Waffen-SS
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Waffen-SS recruitment poster: "Volunteer for the Waffen-SS" |
The
Waffen-SS ("Armed SS") was the combat arm of the
Schutzstaffel. Headed by
Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, the Waffen-SS saw action throughout the Second World War.
After humble beginnings as a protection unit for the
NSDAP leadership, the Waffen-SS eventually grew into a force of thirty-eight combat
divisions comprising over 950,000 men, and including a number of elite units. In the
Nuremberg Trials, the Waffen-SS was condemned as part of a
criminal organisation due to their involvement with the
National Socialist Party (NSDAP), and Waffen-SS veterans were denied many of the rights afforded other German combat
veterans who had served in the
Wehrmacht,
Luftwaffe or
Kriegsmarine. Conscripts, however, were exempted from that judgment, as many of them were forced to join the organisation by German authorities.
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Dress Uniforms of the armed SS (Waffen-SS) |
The origins of the Waffen SS (Armed SS) can be traced back to the creation of a select group of 200 men who were to act as Hitler's body guard. This "body guard" was created by
Hitler in reaction to his unease at the size and strength of the SA (Sturmabteilung or Storm Troopers). The SA had grown so large that Hitler felt he needed an armed escort that was totally dedicated to him. Thus the Schutzstaffel (SS) or protection squad was created. After Hitler's imprisonment (and subsequent release) in the wake of the failed Munich Putsch in 1923 Hitler saw even further need for a body guard and the place of the SS was solidified in the Nazi hierarchy.
Until
1929, the SA was still the dominant force in the Nazi Party, however, the SS was growing in strength and importance. In January,
1929 Hitler appointed
Heinrich Himmler to lead the SS (his rank was Reichsführer) and it was Himmler's goal to create an elite corps of armed soldiers within the party. However, the SS was still a very small organization and Hitler wanted an effective force by 1933. Himmler set out to recruit men who represented the elite of German society, both in physical abilities and political beliefs. Through his active recruitment, Himmler was able to increase the size of the SS to about 52,000 by the end of 1933.
Although the SS was growing exponentially, the SA had mirrored the growth of Hitler's private army. The SA had over 2 million members at the end of 1933. Led by one of Hitler's old comrades, Ernst Röhm, the SA represented a threat to Hitler's attempts to win favour with the German army. As well, the SA threatened to sour Hitler's relations with the conservative elements of the country, whose support Hitler needed to solidfy his position in the German government. Hitler decided to act against the SA and the SS was put charge of eliminating Röhm and several other high ranking officers in the SA. The "
Night of the Long Knives" on June 30, 1934 also saw the execution of thousands of SA men and effectively ended the power of the SA.
During the "Night of the Long Knives", the SS had performed precisely as Hitler had envisioned and from that point on Himmler and his SS would be only responsible to Hitler and would be the dominant force in the N.S.D.A.P. With his new-found independence,
Himmler expanded the SS and created several new departments within the existing infrastructure. In particular,
Himmler created the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) which was to act as the Reich's security service. The SS was expanded to include the German police service in 1936. Himmler then reorganized the Reich's police service to include the Ordnungspolizei (regular police), and the Sicherheitspolizei (security police). The Sicherheitspolizei was further divided into the Kriminalpolizei or Kripo (Criminal police) and the Geheime Staatspolizei or Gestapo (secret police). All of these various elements were headquartered at the
Reichssicherheitshauptamt, Main office of Reich Security (RSHA). The RSHA was under the direction of
Reinhard Heydrich and later
Ernst Kaltenbrunner.
In addition to controlling the German police force, the SS comprised a group of armed men that were used for security and ceremonial puroposes. This organization was called the SS Verfügungstruppe. Included in this group was Hitler's protection squad, known as the Stabwache. This protection squad had been created in March 1933 and would be the foundation for the 1st SS Panzer Division "
Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler". Leibstandarte was different from other SS formations in that they had sworn an oath directly to Hitler and thus effectively removed them from control of Himmler.
When Hitler reintroduced conscription in 1935, he also mandated that the SS Verfügungstruppen would be fully formed as a military unit. SS Verfügungstruppen would be the cornerstone of future Waffen SS divisions. Special schools at Bad Tölz and Braunschweig were created to train future SS men. Himmler selected former Lieut. General Paul Hausser to oversee the training and schooling of the SS. Hausser also created two new SS regiments. "Deutschland" and "Germania" were formed from various battalions of the Verfügungstruppe and would be the foundation for 2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich" and 5th SS Panzer Division "Wiking". After the annexation of Austria another regiment composed of Austrian Nazis named "Der Führer" was created. Thus at the outbreak of hostilities there were four SS armed regiments (although "Der Führer" was not ready for combat).
After the conclusion of the campaign against Poland, the three regiments of the Verfügungstruppe were joined to form the Verfügungsdivision and
Leibstandarte was transformed into a motorized regiment. Also two other divisions were created, the SS
Totenkopfdivision and Polizeidivision. In March 1940, after an agreement between the Army and the SS, the title of Waffen SS was officially given. The Waffen SS took part in almost every major battle and were shifted from front to front, depending on the severity of the situation. In the end the Waffen SS would total 38 divisions (although some of these formations were divisions in name only). Their importance in the history of World War Two cannot be overlooked and their effectiveness as fighting units coupled with the atrocities that were committed by some of its members make the Waffen SS one of the most infamous military organizations in history.
The original cadre of the Waffen-SS came from the
Freikorps and the
Reichswehr along with various right-wing
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.
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Waffen-SS Panzergrenadier in Russia. He is wearing distinctive SS-pattern camouflage, in the form of a cloth helmet cover and pullover smock. |
SS combat training consisted primarily of several months of intensive
basic training with three objectives;
physical fitness,
small-arms proficiency and
political indoctrination. The training was so intensive that one in three potentials failed to pass the course, which is significant when considering the context of their "application;" they were selected individuals, not volunteers. After this basic training, the recruits would be sent to specialist schools (see
Panzertruppenschule I) where they received further training in their chosen combat arm. As the war progressed and replacements were required more frequently, the intensity of the training was relaxed somewhat. This was particularly true after the expansion of the Waffen-SS following the success of the
SS-Panzerkorps at Kharkov.
For officers, the focus was on leadership and combat command, usually at the
SS-Junkerschule at
Bad Tölz. The principle of
Auftragstaktik (see
Mission-type tactics) which underpinned Wehrmacht and SS training is standard in all armies today, although the concept was invented by Heer theorists 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 (German Army), where strict discipline and a policy of separation between the officers and enlisted men existed.
During the war the organization was presented as a multinational force protecting Europe from the evils of Communism (see
Black Edelweiss). In addition, training emphasised unit cohesion and mutual respect between officers and men, rather than strict discipline. 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 ("Sir") was also forbidden, with everyone up to Himmler being addressed simply by their rank.
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A ZB-30 Machinegun Team of the Totenkopf in action, France 1940. |
As the outbreak of war neared, Himmler ordered the formation of several combat formations from the
SS-Standarten (units of
regimental size). The resulting three formations (the LSSAH, SS-VT and SS-TV) took part in the
Invasion of Poland as well as
Fall Gelb. During the campaign in the West, both the
Totenkopf and
LSSAH were implicated in atrocities. The overall performance of the Waffen-SS had been mediocre during these campaigns.
The poor initial performance of the Waffen-SS units was mainly due to the emphasis on political indoctrination rather than proper military training 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 (See
Totenkopf's actions during the early months of the Russian Campaign). 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
Karelia.
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Waffen-SS Panzergrenadiers of SS-Panzergrenadier Division Totenkopf during the Battle of Kursk |
The Waffen-SS truly proved their worth 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 (all now
Panzergrenadier divisions) took part in the immense armour battles near
Prokhorovka on the southern flank of the
Kursk salient.
Several divisions are seen by historians as being elite, notably those with higher proportions of ethnic Germans in them. These divisions were characterised by extremely high unit morale and combat ability, as well as commitment to the ideals of the self-styled
Crusade against Bolshevism. In practical terms, they frequently benefited from the best available equipment and were also viewed by German commanders at the time as being a cut above either Heer formations or even other formations of the Waffen SS.
These "elite" divisions included the
LSSAH,
Das Reich,
Totenkopf, the multi-national
Wiking, the
Hohenstaufen and
Frundsberg, and the
Hitlerjugend.
In spite of heavy casualties, some of the Waffen-SS units retained their reputations as crack formations until the end of the War, though the quality of formations raised late in the war was often execrable, and some of the
Freiwillige troops were prone to mutiny (see, for instance,
13.Waffen-Gebirgs-Division der SS Handschar (kroatische Nr.1) ).
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 European '
crusade', fighting to save old Europe from the 'Godless bolshevik hordes'. 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, French,
Azeri, Armenian, Flemish, Norwegian,
Finnish and Dutch
Freiwilligen (volunteer) 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. Himmler ordered that new Waffen-SS units formed with men of non-Germanic ethnicity were to be designated
division der SS (or Division of the 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 (e.g. a Latvian
Hauptscharführer would be referred to as a
Waffen-Hauptscharführer rather than
SS-Hauptscharführer). An example of a division der SS is the Estonian
20.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (estnische Nr.1). The combat ability of the divisions
der SS varied greatly, with the Latvian, French and Estonian formations perfoming exceptionally whilst the Albanian units perfoming poorly.
While many adventurers and idealists joined the SS as part of the fight against Communism, many of the later recruits joined or were conscripted for different reasons. For example, Dutchmen who joined the
34.SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Division Landstorm Nederland were granted exemption from forced labour and provided with food, pay and accommodation. Recruits who joined for such reasons rarely proved good soldiers, and several units composed of such
volunteers were involved in atrocities.
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 (estnische Nr.1) is an example of such a conscript formation, which proved to be outstanding soldiers with an unblemished record.
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 (e.g. volunteers of the Spanish
Blue Division). 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 southeast Asia in 1943 to take charge of the Indian National Army (similar to the Indian Legion, but much larger), 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.
After the surrender, many volunteers were tried and imprisoned by their countries. In several cases, volunteers were executed. Those volunteers from the
Baltic States and
Ukraine could at best look forward to years spent in the
gulags. To avoid this, many ex-volunteers from these regions joined underground resistance groups (see
Forest Brothers) which were engaged fighting the Soviets until the 1950s.
Many other Waffen-SS volunteers, including many
Wiking veterans, avoided punishment by joining the
French Foreign Legion, and many ex-SS men fought and died at the
Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954. Helped by
ODESSA network, Walloon volunteer leader
Leon Degrelle escaped to Spain, where, despite being sentenced to death
in absentia by the Belgian authorities, he lived in comfortable exile until his death in
1994.
John Amery, the leader of the
Britisches Freikorps, was tried and convicted of
treason by the British government. He was executed in December 1945.
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 (HICOG), 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 (Baltic Legions) 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 general condamnation of
Nazi regime across the globe, official statements of the position of Estonian and Latvian Waffen SS veterans remain ambiguous. The Latvian parliament
Saeima declared "the day of the Legion" (16 March) as a national holiday, but under pressure from the
European Union, reversed its decision in
2000.
Overall, around 60% of Waffen-SS members were non-German[
1]
Among the more unusual units to exist in the Waffen SS was the
Britisches Freikorps, a unit composed of citizens of the British Commonwealth, was led by
John Amery and had a strength of no more than 60 men at any given time. The
American Free Corps or "George Washington Brigade" was also a tiny unit of English speaking SS men raised for propaganda purposes that consisted of no more than 5 members.
Many formations within the Waffen-SS were proven to have committed
war crimes, most notoriously at
Oradour-sur-Glane,
Marzabotto, against Canadian soldiers in the
Battle of Normandy and Americans in the
Malmedy massacre.
Perhaps the most infamous of all SS formations were the
Dirlewanger and
Kaminski Brigades (later to become the
36.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS and
29.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (russische Nr.1) respectively. These formations, composed mostly of ex-
Einsatzgruppen, released criminals and Russian
Prisoners of War and commanded by the fanatical Nazis
Oskar Dirlewanger and
Bronislaw Kaminski, were engaged in numerous atrocities throughout their existence. After their actions in putting down the
Warsaw Uprising, Heer complaints resulted in these units being dissolved and several members (including Kaminski) being tried and executed for their role in several incidents.
Similarly, the
Waffen-Sturm-Brigade RONA has a "combat" record riddled with atrocities as well as abysmal conduct when faced with front line service.
While some Waffen-SS divisions such as
Nordland and
Nord are not associated with battlefield atrocities, others were involved to some degree in systemic criminal acts. The debate over the culpability of the organisation as a whole is the center of much so-called 'revisionist' thinking (see
Holocaust denial and
Historical revisionism).
On one end of the debate, in addition to documented atrocities, certain Waffen-SS units did assist in rounding up Eastern European Jewry for deportation,
SS-Division Totenkopf personnel convalesced at concentration camps by serving routine guard duties, and utilised
Scorched-earth tactics during anti-partisan operations.
On the other end, some assert that with over 900,000 men serving in its ranks from 15 nationalities, the Waffen-SS was a pan-European military formation embedded with a socio-political ideology, similar in composition to the 19th-century
Napoleonic forces or even modern-day
NATO military organization.
Regardless of the record of individual combat units within the Waffen-SS, the entire organisation was declared a criminal organization by the
International Military Tribunal during the
Nuremberg Trials, except conscripts, who were exempted from that judgment due to being forcibly mobilized. The actions of Himmler and the Nazi hierarchy in attaching the SS combat divisions to the same overall command of as the
Allgemeine SS,
Concentration Camps and
Einsatzgruppen meant that such a decision was inevitable.
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List of German divisions in WWII (with links to articles on individual units)
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Comparative military ranks of World War II*
Finnish Waffen SS volunteers*
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Das Reich Homepage – By Dan Reinbold - apolitical history site on 2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich"
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Axis History Factbook; Waffen-SS part – By Marcus Wendel and contributors; site also contains an apolitical forum about the Axis nations
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Feldgrau.com – By Jason Pipes,
Stanford University/
University of California at Berkeley; research on the German armed forces 1918–1945
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Waffen-SS.com – By Thomas Wilhelm (webmaster) et.al.; a site exploring the combat role of the Waffen-SS in WWII; also includes forum
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Germanic Volunteers of the Waffen-SS (excerpt) – Translated from the German WWII-era original (
Germanische Freiwillige im Osten)
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Camouflage uniforms of the Waffen-SS – From Brad Turner's website kamouflage.net; also includes similar information for
Heer,
Luftwaffe*
Waffen-SS from TM-E 30-451 Handbook on German Military Forces (U.S. WWII manual, March 1945)
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Books On The Waffen-SS
