With the beginning of the Operation Barbarossa more than 100,000 Ukrainians volunteered for the fight against Stalin and communismn. These volunteers were put into Schutzmannschafts-Bataillone under the control of the German Police. After Stalingrad however, Ukrainians were allowed to build up a division sized unit for the frontline. Around 15,000 Ukrainians were drafted and their first combat was at the Brody front in Galicia in summer 1944.
Several thousand ethnic Germans in Romania, (the so called Volksdeutscher) were drafted into the Waffen-SS in 1943. With these new troops Himmler built up the new 11th Waffen-SS Division. To fill the ranks Division "Nordland" also took over battalion strength units from Danmark and Norway, though ninety percent of the division were Volksdeutsche from Romania. They were first used incombat in Croatia, the Oranienbaumer, Estonia, and Latvia. After the Soviet attack in Pomerania they fought in Berlin and were destroyed there.
During World War II nearly every Wehrmacht soldier outside of Germany came into contact, either directly or indirectly, with the nearly one-million partisans throughout Europe. Operations against these "bandits" usually fell outside the rules of war and those who fought saw image of incredible cruelty. Those German soldiers and police members who fought against the partisans were qualified to receive the anti-partisan badge. This concise book discusses the award's three grades and includes rare documents and war-era photographs.
The SS Division “30. Januar” was one of the last SS-Divisions formed during World War II and was almost entirely composed of training units and 16-18 year old boys (the honorary name “30. Januar” was the same date Hitler became Reich chancellor in 1933). First planned as a motorized division, the unit ended up as a normal infantry division because of a lack of fuel. With a final strength of 12,000, they fought on the Oder-front south of Frankfurt/Oder. After the Soviet attack on 16 April 1945 they were wiped out in the pocket of Halbe southeast of Berlin.
From summer 1941, some 100,000 Russians served in the German Wehrmacht, mostly as so called Schutzmannschaften under the command of the German Police (Hhere SS- und Polizeifhrer) in the eastern occupied areas. The most famous unit was the Brigade Kaminski, established by Bronislav Kaminski in the summer of 1941. In 1944 it became the Waffen-Sturmbrigade der SS Rona later the 29. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS Rona (russische Nr.1). A second division was later established from various Schutzmannschafts-Bataillonen and was designated 30. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (russische Nr.2).
When German troops entered Estonia in the summer of 1941 they were welcomed by the Estonians. Thousands of Estonians wanted to take part in the war against Russia. Besides the Schutzmannschaften of German Police in 1942 Himmler started to build up an Estonian SS-Volunteer Brigade which became later the 20. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (estnische Nr. 1). They fought most notably at the Narwa-Front, and later in Silesia.
This is the first book in English on this obscure early-World War II SS unit. In July 1939, SS-Heimwehr Danzig was formed from members of the III./4. SS-Totenkopf-Standarte "Ostmark," as well as from Danzig citizen volunteers. As a unit of the Reichsführer-SS they reinforced other existing Danzig units for the impending invasion of Poland. This book not only describes the political background that led to their deployment in September 1939, but also contains the combat recollections of former members, as well as over 100 photographs, and documents.
STAHLHELM SERIES: THE HISTORY OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE THIRD REICH. Fifty years after the end of World War II in Europe, it is felt imperative that the English-speaking world comprehend the perspectives of those who fought on the other (losing) side, which to a great extent can only be appreciated by a familiarity with their unique experiences, particularly on the decisive Eastern Front.
A rare look inside the Sonderkommando "Dirlewanger," the SS anti-partisan unit notorious for atrocities in Poland and Russia during World War II. These memoirs were written by a former member of the unit from its formation in 1940 to the end of the war and took part in nearly all its operations. A first hand account of the brutal and barbaric methods used by Dirlewanger against partisans - methods that appalled even some SS commanders - are revealed here in this memoir. SS-Sonderkommando "Dirlewanger" was originally manned by convicted poachers, however as the war progressed replacements were found by emptying prisons and filling the ranks with more hardened criminals. Here are the chilling recollections of a soldier in the SS-Sonderkommando "Dirlewanger" during the Polish and Russian campaigns, the 1944 Warsaw uprising and the final battles near Berlin.