European non-Germans in the German armed forces during World War II

Danish Free Corp members make an oath in 1941

Europäische Freiwillige is a German term meaning "European Volunteers", derived from the German "Freiwillige" (volunteer),^[1] and is used to describe volunteers from an occupied country who join the army of the occupier.

Background

The term was mainly used to describe non-German Europeans (neither Reichsdeutsche nor Volksdeutsche) who volunteered to fight for the Third Reich during World War II. Though largely recruited from occupied countries, they also came from co-belligerent, neutral, and even active enemy nations. They fought in the Waffen-SS as well as in the Wehrmacht.

On the Eastern Front the volunteers and conscripts in the Ostlegionen came to comprise a fighting force equivalent to 30 German divisions by the end of 1943.

Large numbers of Freiwillige also came from areas outside Europe, mainly motivated by a desire to fight for the freedom of their nations against Soviet or British domination. The non-German troops thus comprised a wide range of ethnicities, for example from the mainly Turkic peoples in the Ostlegionen to the Muslim Slavs in 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar and the Indians of the Indische Legion (the Indian National Army fought against the British on the Japanese side).

Countries which had European Freiwillige in the German forces

Branches of the Wehrmacht

Volunteers from Western and Northern Europe served in the various different branches of the Wehrmacht, i.e., the Kriegsmarine (navy), the Luftwaffe (air force), and the Heer (land forces). Several Heer units composed primarily of "non-Germanic" volunteers (e.g., French, Walloons, Spaniards) were eventually subordinated to the Waffen-SS in the later phases of the war.

At various times, the Wehrmacht also recruited or conscripted foreigners as:

Special technical officers (Sonderführer)—usually translators, local liaison officers, and the like
HiWis—often from prisoners of war
Luftwaffenhelfer—mainly teenage boys, but sometimes also girls

SS during World War II

There were a number of divisions of the SS which were made up of non Germans including:

Renaming

Some of these merely consisted of many different nationalities over the course of the war, such as 5.SS-Panzer-Division Wiking, whereas others dropped the "Freiwilligen" and were adopted by the SS, such as 14.Galizische whose name changed three times during World War II:

14.Galizische SS-Freiwilligen-Division
14.Galizische SS-Frewilligen-Infanterie-Division
14.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (galizische Nr.1)
14.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (ukrainishe Nr.1)

Disreputable conduct

Many of the units committed war crimes, as well as involvement in the Holocaust and in atrocities committed against Soviet civilians during so-called anti-partisan operations. For information on these formations see:

Postwar activities of veterans

Following the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, the former Waffen-SS veterans were prosecuted in their home countries.^[2] Treated as pariahs by the fellow countrymen, they often sought support from the former German comrades through membership in organisations such as HIAG.

The German and non-German Waffen-SS veterans began publishing periodicals in the 1950s to promote their own narrative of events. HIAG's magazine Wiking-Ruf first appeared in 1951. This later became the monthly magazine Der Freiwillige (OCLC 4378250) published by Munin Verlag, a company with ties to HIAG. Recently, Patrick Agte has taken over the name "Munin Verlag" and publication of Der Freiwillige.^[3]

A separate newsletter Unser Wiking-Ruf, devoted solely to SS-Division Wiking, began appearing in the 1990s.^[4]

Another apologist periodical devoted to the German and non-German units of the Waffen-SS is the American-published quarterly, Siegrunen (ISSN 0733-0367).

References

↑ Bishop, Chris (2005). SS: Hitler's Foreign Divisions: Foreign Volunteers in the Waffen SS 1941-45. Spellmount, p. 11. ISBN 1862272891
↑ E.g. Norway. Cf. Legal purge in Norway after World War II.
↑ Feldgrau.net :: View topic - Munin Verlag
↑ Thema anzeigen - Zeitschriften zu unserem Thema - Panzer-Archiv

Estes, Kenneth W. (2003). A European Anabasis: Western European Volunteers in the German Army and SS, 1940–1945. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-50218-4. OCLC 53783960.
Hilberg, Raul (1992). Perpetrators, Victims, Bystanders: The Jewish Catastrophe, 1933–1945. New York, NY: Aaron Asher Books. ISBN 978-0-06-019035-4. OCLC 25410526.
Neulen, Hans Werner (1985). An deutscher Seite: Internationale Freiwillige von Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS (in German). Munich: Universitas. ISBN 3-8004-1069-9. OCLC 15718653.

Reflecting the veterans' own narrative

Agte, Patrick (2000). Europas Freiwillige der Waffen-SS: Biographien aller Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes, des Deutschen Kreuzes in Gold, der Ehrenblattspange und der Nahkampfspange in Gold, die keine Deutschen waren; europäische Freiwillige aus den Niederlanden, Belgien, Frankreich, Dänemark, Norwegen, Schweden, Finnland, Lettland, Estland und Ungarn (in German). Pluwig: Munin Verlag. ISBN 3-9807215-0-7. OCLC 56829243. (Contains biographies of Europäische Freiwillige who were awarded the Knight's Cross, and other higher military honours.)
Ertel, Heinz; Schulze-Kossens, Richard (2000) [1986]. Europäische Freiwillige im Bild (in German) (3rd ed.). Osnabrück: Nation Europa. ISBN 978-3-920677-23-1. OCLC 51039369.
Strassner, Peter (1988). European Volunteers: The 5. SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking". translated by David Johnston (2nd ed.). Winnipeg, Man.: J.J. Fedorowicz. ISBN 978-0-921991-89-2. OCLC 123248703.
Tieke, Wilhelm (2001). Tragedy of the Faithful: A History of the III. (germanisches) SS-Panzer-Korps. translated by Fred Steinhardt. Winnipeg, Man.: J.J. Fedorowicz. ISBN 978-0-921991-61-8. OCLC 71050470.
Tieke, Wilhelm (ed.) (c. 2000). Einsatz für Europa: Europäische Freiwillige im zweiten Weltkrieg auf deutscher Seite (in German). N.p.: Kameradenwerk Korps Steiner e.V.

Schutzstaffel (SS)

Branches	Allgemeine SS Totenkopfverbände (SS-TV) Waffen-SS

Leadership	Reichsführer-SS SS and Police Leader SS personnel SS commands

Leaders	Julius Schreck Joseph Berchtold Erhard Heiden Heinrich Himmler Karl Hanke

Main departments	Office of the Reichsführer-SS Head Administrative Office Head Operational Office Reich Main Security Office (RSHA) Economics and Administration Office Office of Race and Settlement (RuSHA) Main Office for Ethnic Germans (VOMI) Office of the Reich Commissioner for Germanic Resettlement (RKFDV) Courts Office Personnel Office Education Office

Ideological institutions	Ahnenerbe Das Schwarze Korps SS-Junkerschule Bad Tölz Lebensborn

Police and security services	Regular uniform police (Orpo) Criminal police (Kripo) Secret State police (Gestapo) State Security police (SiPo) SS Security Service (SD)

Führer protection	SS-Begleitkommando des Führers Reichssicherheitsdienst

Paramilitary units	Einsatzgruppen Ypatingasis būrys Lithuanian Security Police Rollkommando Hamann Arajs Kommando Ukrainian Auxiliary Police Ukrainian collaboration Volksdeutscher Selbstschutz Trawnikis

Waffen-SS divisions	Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT) Leibstandarte (LSSAH) Totenkopf-Division Polizei-Division

Foreign SS units	Germanic-SS Germaansche SS in Nederland Germaansche SS in Vlaanderen Germanske SS Norge Schalburg Corps Britisches Freikorps Europäische Freiwillige S.S. Sturmbrigade R.O.N.A. Finnisches Freiwilligen-Bataillon

SS-controlled enterprises	Ostindustrie Deutsche Wirtschaftsbetriebe Deutsche Ausrüstungswerke DEST Allach porcelain Apollinaris Mattoni Sudetenquell Anton Loibl

SS Awards	Ehrendegen Reichsführer-SS Totenkopfring

Ranks, uniforms and insignia	Uniforms and insignia of the SS Ranks and insignia of the Waffen-SS Ranks and insignia of the Orpo Corps colours of the Waffen-SS

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