Occupied Kharkov: Maidan Dzerzhynskoho renamed Platz der Leibstandarte

Battle-hardened Panzergrenadiers of Paul Hausser's SS-Panzerkorps

Platz der Leibstandarte

SS-Obergruppenführer Paul Hausser's SS-Panzerkorps gained a great victory in the Third Battle of Kharkov where it destroyed substantial Soviet forces and recaptured the city. The élite Waffen-SS divisions were frequently deployed where the fighting was expected to be the harshest. Many of its casualties were in the city of Kharkov itself, which only fell after five days of intense close-guarter combat. It was solely a Waffen-SS victory, the feat being achieved by the Leibstandarte SS, Das Reich and Totenkopf Panzer Divisions. After enduring the losses necessary to retake the city's blood stained streets the SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Leibstandarte SS renamed Kharkov's town square, then called Maidan Dzerzhynskoho, as “Platz der Leibstandarte” in honour of the fallen. Kharkov was retaken and for the time being the Eastern Front seemed to have stabilized. In preparing the defences of Kharkov the Germans used slave labour in form of 25,000 Soviets, presumably both prisoners of war and conscripted civilians to carry out the work required. Top clip: Waffen-SS Panzergrenadiers after the many small actions across the countryside and the spectacular retake of Kharkov. Footage from Die Deutsche Wochenschau. Fair use. Bottom image: aerial photo of Kharkov's main square Platz der Leibstandarte taken from a German Fieseler Storch reconnaissance plane. After the Ukrainian independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 the square has been renamed the Freedom Square. Fair use.