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| Dutch Waffen-SS Volunteers of SS-Standarte Westland |
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| Danish Waffen-SS Volunteers of Frikorps Danmark |
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| Scandinavian Waffen-SS Frontline Nurses |
The first Danes, Dutch, Flemings, Norwegians and Swedes were concentrated, along with Finns, into the new SS-Division Wiking. The division was formed around the
Germania regiment. The enrollment began in April 1940 with the creation of two regiments: the SS-Standarte
Nordland for Danish, Norwegian and Swedish volunteers, and the SS-Standarte
Westland for Dutch and Flemish volunteers. The Wiking did receive first-class officers and training before it went into action during late
June 1941. The SS-Division Wiking performed so well during its first campaign suggested that troops drawn from outside the Reich's borders might be an effective way of fulfilling the Waffen-SS manpower requirements. In 1943, the Estonian SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Batallion
Narwa was also added to Westland. During an interview on October 26 1952, the former German divisional commander Herbert Otto Gille said:
In the ranks of the Wiking stood representatives of most of Europe’s countries and nations... The majority were idealists, with a strong national feeling towards their own country. But they realized already 10 years ago that Europe could only be defended by joint efforts. Top image: Dutch volunteers of the newly built up SS-Standarte Westland in 1940. The term Standarte was soon to be replaced by that of the Regiment. Het Leven, Spaarnestad Photo. Fair use. Bottom images: Danish Waffen-SS Volunteers and Norwegian SS Front Nurses taking their oath of allegiance. The SS was responsible for both the recruitment and training of the volunteer front nurses. The
Scandinavian SS nurses mostly served in Nordic volunteer units and formations. Many of them witnessed the heavy fighting at some of the most vicious chapters of the Eastern Front. The Norwegian front nurse Mrs Anne-Gunhild Moxness who served with the Wiking in Ukraine and Caucasus and with the III Germanic SS-Panzerkorps in the Baltic States was the first non-German woman to ever receive the Iron Cross (August 2 1944). The nurse in center is SS Frontschwester Elsa Stendal. Also seen in the picture is the front nurses Grete Bråten and Anne Marie Bjørnstad. This photo was taken by the former German fashion photographer the war correspondent Max Ehlert. c. Bundesarchiv.
“Danskene var mer robuste og mindre følsomme enn nordmennene,” sammenfattet en SS-offiser. “Nordmennene jobbet på den annen side hardere og var mer ettertenksomme.” En rapport om de ferske soldatene betegnet skandinavene som “selvstendige tenkere og svært tilbøyelige til kritikk,” noe man ikke var vant til i SS.
ReplyDeleteGerman officers gave the Norwegians, Danes, Swedes, and Dutchmen free rein to behave as they liked. They were known for raping, murdering and pillaging their way through Russia, and the majority of their prisoners were starved and tortured to death. SS members were fanatics, who rather fought to the death than surrender.
ReplyDeletePossibly the dumbest comment I've ever read (at least on this site) - sheer stupidity fueled by ignorance.
DeleteWild-assed nonsense only. Simply not true.
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DeleteDumb comment. Ignore the trolls. The Dunning-Kruger effect. Delete.
DeleteNo facts, just hearsay and lack of knowledge.
DeleteThe less people like Yendell know, the more confident they are :)
ReplyDeleteRichard Yendell, I respect free speech and I respect your right to be wrong, which you are. Your rambling may seem sound to those with a scant idea, such as you seem to have. However to those that have studied in a little more depth know better. I don't intend to continue to argue the toss with you, you will not be swayed, but your hypothesis is greatly flawed.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteMy understanding - although I am by no means an expert here - is that many of the foreign SS volunteers were perhaps more anti-Russian/anti-Communist rather than pro-Nazi. With that said, the Wiking Division fought with an unrelenting energy and won the reputation of being a tough but honorable opponent. Among the ranks of its officers were included high calipered men such as Felix Steiner, Herbert Otto Gille, August Dieckmann, Hans Dorr and Walter Schmidt to name a few. This is indeed a very interesting division to study.
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