ϟϟ-Regiment „Leibstandarte ϟϟ“ and the Wormhoudt Massacre

Adolf Hitler's entourage drive through Bruxelles shortly after the German invasion

French soldiers of 158e régiment d'infanterie taken POWs in Walloon Region

Senegalese Tirailleurs of French Colonial Army taken POWs in Northern France

After the expulsion of the British Expeditionary Forces from the continental mainland and the Belgian capitulation at the end of May 1940, the second phase of the Western Offensive began, the Battle for France. Men from the 2nd battalion of the Leibstandarte SS under the command of the then SS-Hauptsturmführer Wilhelm Mohnke are believed to have been involved in the Wormhoudt massacre in France on May 28 1940, where 80 something British and French POWs were killed. For several years, the massacre remained unknown, until some of the British survivors told of what they had lived through. Although no reputable historian denies that a massacre took place, no one has ever been formally charged in this case. It proved impossible in 1947 to construct a sufficiently strong case to bring prosecutions. In 1988, the case was reopened but a German prosecutor came to the conclusion that there was insufficient evidence to bring charges. Top image: on the morning of June 1 1940, while the battle for France was still unfolding, German dictator Adolf Hitler and his entourage took a short flight to Brussels. His six-wheeled Mercedes-Benz W31 type G4 was guarded by men of the Leibstandarte SS during his surprise visit to Flanders. It was here that Hitler had won the Iron Cross 2nd Class for bravery back in 1914, an event which he described as the happiest day of his life. In this photo, the column can be seen near Le Palais de Justice in Brussels. At the time this photo was taken the nearest unit of the British Expeditionary Force was only 20 km distant. Photo by Hitler's official photographer Heinrich Hoffmann. Credit: Erenow. Originally publ. in the Illustreiter Beobachter in June 13 1940. Middle image: soldiers of the French 158th Infantry Regiment taken POWs by Oberst Rudolf von Tschudi's Infanterie-Regiment 469. Photo taken in Thulin on May 23 1940 by Kriegsberichter Leutnant Eric Borchert, and publ. in 1941 in his book Entscheidende Stunden. This particular photo was taken at the end of Place du Calvarie, today Place des Français. His negatives were later captured by the French Army when they entered Strasbourg in 1945, and are now retained by the ECPAd. Lt. Borchert himself was KIA in Libya on Oct. 10 1941 accompanying GenLt. Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps. Credit: Rui Manuel Candeias. Bottom image: German Signal Corps with French colonial POWs in June 1940. Unlike their white compatriots, the colonial prisoners were imprisoned in Frontstalags in France rather than being brought to Germany. Although no precise estimates exist, the number of French soldiers captured during the Battle of France is generally recognised around 1.8 million. Credit: Julius Backman Jääskeläinen. c. Bundesarchiv. Note: The photos are not related to the context of the article.