Waffen-SS recruits

Waffen-SS recruits

Training in the Waffen-SS placed high emphasis on physical standards of attainment which are only paralleled today by those of élite units. Each young man who was accepted into the Waffen-SS, a veteran recalled, was very proud of this. Out of 500 volunteers in my group, only 28 qualified. Being accepted at all was a great honor because such a strict selection process. Only the best applicants were accepted. Of those, only the most promising were selected for officer training, and only 60% of these passed their courses. Those men who became battalion and higher-level commanders in the SS-V after beginning their careers as simple enlisted men were in many ways the “best of the best”, and in that light, it is not surprising that so many were highly considered.  Credit: Marc Rikmenspoel. Image: Waffen-SS recruits at a medical examination - late 1930s. Public domain.