Foreign Waffen-SS Troops Formed up to Resist the Soviets in Berlin

Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler and adjutant Julius Schaub at the Reichskanzlei, March 1945

Schadpanzer or Pantherturm in Berlin, May 1945

Königstiger n°101 of s.SS-Pz.Abt.503 at the Potsdamer Platz, May 1945

Unknown SS-Ustuf. lay dead at Friedrichstraße in central Berlin, May 1945

The Battle of Berlin is well known not only for being a fierce and bitter battle, but because a great number of its last defenders were not German, but were foreign volunteers particularly from Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. An extraordinary very close comradeship had grown up among the Waffen-SS foreign volunteers defending Berlin in the final battle of World War II in Europe. Author Theodor Hartmann writes in the conclusion of the book Waffen-SS: Its Divisional Insignia: By 1945, the Waffen-SS had proved by its combat success that European people could exist together, but as long as they recognized and accepted the national differences between one another. It had been in the Waffen-SS that, for the first time, Dutch had been commanded by Germans and Germans by Belgians. It was this idealism, dearly bought on the roads of Russia and later in its slave labor camps, that created an outstanding spirit of comradeship and combatant ability among all members, regardless of nationality or rank. On April 16 1945, the multinational 11.SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Division Nordland was ordered into the line east of Berlin. During this time, a 300 man unit of French Waffen-SS volunteers of 33.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS Charlemagne and a company of Spanish SS men of Spanische-Freiwilligen Kompanie der SS 101 under command of Hauptsturmführer der SS Miguel Ezquerra (1903-1984) were attached to the division. The Nordland was involved in constant combat all along it's front, pushing the division back into the city itself. By April 22 1945, it had been pushed back to the Tiergarten in the centre of Berlin. The remains of Nordland's SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 23 Norge and 24 Danmark, found themselves defending the bridges across the Spree. After a spirited but futile defense, the remnants of Nordland were pushed back into the Government District. Meanwhile, the main Soviet assault was towards the Treptow Park area, where the rest of the few remaining Panzers of SS-Panzer-Abteilung 11 Hermann von Salza were defending. SS-Obersturmbannführer Paul-Albert Kausch led the few Panzers and armoured vehicles in a counter attack and succeeded in halting the enemy advance, at the cost of his last vehicles. By April 26 1945, the defenders of the government district had been pushed back into the Reichstag itself, and were causing heavy casualties to the advancing Soviets. Top image: allegedly the last photo taken of Adolf Hitler. It shows him and chief aide and adjutant SS-Obergruppenführer Julius Schaub inspecting bomb damage to the Reich Chancellery dining room on March 20 1945. Credit: Facundo Filipe. Second image: a Panther – one of several that were dug into the ground in Berlin to be used as a desperate defensive weapon in 1945. These were tanks deemed too badly damaged to be repaired to running order. They were stripped of running gear and engines and were dug in at key junctions where they could cover multiple streets. Third image: a Tiger II known under the informal name Königstiger belonging to schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 503 near the Columbushaus at Potsdamer Platz. On April 28 1945 this Tiger n°101 attached to the Nordland and commanded by SS-Oberscharführer Karl-Heinz Turk were ordered to stage an attack from the Potsdamer Bahnhof. They became engaged in a day-long melee with Soviet T-34-85 and IS-2 tanks. On the morning of April 30 1945 Turk's tank was hit on the right front corner. The immobile Kingtiger was abandoned in the evening on May 1 1945 after running out of ammunition. All photos in the Public domain.