Müller points out that an additional 20,000 Estonians served in SS frontier guard regiments.[62]
  15. ^ In September 1944 the Sturmbrigade brigade was amalgamated with the Legion of French Volunteers (L.V.F), which became the core of a Waffen Grenadier Division known as the SS Division Charlemagne.[67]
  16. ^ consisted of two battalions[71]
  17. ^ Used for propaganda and never saw combat.[74][better source needed]
  18. ^ Historian Andrejs Plakans puts this figure at 100,000.[24]
  19. ^ See: http://publications.niod.knaw.nl/publications/Veld_SSenNederland_01.pdf
  20. ^ not including tens of thousands of Romanian ethnic Germans.[80][better source needed]
  21. ^ A Serbian collaborationist militia briefly transferred to the Waffen SS while fleeing the country after the liberation of Belgrade by the Red Army.[81]
  22. ^ including Portuguese Volunteers who were counted as Spaniards.[74][better source needed]
  23. ^ attached to 28th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division Wallonien and III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps[82][better source needed]
  24. ^ See: Bosse Schön, "Svenskarna som stred för Hitler" ("The Swedes who fought for Hitler"), (2000) [1999], ISBN 978-9-1765-7208-5, p. 119 + 4 unnumbered pages (a photo of Christmas greetings for named men of the "Swedish" Waffen-SS unit Sveaborg in the Swedish pro-Nazi paper/magazine "Den Svenske" Swedes and Estonian-Swedish Waffen-SS volunteers fought in various SS units. Bosse Schön identifies various units. Many of them were from Norrland, Stockholm, Göteborg and had fought for Finland. A significant number of them were members of NSAP/SSS with about 60% between 17 and 25 years of age. Also see: https://www.svd.se/aventyret-lockade-svenskar-till-ss
  25. ^ Of particular note was Swiss-born SS Colonel Hans Riedweg, the de facto leader of the Germanische Leitstelle's Germanic recruits. Riedweg gave a speech in 1943, criticizing the manner in which the SS handled the escape of 7,000 Danish Jews from Nazi-held territory. He and fellow Germanic volunteers from neutral Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland were stripped of leadership roles and sent to the Eastern Front, where most perished. See: Richard Byers, "Byers on Gutmann, 'Building a Nazi Europe: The SS's Germanic Volunteers'", H-War (August 2018) at: https://networks.h-net.org/node/12840/reviews/2140807/byers-gutmann-building-nazi-europe-sss-germanic-volunteers
  26. ^ In November 1944, Galician No. 1 became Ukrainian No. 1[19] towards the end of the war it became "1st Ukrainian Division of the Ukrainian National Army" (1st UD UNA). According to Andrii Bolianovskyi, the change of the division’s official names illustrates the change of attitude of the Third Reich towards Ukrainian national aspirations.[19]
  27. ^ From 1942 to 1944 the largest ethnic group of the unit[86][better source needed]

Citations edit

  1. ^ a b Stein 1984, p. 133.
  2. ^ Stein 1984, p. 23.
  3. ^ a b Flaherty 2004, p. 144.
  4. ^ McNab 2009, pp. 56, 57, 66.
  5. ^ Reitlinger 1989, p. 84.
  6. ^ McNab 2009, pp. 56–66.
  7. ^ Weale 2010, pp. 201–204.
  8. ^ a b Weale 2010, p. 204.
  9. ^ a b Stein 1984, pp. 150, 153.
  10. ^ Koehl 2004, pp. 213–214.
  11. ^ a b Longerich 2012, pp. 500, 674.
  12. ^ Longerich 2012, p. 769.
  13. ^ a b c Wegner 2010, p. 298.
  14. ^ a b Kott, Bubnys & Kraft 2017, p. 162.
  15. ^ Stein 1984, pp. 172, 179.
  16. ^ Longerich 2012, pp. 611, 612.
  17. ^ Stein 1984, pp. 178–189.
  18. ^ Wegner 1990, pp. 307, 313, 325, 327–331.
  19. ^ a b c d Młynarczyk et al. 2017, p. 200.
  20. ^ Stein 1984, pp. xvi, xviii, 151–164, 168–178.
  21. ^ Hale 2011, p. 324.
  22. ^ Młynarczyk et al. 2017, pp. 166–167.
  23. ^ Młynarczyk et al. 2017, p. 167.
  24. ^ a b c Plakans 2011, p. 357.
  25. ^ Gutmann 2017, p. 31.
  26. ^ Flaherty 2004, pp. 155, 156.
  27. ^ Stein 1984, p. 251.
  28. ^ Avalon Project–Yale University, Judgement: The Accused Organizations.
  29. ^ Griffiths 2005, p. 144.
  30. ^ Buttar 2013, pp. 329–330.
  31. ^ Mueggenberg 2020, pp. 264–273.
  32. ^ U.S. Government 1949, pp. 174–177.
  33. ^ Mole 2012, p. 48.
  34. ^ Hale 2011, p. 379.
  35. ^ a b c d e McNab 2009, p. 95.
  36. ^ a b c d e f g Hale 2011, p. 387.
  37. ^ a b Tomasevich 2002, p. 154.
  38. ^ Bougarel et al. 2017, p. 256.
  39. ^ a b Bougarel et al. 2017, p. 266.
  40. ^ a b c d e f Hale 2011, p. 391.
  41. ^ Stein 1984, p. 136.
  42. ^ a b c d Stein 1984, p. 154.
  43. ^ a b Mitcham 2007, p. 1942.
  44. ^ Littlejohn 1987b, p. 238.
  45. ^ a b Rikmenspoel 2004, p. 183.
  46. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hale 2011, p. 390.
  47. ^ Tomasevich 2002, p. 268.
  48. ^ Ramet 2020, p. 73.
  49. ^ Tomasevich 2002, p. 285.
  50. ^ a b c d e f g h i Hale 2011, p. 388.
  51. ^ Bougarel et al. 2017, p. 263.
  52. ^ a b Brnardic & Aralica 2016, p. 37.
  53. ^ Mitcham 2007, p. 1951.
  54. ^ Mitcham 2007, p. 1959.
  55. ^ Brnardic & Aralica 2016, p. 39.
  56. ^ Cohen & Riesman 1996, p. 100.
  57. ^ McNab 2009, p. 220.
  58. ^ Butler 1998, p. 107.
  59. ^ a b McCroden & Nutter 2019, p. 122.
  60. ^ Stein 1984, pp. 136, 137.
  61. ^ Hale 2011, pp. 203, 388.
  62. ^ a b Müller 2012, p. 169.
  63. ^ Stein 1984, p. 161.
  64. ^ Lappalainen 1997, p. 114-115.
  65. ^ Jokipii 2002, p. 158-160.
  66. ^ Forbes 2010, p. 62.
  67. ^ Littlejohn 1987, pp. 161, 170, 172.
  68. ^ Littlejohn 1987, pp. 170, 172.
  69. ^ Muñoz & Pavlović 2005, p. 165.
  70. ^ Bernád & Kliment 2015, p. 295.
  71. ^ a b Kursietis & Munoz 1999, p. 61.
  72. ^ Stein 1984, p. 189.
  73. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Hale 2011, p. 389.
  74. ^ a b Rikmenspoel 2004, p. 187.
  75. ^ McNab 2009, pp. 325–326.
  76. ^ Rikmenspoel 2004, p. 189.
  77. ^ Stein 1984, pp. 136–137.
  78. ^ Mitcham 2007, p. 1949.
  79. ^ Bender 1971, p. 132.
  80. ^ Rikmenspoel 2004, p. 190.
  81. ^ a b Tomasevich 2002, p. 189.
  82. ^ a b c Rikmenspoel 2004, p. 192.
  83. ^ Larsson 2015, p. 28.
  84. ^ Larsson 2015, pp. 119, 249.
  85. ^ Gutmann 2017, p. 20.
  86. ^ a b c d Rikmenspoel 2004, p. 193.
  87. ^ Thurlow 1998, p. 168.

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  • Weale, Adrian (2010). The SS: A New History. Little, Brown. ISBN 978-1-4087-0304-5.
  • Wegner, Bernd (1990). The Waffen-SS: Organization, Ideology and Function. Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-14073-5.
  • Wegner, Bernd (2010). Hitlers Politische Soldaten: Die Waffen-SS, 1933–1945 (in German). Paderborn: Ferdinand Schöningh. ISBN 978-3-50676-313-6.
  • Williamson, G.; Andrew, S. (2012). The Waffen-SS (2): 6. to 10. Divisions. Men-at-Arms. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78096-581-9.

Further reading edit

  • Hurd, Madeleine; Werther, Steffen (2016). "Retelling the Past, Inspiring the Future: Waffen-SS Commemorations and the Creation of a 'European' Far-right Counter-narrative". Patterns of Prejudice. 50 (4–5): 420–444. doi:10.1080/0031322X.2016.1243346. S2CID 151757461.
  • Judah, Tim (2002). Kosovo: War and Revenge. Yale University. ISBN 978-0-300-09725-2.
  • Tomasevich, Jozo (1975). War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941–1945: The Chetniks. Stanford University. ISBN 0-8047-0857-6.
  • Weale, Adrian (2012). Army of Evil: A History of the SS. New York; Toronto: NAL Caliber (Penguin Group). ISBN 978-0-451-23791-0.
  • Zaugg, Franziska Anna (2021). Rekrutierungen für die Waffen-SS in Südosteuropa : Ideen, Ideale und Realitäten einer Vielvölkerarmee (in German). De Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-073077-7.
  • Gutmann, Martin (2013). "Debunking the Myth of the Volunteers: Transnational Volunteering in the Nazi Waffen-SS Officer Corps during the Second World War". Contemporary European History. 22 (4): 585–607. doi:10.1017/S0960777313000374. hdl:20.500.11850/319670. ISSN 0960-7773. JSTOR 43299406. S2CID 159564891.

External links edit

  • SS veterans in Britain hold secret reunions: The Telegraph, 5 May 2002.

February 07, 2024
waffen, foreign, volunteers, conscripts, during, world, waffen, recruited, significant, numbers, germans, both, volunteers, conscripts, total, some, germans, ethnic, germans, from, outside, germany, mostly, from, german, occupied, europe, were, recruited, betw. During World War II the Waffen SS recruited significant numbers of non Germans both as volunteers and conscripts In total some 500 000 non Germans and ethnic Germans from outside Germany mostly from German occupied Europe were recruited between 1940 and 1945 1 The units were under the control of the SS Fuhrungshauptamt SS Command Main Office beneath Reichsfuhrer SS Heinrich Himmler Upon mobilisation the units tactical control was given to the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht High Command of the Armed Forces 2 Ukrainian volunteers of the SS Galician Division marching in Sanok May 1943Bosniak volunteers of the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar 1st Croatian being inspected by Haj Amin al Husseini alongside SS Brigadefuhrer Karl Gustav Sauberzweig November 1943 Contents 1 History of the Waffen SS 2 Recruitment and conscription 3 Post war 4 Foreign Waffen SS units recruited by Nazi Germany 4 1 Albania 4 2 Belarus 4 3 Belgium 4 4 Bohemia and Moravia 4 5 Bulgaria 4 6 Caucasian peoples 4 7 Croatia 4 8 Denmark 4 9 Estonia 4 10 Finland 4 11 France 4 12 Hungary 4 13 Iceland 4 14 India 4 15 Italy 4 16 Latvia 4 17 Netherlands 4 18 Norway 4 19 Romania 4 20 Russia 4 21 Serbia 4 22 Spain 4 23 Sweden 4 24 Switzerland 4 25 Turkic peoples 4 26 Ukraine 4 27 United Kingdom 5 See also 6 References 6 1 Notes 6 2 Citations 7 Bibliography 8 Further reading 9 External linksHistory of the Waffen SS editMain article Waffen SS The Waffen SS Armed SS was created as the militarised wing of the Schutzstaffel SS Protective Squadron of the Nazi Party Its origins can be traced back to the selection of a group of 120 SS men in 1933 by Sepp Dietrich to form the Sonderkommando Berlin which became the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler LSSAH 3 In 1934 the SS developed its own military branch the SS Verfugungstruppe SS VT which together with the LSSAH evolved into the Waffen SS 3 Nominally under the authority of Heinrich Himmler the Waffen SS developed a fully militarised structure of command and operations It grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions during World War II serving alongside the Heer army while never formally being a part of it 4 Adolf Hitler did not want the Waffen SS integrated into either the army or the state police Instead it was to remain an independent force of military trained men at the disposal of the Fuhrer 5 6 Recruitment and conscription editIn 1934 Himmler initially set stringent requirements for recruits They were to be German nationals who could prove their Aryan ancestry back to 1800 unmarried and without a criminal record Recruits had to be between the ages of 17 and 23 at least 1 74 metres 5 ft 9 in tall 1 78 metres 5 ft 10 in for the Leibstandarte Recruits were required to have perfect teeth and eyesight and provide a medical certificate 7 By 1938 the height restrictions were relaxed up to six dental fillings were permitted and eyeglasses for astigmatism and mild vision correction were allowed 8 Once World War II began in Europe the physical requirements were no longer strictly enforced 8 Following the Battle of France in 1940 Hitler authorised the enlistment of people perceived to be of related stock as Himmler put it to expand the ranks 9 A number of Danes Dutch Norwegians Swedes and Finns volunteered to serve in the Waffen SS under the command of German officers 10 better source needed 11 Non Germanic units were not considered to be part of the SS directly which still maintained its strict racial criteria instead they were considered to be foreign nationals serving under the command of the SS 12 Not all members of the SS Germanischen Leitstelle SS GL or the RHSA stressed the nationalistic tenets of the Nazi state with respect to the war and occupation but instead looked to pan Germanic ideas that included disempowering the political elites while at the same time integrating Germanic elements from other nations into the Reich on the basis of racial equality 13 One of the leaders of the SS GL Dr Franz Riedweg an SS Colonel unambiguously emphasized We must be clear about the fact that Germanic politics can only be resolved under the SS not by the state not by the bulk of the party We cannot build Europe as a police state under the protection of bayonets but must shape the life of Europe according to greater Germanic viewpoints 13 a Recruitment began in April 1940 with the creation of two regiments Nordland later SS Division Nordland and Westland later SS Division Wiking 9 As they grew in numbers the volunteers were grouped into Legions with the size of battalion or brigade their members included the so called Germanic non Germans as well as ethnic German officers originating from the occupied territories Against the Fuhrer s wishes who forbade using military units of so called racially inferior persons the SS added foreign recruits and used them to flexibly overcome manpower shortages 14 Some of these foreign Waffen SS units were employed for security purposes among other things 14 After Germany invaded the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa recruits from France Spain Belgium the territory of occupied Czechoslovakia Hungary and the Balkans were signed on 15 By February 1942 Waffen SS recruitment in south east Europe turned into compulsory conscription for all German minorities of military age 16 From 1942 onwards further units of non Germanic recruits were formed 11 Legions were formed of men from Estonia Latvia as well as men from Bosnia Herzegovina Croatia Georgia Ukraine Russia and Cossacks 17 However by 1943 the Waffen SS could no longer claim to be an elite fighting force overall Recruitment and conscription based on numerical over qualitative expansion took place with many of the foreign units being good for only rear guard duty 18 A system of nomenclature developed to formally distinguish personnel based on their place of origin Germanic units would have the SS prefix while non Germanic units were designated with the Waffen prefix to their names 19 The formations with volunteers of Germanic background were officially named Freiwilligen volunteer Scandinavians Dutch and Flemish including ethnic Germans born outside the Reich known as Volksdeutsche and their members were from satellite countries These were organised into independent legions and had the designation Waffen attached to their names for formal identification 20 In addition the German SS Division Wiking included recruits from Denmark Norway Finland Sweden and Estonia throughout its history 21 Despite manpower shortages the Waffen SS was still based on the racist ideology of Nazism 22 Early in 1943 the Waffen SS accepted 12 643 of the 53 000 recruits it garnered in western Ukraine and by 1944 the number reached as high as 22 000 23 Recruitment efforts in 1943 in Estonia yielded about 5 000 soldiers for the 20th Estonian SS Division 24 In Latvia however the Nazis were more successful as by 1944 there were upwards of 100 000 soldiers serving in the Latvian Waffen SS divisions 24 Before the war s end the foreigners who served in the Waffen SS numbered some 500 000 including those who were pressured into service or conscripted 1 Historian Martin Gutmann adds that some of the additional forces came from Eastern and Southeastern Europe including Muslim soldiers from the Balkans 25 Post war edit nbsp Former Baltic Waffen SS conscripts wearing black uniforms with blue helmets and white belts guarding Hermann Goering Rudolf Hess and other top Nazis during the Nuremberg TrialsDuring the Nuremberg Trials the Waffen SS was declared a criminal organisation for its major involvement in war crimes and for being an integral part of the SS 26 27 Conscripts who were not given a choice as to joining the ranks and had not committed such crimes were determined to be exempt from this declaration 28 b Belgian collaborator Leon Degrelle escaped to Spain despite being sentenced to death in absentia by the Belgian authorities 29 About 150 Baltic soldiers from Latvia Lithuania and Estonia who fought against the Soviets and escaped to Sweden were extradited to the Soviet Union in 1946 30 The men of the XV SS Cossack Corps found themselves in Austria at the end of the war and surrendered to British troops Though they were given assurances that they would not be repatriated the Cossack prisoners of war were nonetheless forcibly returned to the Soviet Union Most along with their families were executed for treason 31 c After the war members of Baltic Waffen SS units were considered separate and distinct in purpose ideology and activities from the German SS by the Western Allies 32 d During the 1946 Nuremberg trials Estonians Latvians and Lithuanians who were drafted into the Waffen SS were determined not to be criminals for having been wedged between and subject to the dictates of two authoritarian regimes 33 Amid the 11 000 Ukrainian members of the former SS Galizien who had fled westwards to surrender replete in their German SS uniforms to the British in Italy only 3 000 of them were repatriated to the Soviet Union The rest remained temporarily lodged at Rimini as displaced persons many of whom became British or Canadian citizens as a result of Cold War expediency 34 Foreign Waffen SS units recruited by Nazi Germany editAlbania edit Total 6 500 to 8 000 35 21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg 36 7 000 37 e Police Self Defence Regiment Sandschak 39 f Belarus edit 30th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS 1st Belarusian 40 Waffen Grenadier Brigade der SS Weissruthenische Nr 1 40 Belgium edit Total 18 000 about evenly divided between Flemings and Walloons 41 SS Freiwilligen Legion Flandern 1941 875 42 SS Freiwilligen Standarte Nordwest 36 5th SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade Wallonien 36 6th SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade Langemarck 36 27th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division Langemarck 36 28th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division Wallonien 36 Flemish volunteers in the 5th SS Division Wiking 43 g Bohemia and Moravia edit Total 77 Created after mid March 1945 never saw combat St Wenceslas Company 44 Bulgaria edit Total 700 Waffen Grenadier Regiment of the SS 1st Bulgarian 36 h Bulgarian volunteers in the SS Jagdverband Sudost pl 45 better source needed Caucasian peoples edit Kaukasische Waffen Verbande der SS 46 Croatia edit German Croatian SS Police and Gendarmerie 47 i 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar 1st Croatian 50 j 23rd Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Kama 2nd Croatian 50 k 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen 56 l IX Waffen Mountain Corps of the SS Croatian 59 m Denmark edit Total 6 000 60 Free Corps Denmark 1941 1 164 42 Danish volunteers in the Waffen SS the majority of them in the SS Division Wiking and the SS Division Nordland 61 Estonia edit Total 20 000 officially entered in the Waffen SS 62 n Estonian Legion 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS 1st Estonian 3rd Estonian SS Volunteer BrigadeFinland edit Total 1 180 63 to 3 000 35 Finnish Volunteer Battalion of the Waffen SS 50 Finnish SS Company 64 65 France edit Total 9 000 citation needed SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade France 50 1 688 30 June 1944 66 o 33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne 1st French 50 7 340 68 Bretonische Waffenverband der SS 80 men 69 Hungary edit Total 20 000 35 SS Regimentsgruppe Ney 3 100 70 1st Hungarian SS Ski Battalion 71 p 22nd SS Volunteer Cavalry Division Maria Theresa 50 25th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Hunyadi 1st Hungarian 50 26th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS 2nd Hungarian 50 33rd Waffen Cavalry Division of the SS 3rd Hungarian 50 Iceland edit Approximately about 20 to 40 Icelanders served in the Waffen SS including Bjorn Sveinsson Bjornsson son of the first president of Iceland Sveinn Bjornsson 1944 1952 Most of the Icelandic volunteers fought in the 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking or in the SS Nordland Division citation needed India edit Total 4 500 72 Indian Volunteer Legion of the Waffen SS from 1944 73 q Italy edit Total 15 000 35 Italienische Freiwilligen Legion 75 1er Sturmbrigade Italienische Freiwilligen Legion 73 24th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS 73 29th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS 1st Italian 73 Latvia edit Total 60 000 76 better source needed to 80 000 35 r VI SS Army Corps Latvian Latvian Legion 73 15th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS 1st Latvian 73 19th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS 2nd Latvian 73 Netherlands edit Total 20 000 to 25 000 s SS Freiwilligen Legion Niederlande 1941 2 559 42 SS Freiwilligen Standarte Nordwest 73 SS Volunteer Grenadier Brigade Landstorm Nederland 73 4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade Nederland 73 5th SS Volunteer Wiking Division Standarte Westland 23rd SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nederland 73 34th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division Landstorm Nederland 73 Norway edit Total 6 000 77 SS Freiwilligen Legion Norwegen 46 1941 1 218 42 SS Schijager Batalljon Norwegen 46 SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Regiment 23 Norge as part of the 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland 78 Norwegian volunteers in the 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking 79 Romania edit Total 250 000 300 000 t Romanian volunteers in the Waffen SS 46 Waffen Grenadier Regiment of the SS 1st Romanian 46 Waffen Grenadier Regiment of the SS 2nd Romanian 46 Russia edit 29th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS RONA 1st Russian 40 Kaminski Brigade also known as Waffen Sturm Brigade RONA 46 Serbia edit Serbian Volunteer Corps absorbed in 1944 81 u Spain edit Total 300 82 better source needed v Spanische Freiwilligen Kompanie der SS 101 240 82 better source needed w Spanische Freiwilligen Kompanie der SS 102 46 Sweden edit Waffen SS Abteilung Sveaborg x Historians estimate between 100 and 300 Swedish volunteers joined Waffen SS units including the 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking 83 and the III Germanisches Panzer Korps among others 84 Switzerland edit In total approximately 1 300 Swiss volunteers joined the Waffen SS 85 y Turkic peoples edit Ostturkische Waffen Verbande der SS 46 Tataren Gebirgsjager Regiment der SS 46 Waffen Gebirgs Brigade der SS Tatarische Nr 1 40 Ukraine edit Total 20 000 86 better source needed 19 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS 1st Galician 40 z Ukrainian volunteers in the 30th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS 86 better source needed Ukrainian volunteers in the Dirlewanger Brigade 86 aa United Kingdom edit Total 54 87 British Free Corps 40 See also edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Waffen SS List of Waffen SS units Non Germans in the German armed forces during World War II Waffen SS in popular culture Wehrmacht foreign volunteers and conscriptsReferences editNotes edit The original German reads Wir mussen uns daruber im klaren sein dass die germanische Politik nur unter der SS gelost werden kann nicht vom Staat nicht vom Gros der Partei Wir konnen Europa nicht als Polizeistaat aufbauen unter dem Schutz von Bajonetten sondern mussen das Leben Europas nach grossgermanischen Gesichtspunkten gestalten 13 A number of volunteers were executed while others were tried and imprisoned by their countries Still others either lived in exile or returned to their homeland Most of these Cossacks had left Russia before or soon after the end of the Russian Civil War or had been born abroad and thus had never been Soviet citizens See the following primary source document https web archive org web 20070928204604 http www holycross hermitage com pages Orthodox Life cossacks htm Also see Richard Rashke Useful Enemies America s Open Door Policy for Nazi War Criminals Open Road Media 2013 Composed of Albanian muslim volunteers mostly Kosovo Gheg Albanians that operated principally in the Kosovo region until the general withdrawal of Axis troops 37 Some soldiers came from Croatian Ustasa militias or from the SS Handschar division 1st Croatian others volunteered or were supplied by the League of Prizren and the Albanian collaborationist government 38 An Albanian Muslim unit set up in the Sandzak by SS und Polizeifuhrer Karl von Krempler 39 Incorporated from Regiment SS Westland and SS Nordland into the 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking 43 The regiment was at only battalion strength and never saw combat 45 better source needed A mixed police force of 20 000 men established by the SS on 10 March 1943 48 its members wore German SS uniforms and were under the command of the Reichsfuhrer SS Plenipotentiary for Croatia SS Brigadefuhrer Konstantin Kammerhofer 49 Formed on 1 March 1943 as Croatian SS Volunteer Division this unit was the first non Germanic Waffen SS division 51 The contingent was composed mostly of Bosnian Muslims but also contained Kosovo Albanian Muslims from 1943 to 1944 and Catholic Croatian volunteers 52 The unit operated under German and Austrian cadres of the 7th SS Mountain Division Prinz Eugen 53 and reached a strength of 21 000 men in January 1944 52 Composed of Bosnian Muslims and Croat volunteers under German command 54 the division was created during the spring of 1944 as the sister division of 13th SS Handschar the unit only reached 3 793 officers and men 55 Composed mainly of ethnic Germans Volksdeutsche from the frontier region of the Banat Croatia Hungary and Romania The division was headquartered in the Zagreb karlovac area of Croatia from 1942 57 At its core were two Croatian units an SS Selbstschutz and an EinsatzStaffel an Ustasha Active Unit 58 Established in Hungary in July 1944 to command Croatian and Albanian units of the Waffen SS 59 Historian Rolf Dieter Muller points out that an additional 20 000 Estonians served in SS frontier guard regiments 62 In September 1944 the Sturmbrigade brigade was amalgamated with the Legion of French Volunteers L V F which became the core of a Waffen Grenadier Division known as the SS Division Charlemagne 67 consisted of two battalions 71 Used for propaganda and never saw combat 74 better source needed Historian Andrejs Plakans puts this figure at 100 000 24 See http publications niod knaw nl publications Veld SSenNederland 01 pdf not including tens of thousands of Romanian ethnic Germans 80 better source needed A Serbian collaborationist militia briefly transferred to the Waffen SS while fleeing the country after the liberation of Belgrade by the Red Army 81 including Portuguese Volunteers who were counted as Spaniards 74 better source needed attached to 28th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division Wallonien and III Germanic SS Panzer Corps 82 better source needed See Bosse Schon Svenskarna som stred for Hitler The Swedes who fought for Hitler 2000 1999 ISBN 978 9 1765 7208 5 p 119 4 unnumbered pages a photo of Christmas greetings for named men of the Swedish Waffen SS unit Sveaborg in the Swedish pro Nazi paper magazine Den Svenske Swedes and Estonian Swedish Waffen SS volunteers fought in various SS units Bosse Schon identifies various units Many of them were from Norrland Stockholm Goteborg and had fought for Finland A significant number of them were members of NSAP SSS with about 60 between 17 and 25 years of age Also see https www svd se aventyret lockade svenskar till ss Of particular note was Swiss born SS Colonel Hans Riedweg the de facto leader of the Germanische Leitstelle s Germanic recruits Riedweg gave a speech in 1943 criticizing the manner in which the SS handled the escape of 7 000 Danish Jews from Nazi held territory He and fellow Germanic volunteers from neutral Denmark Sweden and Switzerland were stripped of leadership roles and sent to the Eastern Front where most perished See Richard Byers Byers on Gutmann Building a Nazi Europe The SS s Germanic Volunteers H War August 2018 at https networks h net org node 12840 reviews 2140807 byers gutmann building nazi europe sss germanic volunteers In November 1944 Galician No 1 became Ukrainian No 1 19 towards the end of the war it became 1st Ukrainian Division of the Ukrainian National Army 1st UD UNA According to Andrii Bolianovskyi the change of the division s official names illustrates the change of attitude of the Third Reich towards Ukrainian national aspirations 19 From 1942 to 1944 the largest ethnic group of the unit 86 better source needed Citations edit a b Stein 1984 p 133 Stein 1984 p 23 a b Flaherty 2004 p 144 McNab 2009 pp 56 57 66 Reitlinger 1989 p 84 McNab 2009 pp 56 66 Weale 2010 pp 201 204 a b Weale 2010 p 204 a b Stein 1984 pp 150 153 Koehl 2004 pp 213 214 a b Longerich 2012 pp 500 674 Longerich 2012 p 769 a b c Wegner 2010 p 298 a b Kott Bubnys amp Kraft 2017 p 162 Stein 1984 pp 172 179 Longerich 2012 pp 611 612 Stein 1984 pp 178 189 Wegner 1990 pp 307 313 325 327 331 a b c d Mlynarczyk et al 2017 p 200 Stein 1984 pp xvi xviii 151 164 168 178 Hale 2011 p 324 Mlynarczyk et al 2017 pp 166 167 Mlynarczyk et al 2017 p 167 a b c Plakans 2011 p 357 Gutmann 2017 p 31 Flaherty 2004 pp 155 156 Stein 1984 p 251 Avalon Project Yale University Judgement The Accused Organizations Griffiths 2005 p 144 Buttar 2013 pp 329 330 Mueggenberg 2020 pp 264 273 U S Government 1949 pp 174 177 Mole 2012 p 48 Hale 2011 p 379 a b c d e McNab 2009 p 95 a b c d e f g Hale 2011 p 387 a b Tomasevich 2002 p 154 Bougarel et al 2017 p 256 a b Bougarel et al 2017 p 266 a b c d e f Hale 2011 p 391 Stein 1984 p 136 a b c d Stein 1984 p 154 a b Mitcham 2007 p 1942 Littlejohn 1987b p 238 a b Rikmenspoel 2004 p 183 a b c d e f g h i j Hale 2011 p 390 Tomasevich 2002 p 268 Ramet 2020 p 73 Tomasevich 2002 p 285 a b c d e f g h i Hale 2011 p 388 Bougarel et al 2017 p 263 a b Brnardic amp Aralica 2016 p 37 Mitcham 2007 p 1951 Mitcham 2007 p 1959 Brnardic amp Aralica 2016 p 39 Cohen amp Riesman 1996 p 100 McNab 2009 p 220 Butler 1998 p 107 a b McCroden amp Nutter 2019 p 122 Stein 1984 pp 136 137 Hale 2011 pp 203 388 a b Muller 2012 p 169 Stein 1984 p 161 Lappalainen 1997 p 114 115 Jokipii 2002 p 158 160 Forbes 2010 p 62 Littlejohn 1987 pp 161 170 172 Littlejohn 1987 pp 170 172 Munoz amp Pavlovic 2005 p 165 Bernad amp Kliment 2015 p 295 a b Kursietis amp Munoz 1999 p 61 Stein 1984 p 189 a b c d e f g h i j k l Hale 2011 p 389 a b Rikmenspoel 2004 p 187 McNab 2009 pp 325 326 Rikmenspoel 2004 p 189 Stein 1984 pp 136 137 Mitcham 2007 p 1949 Bender 1971 p 132 Rikmenspoel 2004 p 190 a b Tomasevich 2002 p 189 a b c Rikmenspoel 2004 p 192 Larsson 2015 p 28 Larsson 2015 pp 119 249 Gutmann 2017 p 20 a b c d Rikmenspoel 2004 p 193 Thurlow 1998 p 168 Bibliography edit Avalon Project Yale University Judgement The Accused Organizations Retrieved December 24 2020 Bender R J 1971 Uniforms organisations and history of the Waffen SS Scott Bernad D Kliment C K 2015 Magyar Warriors Volume 1 The History of the Royal Hungarian Armed Forces 1919 1945 Helion Limited ISBN 978 1 912174 49 2 Bougarel Xavier Korb Alexander Petke Stefan Zaugg Franziska 2017 Muslim SS units in the Balkans and the Soviet Union In Jochen Bohler Robert Gerwarth eds The Waffen SS A European History Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19 879055 6 Brnardic V Aralica V 2016 World War II Croatian Legionaries Croatian Troops under Axis Command 1941 45 Men at Arms Bloomsbury Publishing ISBN 978 1 4728 1769 3 Buttar Prit 2013 Between Giants The Battle for the Baltics in World War II London Bloomsbury Publishing ISBN 978 1 47280 287 3 Butler R 1998 Hitler s Jackals Leo Cooper ISBN 978 0 85052 593 9 Cohen P J Riesman D 1996 Serbia s Secret War Propaganda and the Deceit of History Eastern European studies Texas A amp M University Press ISBN 978 0 89096 760 7 Flaherty T H 2004 1988 The Third Reich The SS Time Life ISBN 1 84447 073 3 Forbes Robert 2010 2006 For Europe The French Volunteers of the Waffen SS Stackpole Books ISBN 978 0 8117 3581 0 Griffiths Richard 2005 Fascism London Continuum ISBN 978 0 82647 856 6 Gutmann Martin R 2017 Building a Nazi Europe The SS s Germanic Volunteers Cambridge and New York Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 1 10715 543 5 Hale Christopher 2011 Hitler s Foreign Executioners Europe s Dirty Secret The History Press ISBN 978 0 7524 5974 5 Jokipii Mauno 2002 Hitlerin Saksa ja sen vapaaehtoisliikkeet Waffen SS n suomalaispataljoona vertailtavana Helsinki Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura ISBN 951 746 335 9 Koehl Robert 2004 The SS A History 1919 45 Stroud Tempus ISBN 978 0 7524 2559 7 Kott Matthew Bubnys Arunas Kraft Ulle 2017 The Baltic States Auxiliaries and Waffen SS Soldiers from Estonia Latvia and Lithuania In Jochen Bohler Robert Gerwarth eds The Waffen SS A European History Oxford and New York Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19879 055 6 Kursietis A J Munoz A J 1999 The Hungarian Army and Its Military Leadership in World War II Axis Europa Books Axis Europa Books amp Magazines ISBN 978 1 891227 28 8 Lappalainen Niilo 1997 Aselevon jalkeen WSOY ISBN 951 0 21813 8 Larsson Lars 2015 Hitler s Swedes A History of the Swedish Volunteers in the Waffen SS Helion and Company ISBN 978 1 91217 444 7 Littlejohn David 1987 Foreign Legions of the Third Reich Vol 1 Norway Denmark France Bender Publishing ISBN 978 0912138176 Littlejohn David 1987b Foreign Legions of the Third Reich Vol 2 Belgium Great Britain Holland Italy and Spain Bender Publishing ISBN 978 0 91213 822 0 Longerich Peter 2012 Heinrich Himmler A Life Oxford New York Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19 959232 6 McCroden W T Nutter T E 2019 German Ground Forces of World War II Complete Orders of Battle for Army Groups Armies Army Corps and Other Commands of the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS September 1 1939 to May 8 1945 Savas Beatie ISBN 978 1 61121 101 6 McNab Chris 2009 The SS 1923 1945 Amber Books Ltd ISBN 978 1 906626 49 5 Mitcham S W 2007 German Order of Battle Panzer Panzer Grenadier and Waffen SS divisions in World War II Stackpole Books ISBN 978 0 8117 3438 7 Mlynarczyk Jacek Andrzej Rein Leonid Bolianovskyi Andrii Romanko Oleg 2017 Eastern Europe Belarusian Auxiliaries Ukrainian Waffen SS Soldiers and the Special Case of the Polish Blue Police In Jochen Bohler Robert Gerwarth eds The Waffen SS A European History Oxford and New York Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19879 055 6 Mole Richard C M 2012 The Baltic States from the Soviet Union to the European Union Identity Discourse and Power in the Post Communist Transition of Estonia Latvia and Lithuania London and New York Routledge ISBN 978 0 41539 497 0 Mueggenberg Brent 2020 The Cossack Struggle Against Communism 1917 1945 McFarland ISBN 978 1 47663 802 7 Muller Rolf Dieter 2012 The Unknown Eastern Front The Wehrmacht and Hitler s Foreign Soldiers New York I B Taurus ISBN 978 1 78076 072 8 Munoz A J Pavlovic D 2005 Hitler s Green Army Western Europe and Scandinavia Hitler s Green Army The German Order Police and Their European Auxiliaries 1939 1945 Europa Books ISBN 978 1 891227 47 9 Plakans Andrejs 2011 A Concise History of the Baltic States Cambridge and New York Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0 52183 372 1 Ramet S P 2020 The Independent State of Croatia 1941 45 Taylor amp Francis ISBN 978 1 000 15499 3 Reitlinger Gerald 1989 The SS Alibi of a Nation 1922 1945 Da Capo Press ISBN 978 0 306 80351 2 Rikmenspoel M J 2004 Waffen SS Encyclopedia Aberjona Press ISBN 978 0 9717650 8 5 Stein George H 1984 The Waffen SS Hitler s Elite Guard at War 1939 1945 Cornell University Press ISBN 978 0801492754 Thomas Nigel 2012 Germany s Eastern Front Allies 2 Baltic Forces Osprey Publishing ISBN 978 1 780 96734 9 Thurlow Richard 1998 Fascism in Britain A History 1918 1945 I B Tauris ISBN 978 1860643378 Tomasevich J 2002 War and Revolution in Yugoslavia 1941 1945 Occupation and Collaboration ACLS Humanities E Book Stanford University Press ISBN 978 0 8047 7924 1 U S Government 1949 Hearings Before Subcommittee No 4 of the Committee on the Judiciary House of Representatives Eightieth Congress Second Session on H R 1285 H R 4928 H R 5040 and H R 5192 Washington D C U S Government Printing Office OCLC 54523633 Weale Adrian 2010 The SS A New History Little Brown ISBN 978 1 4087 0304 5 Wegner Bernd 1990 The Waffen SS Organization Ideology and Function Blackwell ISBN 0 631 14073 5 Wegner Bernd 2010 Hitlers Politische Soldaten Die Waffen SS 1933 1945 in German Paderborn Ferdinand Schoningh ISBN 978 3 50676 313 6 Williamson G Andrew S 2012 The Waffen SS 2 6 to 10 Divisions Men at Arms Bloomsbury Publishing ISBN 978 1 78096 581 9 Further reading editHurd Madeleine Werther Steffen 2016 Retelling the Past Inspiring the Future Waffen SS Commemorations and the Creation of a European Far right Counter narrative Patterns of Prejudice 50 4 5 420 444 doi 10 1080 0031322X 2016 1243346 S2CID 151757461 Judah Tim 2002 Kosovo War and Revenge Yale University ISBN 978 0 300 09725 2 Tomasevich Jozo 1975 War and Revolution in Yugoslavia 1941 1945 The Chetniks Stanford University ISBN 0 8047 0857 6 Weale Adrian 2012 Army of Evil A History of the SS New York Toronto NAL Caliber Penguin Group ISBN 978 0 451 23791 0 Zaugg Franziska Anna 2021 Rekrutierungen fur die Waffen SS in Sudosteuropa Ideen Ideale und Realitaten einer Vielvolkerarmee in German De Gruyter ISBN 978 3 11 073077 7 Gutmann Martin 2013 Debunking the Myth of the Volunteers Transnational Volunteering in the Nazi Waffen SS Officer Corps during the Second World War Contemporary European History 22 4 585 607 doi 10 1017 S0960777313000374 hdl 20 500 11850 319670 ISSN 0960 7773 JSTOR 43299406 S2CID 159564891 External links editSS veterans in Britain hold secret reunions The Telegraph 5 May 2002 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Waffen SS foreign volunteers and conscripts amp oldid 1200154482, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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