Combat Record of II.ϟϟ-Panzerkorps during Operation Zitadelle

Paul Hausser's II.SS-Panzerkorps

Waffen-SS Panzer VI Tiger at the Kursk salient

The Waffen-SS alone claimed a huge number of tank kills – 1,149 in total – during Operation Citadel, along with the destruction of 459 antitank guns, 85 aircrafts and 47 artillery pieces. SS-Obergruppenführer Paul Hausser's men also took 6,441 prisoners. This, indeed, could be considered a great victory. However, from Soviet viewpoint the Battle of Kursk was a strategic success. Their defence tactics worked, preventing the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS breaking through into open and using their Blitzkrieg-style of warfare to outflank, confuse and surround the Soviets. But any hope the Soviets may have had of dealing a major defeat to the II.SS-Panzerkorps ended. Prokhorovka was believed to have been a significant German defeat but was actually a stunning reversal for the Soviets. Careful study of the daily reports and combat records of II.SS-Panzerkorps, available on microfilm at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., provides information that the Germans may have been near a success on the southern flank of the Kursk salient. As Feldmarschall Erich von Manstein suggested, Prokhorovka may truly have been a lost German victory. However, Kursk ended any hope of a stalemate in the east. Top image: Leibstandarte men raising the SS runes in their camp on the Kursk salient in June 1943. Photo by SS-KB Waldbach. U.S. NARA. Bottom image: a Tiger of the SS moves forward on the exposed Russian steppe during Citadel. Credit: Wydawnictwo Militaria N°230. c. Bundesarchiv.

Waffen-SS – Part of a Criminal Organization

Unidentified soldier of the Waffen-SS

Unidentified SS-Maiden of the SS-Helferinnenkorps

In their brief but extraordinary existence the Waffen-SS won a unique reputation for daring élan and esprit de corps and unfailing professionalism in combat. Their courage was unquestioned and they achieved worldwide fame and notoriety. Waffen-SS played a conspicuous role in most of the important German triumphs, one far disproportionate to their numbers. Despite repeatedly sustaining horrendous casualties, their discipline remained unbroken, their fighting ardour unimpaired. After WWII, the Allies declared that the whole of the SS, including the Waffen-SS, was a criminal organization. Regardless of the military professionalism and the record of individual combat units, the entire organization was declared criminal. At a stroke, the imprisoned European volunteers were stripped of the protection of the Geneva Convention. All Soldiers of the Waffen-SS were automatically considered war criminals by virtue of being volunteers in the Waffen-SS; and for all their matchless undoubted bravery, the Waffen-SS now bears a reputation which will remain forever stained with infamy. Sir Norman Birkett, British alternate judge at the Nuremberg Tribunal, explained in April 1946 that: the trial is only in form a judicial process and its main importance is political. Hilfsgemeinschaft auf Gegenseitigkeit der Angehörigen der ehemaligen Waffen-SS (Mutual Help Association of Former Waffen-SS Members) was an organization founded in 1951 by former members of the Waffen-SS to provide assistance to the approximately 250.000 former Waffen-SS veterans living in West Germany at the time. The HIAG successfully fought numerous legal battles in West Germany to overturn the Nürnberg ruling and win legal status of the Waffen-SS. Waffen-SS veterans were denied many of the rights afforded to soldiers of the regular Wehrmacht, even pensions were denied to its members as a result of having been condemned as a criminal organization by the victorious Allies. Left image: a perfect shot of the elite esprit de corps so commonly found in Waffen-SS. Commons: Bundesarchiv. Right image: a great portrait of a female volunteer in the SS-Helferinnenkorps. As members of the Waffen-SS they wore the SS runes and sleeve eagle on their uniforms. After the war, its members were mistakenly often regarded as members of the SS-Gefolges, female SS guards, who were not members of the Waffen-SS. Fair use.

Surrender of Waffen-SS and Wehrmacht troops in Böhmen (Pilsen)

SS-Obersturmbannführer of unidentified SS unit

U.S. occupied zone of Czechoslovakia

U.S. occupied zone of Czechoslovakia

The film shows the withdrawal of armed SS-Panzergrenadiers from Prague in the Reichsprotektorat Böhmen und Mähren where they organized the safe passage of many German civilians, non combatants and regular troops and SS rear area units. They were most likely soldiers of the brave and competent SS-Obersturmbannführer Otto Weidinger's  SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 4 Der Führer of 2.SS-Panzer-Division Das Reich. Ethnic German civilians residing in Prague, administrators, officials, and family members of the German military were the easiest targets of Czech communists. They had to flee by any means, including stolen vehicles, in order to save bare lives. The Sudeten German population of Bohemia-Moravia was expelled after the war and tens of thousands were murdered. In Prague alone, according to Otto von Habsburg (one of the architects of the European idea and of European integration) and Czech newspapers published in June 1945, there were 27,000 suicides of Germans within the three weeks following May 8 1945. On that day there lived roughly 60,000 Germans in Prague, to which must be added a large number of wounded soldiers in hospitals who were killed almost without exception. It is quite obvious that, in reality, the word "suicide" is simply a euphemism for murder and execution. The grainy film shows column of trucks with surrendering battle-hardened Waffen-SS and Wehrmacht troops passing trough Czech civilians in the U.S. occupied zone of Czechoslovakia (see Sign Limit of advance - all U.S. troops) in April 1945. It includes shots of G.I.'s who directs route of surrender and disarms officers in a staff car. Truckloads of surrendering elements of Das Reich and civilians riding past the camera. Two Luftwaffe officers talking to U.S. officer and an SS-Ostubaf. from either an SS Guard Battalion or the Waffen-SS who seems satisfied - they made it out. German civilians and soldiers walking up road. Long line of surrendering troops marching down the road. Faces of troops as they pass the camera. Film edited by Stabswache de Euros. U.S. NARA. Prod. USAAF 4th CCU. PD. Ext. link: Waffen-SS and regular panzer troops (20.Panzer-Division) surrendering to U.S. troops near Pilsen in Czechoslovakia on May 9 1945.

Killing, the Czech Way – the expulsion of ethnic Germans in 1945

An unidentified German youngster in the fields of Pilsen

American GIs letting themselves be filmed next to a victim of the Czechs

LTC George Stevens of USASC pose with liberated German souvenirs

Top screenshot: a young German prisoner of war smiles at the camera when receiving soup from an outdoor stove set up in the fields of  Pilsen in Czechoslovakia on May 7 1945. This image is a photo still from film material taken by Swedish-American Capt. Oren W. Haglund who served with the American F.M.P.U. (First Motion Picture Unit). Fair use. Middle screenshot: American soldiers letting themselves be filmed next to a murdered ethnic German boy on the outskirts of Pilsen in Czechoslovakia on April 8 1945. Fair use. The following external links contains material not suitable for anyone under 18 years of age: U.S. Army Footage Film. The film shows a long line of unarmed German POWs walking in the Böhmen countryside with fields on either side of the road on May 8 1945. Between 00:56 – 02:18 it shows armed White Russians from General Andrey Vlasov's Russian Liberation Army (ROA) who had enlisted into the Wehrmacht to fight against the Soviet Union. They later surrendered to U.S. forces near Pilsen but were all returned to the Soviets by the Americans. The camera crew inadvertantly stumbled on a village where reprisals had taken place by the local communist partisans prior to their arrival. Shots of surrendered German troops, individually beaten to death by the Czechs, lying on the grass. Some of the men are badly wounded but not yet dead. A dead body with blood on his face lies with Haglund's identifying slate beside his head. Several more shots of dead and severely wounded Germans. A half-naked man with blood on his face lies on the grass and looks at the camera. A group of American soldiers stand and look down at the corpse of a young boy in a German military coat. Various scenes with smiling Czech civilians, also seen is American film director and producer George Stevens posing with some liberated souvenirs on May 2 1945. Stevens headed a film unit of the U.S. Army Signal Corps. The ultimate souvenirs was no doubt various insignia and decorations of the feared Waffen-SS. The SS cuff title that the man to the right in the bottom screenshot is wearing bears the inscription Der Führer. Source: NARA. Producer: U.S. Army Air Force 4th CCU. More film material from F.M.P.U. at: Critical Past. Warning extremely graphic. There were at least 15,588 documented killings of ethnic Germans committed by the Czechs after the end of World War II. German records show 18,889 confirmed deaths including 3,411 suicides. Czech records indicated 22,247 deaths including 6,667 unexplained cases or suicides. But the estimated number of missing Sudeten Germans in Böhmen-Mähren is by far much higher than the number of confirmed and documented deaths from violence. Edvard Beneš - president of Czechoslovakia, gave his fellow countrymen absolution for all the expulsion, butchery and massacres committed against German prisoners of war, women, children and civilians in the Sudetenland or the Banat (including the burning of German children at Wenzelsplatz in Prague on May 20 1945).

Waffen-Sturmbannführer der ϟϟ Paul Maitla of estnische Nr.1

Waffen-SS officers Paul Maitla and Arved Laasi with fellow Estonians

Elements of Regiment 45 Estland caught up in the Czech Hell

Estimates suggest up to 1,000 Estoinians were killed in the Czech Hell

After the Soviet occupation of Estonia in 1940 Paul Mathiesen Maitla was drafted into the Soviet Red Army, where he served until he finally managed to get over to the German side in July 1941. He joined the Waffen-SS Eesti Leegion (Estonian Legion). In April 1944 Maitla commanded the 1st Battalion of Waffen-Grenadier-Regiment der SS 45 Estland of the newly formed 20.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (estnische Nr.1). Paul Maitla was one of four Estonian volunteers who received the prestigious Knight's Cross. He was awarded it on August 23 1944 for leading the recapture of the Grenadier Hill (Sinimäed) during the Battle of Tannenberg Line, effectively breaking the Soviet offensive in that sector on July 29 1944. In February 1945 the Estonian SS Division was relocated to central Europe, which now numbered roughly 11,000 Estonians and 2,500 Germans, just in time for the Soviet Vistula-Oder Offensive. Maitla was promoted Waffen-Sturmbannführer der SS on April 20 1945. The fate of Paul Maitla was uncertain until information was discovered in 2005 in the city archives of the Czech town of Nymburk. These archives show that Maitla was arrested on May 9 1945 and murdered together with other Estonian volunteers on May 10 1945 (after World War II had ended) by Czech communists. According to Maitla's chauffeur Arnold Mägar, who survived the "Czech Hell", Maitla did not have good relations with the Germans but was respected. They called him the “Kugelblitz” (fireball). Former Estonian SS-man A. Toomsalu wrote: When Maitla was asked to hide his Knight's Cross during the retreat over the Czech mountains towards river Elbe he answered: What was good enough in battles is good enough in death. The argument that it would mean a certain death to all of them made him finally put the award in his pocket. From that moment on it probably stayed there until the end of his short life. The Estonian author and former Waffen-Untersturmführer der SS Voldemar Madisso saw Maitla in the noon of May 9 1945 on a crossroad north of Prague. Maitla's car was blocking the road to Prague and he directed trucks towards Mladá Boleslav. Maitla and his companions were later captured when their car was stopped by a large number of Czech communists. It happened about 5 kilometers north of Nymburk, on the road to Mladá Boleslav. They were all humiliated and beaten before death. The burial site of these officers, of which one having a Knight's Cross in his pocket, is still unknown. The primary objective of these men was to free Estonia from the Soviet occupation and to restore the democratic polity in Estonia. Top image: Estonain Waffen-SS officers Waffen-Sturmbannführer der SS Paul Maitla, his aide-de-camp Waffen-Untersturmführer der SS Kalju Tamm and Waffen-Hauptsturmführer der SS Arved Laasi in the moments before being executed by Czech communists on May 10 1945. Although, World War II had ended in Europe on May 8 1945. Knight's Cross winner Paul Maitla, 32 years of age, front left and most likely Arved Laasi front right. All photos in the PD.

Massacre of 3.ϟϟ-Panzerdivision „Totenkopf“

SS-KB Baumann/U.S. National Archives

Original SS-Division Totenkopf Cuff Title

Report of experiences of Hanns Bitterlich; after having surrendered to the U.S. Army on May 9 1945, the U.S. 11th Armored Division of the Third Army handed over the survivors to the Soviet Red Army in Pregarten near Linz on May 14 1945: The Americans denied any kind of food to the utterly tired men during the first four days. There were no blankets, no tents, nothing to eat. Crowds of civilians wanted to bring water in pails and other vessels. The American panzer-crews poured out the water and sent the civilian columns back. Thirst seemed to be worth than hunger for the young people, for many of them ran towards the guards and were shot down. On the fourth day at 07:00 the POWs of 3.SS-Panzer-Division Totenkopf were being force-marched to Pregarten into Soviet held territory by their American captors. On this road to Freistadt there happened a general massacre of German Prisoners of War by American soldiers. The men and leaders were so much bodily enervated - they simply could not go on anymore. The rate of marching speed was destined by the American panzers and was extremely fast, as 40 km had to be covered on foot daily. They dragged themselves to the road-ditch or let themselves fall into it. The escorting American soldiers jumped down from their panzers and shot from the shortest distance with their tommy-guns bullets into the temples or necks of the German Prisoners of War sitting or lying at the road-ditch. There they lay, the old Sergeant-Majors and Corporals, who had fought for years and who had gone with glad confidence into American captivity only four days ago - one beside the other at a distance of a few metres. From time to time, several tried to break out, but were mostly shot down by the elevated panzer machine-guns. It seemed that the American panzer unit wanted to win the same glory which we had acquired before in fair fight. Source: Wie ein Fels im Meer by the Totenkopf veteran Karl Ullrich, the last commander of the multinational SS-Division Wiking. Top image shows an exhausted soldier of the Totenkopf photographed by SS-KB Ernst Baumann. Baumann's skill as a cinematographer and his work as an lecturer and news reporter gained him nation-wide recognition. He died aged 78 on Jan. 12 1985 in Bad Reichenhall. U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Bottom image: PD.

ϟϟ-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS Gille

Wiking Kdr. Herbert Gille in Kowel where the division saw fierce combat

An immobilized Panther of Wiking keeps fighting in Kowel sector

Herbert Gille's SS-Panzergrenadiers during the relief effort at Kowel

SS-Gruppenführer Herbert Otto Gille: Liberation of Kowel

SS-Gruppenführer Herbert Otto Gille flew into the encircled Polish city of Kowel to command its forces while Wiking and Heer units fought to the rescue. In the fortress, he reguested assistance from the Luftwaffe, since a lengthy defense of the city would not be possible without supply from the air. Herbert Gille, commander of 5.SS-Panzer-Division Wiking and of the IV.SS-Panzerkorps, holder of the Knight's Cross with Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds, was highly regarded for his leadership qualities and tactical abilities. He had served at the frontline without pause since the Polish Campaign of September 1939. Gille had distinguished himself as a commander on every day of the fighting in Poland, the West and the East. He commanded Waffen-SS units at the regiment, division and corps level with distinction during WWII. Gille was popular with his Dutch and Scandinavian men and admired for his personal bravery. When the end of war was clear, the then SS-Obergruppenführer Gille marched his men towards U.S. troops in order to avoid surrendering to Soviet forces. All of his decorations were stolen in Augsburg. Because of his membership in the Waffen-SS, Gille was taken to Salzburg prison by the U.S. Army. Finally, on May 21 1948, he was released to his family. Gille died aged 69 of heart failure on Dec. 26 1966 in Stemmen near Hannover. More than 800 former Waffen-SS comrades from all over European nations accompanied the General to his final resting place. Former SS-Oberführer Karl Ullrich, the last commander of the Wiking, spoke the eulogy at the graveside of this unforgettable soldier and founder of the veteran magazine Wiking Ruf. Top image: SS-Gruf. Herbert Gille discussing the situation with SS-Stubaf. Franz Hack and SS-Hstuf. d.R. Hans Flügel during the Kowel encirclement in March 1944. Photo by SS-Kriegsberichter Alois Jarolim. Credit: Julia Kotterias. U.S. National Archives. Top clip: a Panther of SS-Panzer-Regiment 5 in Kowel sector, immobilized with track damage but the gun is in working order, and the crew continue to give fire support. Middle clip: SS-Panzergrenadiers of the Wiking in Kowel sector. Bottom clip: huge congratulations to the relief force who attacked and liberated the city of Kowel which had been surrounded by the Soviets in mid-March 1944. The relief force consisted of elements from the Wiking division, 4. and 5.Panzer-Division and 131.Infanterie-Division which together broke through the Soviet lines on April 5 1944 and established a permanent linkup with the defenders in Fortress Kowel led by the frontline veteran Herbert Otto Gille. All footage from Die Deutsche Wochenschau.

Operation Zitadelle: Casualties and losses

SS-Pz.Gren.Div. Das Reich south-west of Prokhorovka

Waffen-SS Panzer men during a break in the Kursk fighting

Battlefield grave of an SS MG gunner at the Kursk salient

The Battle of Prokhorovka has been hailed by Soviet as a great victory. Soviet propaganda claimed more Tigers destroyed during the battle than the actual number engaged in the whole Operation Citadel. Soviet Chief Marshal Rotmistrov's alleged comment "The Tigers are burning!" is definitely a wild exaggeration. According to microfilm at the U.S. National Archives in Washington 15 Tigers were damaged on July 12 1943; 7 Tigers at Prokhorovka and 8 elsewhere on the Southern Front. All were returned to service by July 18 1943. While it is true that the engagement severely weakened the involved units on both sides, the German units were able to maintain their tank strength at a nearly constant level after the first three days of fighting. The number of available German tanks after the battle at Prokhorovka remained at a relatively steady state. According to Russian military historian Grigoriy Krivosheyev Soviet casualties at Kursk during Citadel were 177,874 including 70,330 killed. According to German historian Karl-Heinz Frieser, Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS units suffered 54,182 casualties, including 10,996 killed and missing. Despite the remarkable efforts of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS Panzer Divisions during July and August 1943, the Third Reich found itself in a strategic retreat for the remainder of the campaign in the east. Total casualties and looses in the whole Battle of Kursk, which includes the subsequent Soviet counterstrikes that followed the German offensive Citadel, can be studied at the post Faces of War. Top image: Das Reich Tigers manoeuvre on the Russian steppe west of Yakhontov in the Belgorod Oblast during the Kursk Offensive. Tiger Commander SS-Oscharf. Johann T. Doroschuk can be seen to the left of the picture in the cupola of Tiger S14. Photo by SS-Ostuf. and KB Friedrich Zschäckel. c. Bundesarchiv. Middle image: an SS-Hstuf. and his tank crew during Citadel in July 1943. They are all wearing the SS tanker's Eichenlaub camouflage coverall. Credit: Karl Mensburg. U.S. National Archives.

Allied Operation Market Garden: Casualties and losses

Waffen-SS pioneer lies where he fell on the Nijmegen road bridge

British Airborne Forces taken prisoner by the Waffen-SS in Arnhem

Unbekannter Englischer soldat

Allies forces suffered more casualties in Operation Market Garden than in the mammoth invasion of Normandy. In the nine days of Market Garden combined losses-airborne and ground forces-in killed, wounded and missing amounted to more than 17,000. British casualties were the highest: 13,226. The British paratroopers had the shock of finding unexpected resistance, particularly from SS-Obergruppenführer Wilhelm Bittrich's II.SS-Panzerkorps, consisting of elements of 9.SS-Panzer-Division Hohenstaufen and its sister formation 10.SS-Panzer-Division Frundsberg. American losses are put at 3.974. German casualties are harder to determine, as the records are incomplete. The official casualties estimated by Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt were 3,300 but most historians agree that the number is probably somewhere between 6,000 to 8,000 in total casualties in the entire Market Garden battle area. The Irish-American journalist and author Cornelius Ryan claims Dutch civilian casualties in the Arnhem area were less than 500, while several thousands were killed and wounded in the whole Market Garden operation area. British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery said 90 percent of his objectives were achieved, but Market Garden was a failure. Top image: the bridge at Nijmegen after it had been captured by the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division. A dead Waffen-SS pioneer lies where he fell during the attack. He was most likely a soldier of SS-Pionier-Abteilung 10 of the Frundsberg, or of SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 19 of the Hohenstaufen. Delays caused by hastily-organised German reinforcements at Nijmegen ultimately led to the failure of Market Garden. The Allied crossing of the River Waal finally took place at 15:00 on Sept. 20 1944, about two kilometres downstream from the bridge, and too late to relieve Arnhem. U.S. official photog. PD. Middle image: freshly-captured British airborne forces of the South Staffordshire Regiment are taken away by the Hohenstaufen. The photo was taken by Luftwaffe KB Leutnant Erich Wenzel in front of the Musis Sacrum in Arnhem on Sept. 19 1944. Credit: Royston Leonard. c. Bundesarchiv. Bottom image: the Germans erected this silent tribute to an unknown British airborne soldier who had fallen during the Battle of Arnhem in Sept. 1944. The photo was taken by Allied forces on April 15 1945. On the cross is written in German, 'Unknown English soldier'. Credit: Paul Reynolds. Public domain.

ϟϟ-Obersturmbannführer der Waffen-SS Spindler (Kampfgruppe Spindler)

Ludwig Spindler as SS-Sturmbannführer

SS-Kampfgruppe Spindler in Oosterbeek

The München-born son of sculptor SS-Obersturmbannführer Ludwig Spindler was a police officer until November 30 1934, when he joined the SS-Verfügungstruppe and was assigned to SS-Standarte Deutschland. Spindler participated in the annexation of Austria and Sudetenland in 1938 and in the invasion and partitioning of Poland in 1939 and the subsequent operations in the West. He remained with SS-Division Reich during Operation Barbarossa in 1941, commanding various units in Das Reich before being transferred to 9.SS-Panzer-Division Hohenstaufen on March 1 1943. For his exemplary leadership during the rescue of encircled German troops in the Kamenets-Podolsky Pocket, also known as Hube's Pocket, in Western Ukraine and above all for his heroic actions in Normandy, Spindler was decorated with the German Cross in Gold on September 17 1944. It was on this very same day that the Allies launched Operation Market Garden. Spindler was tasked with preventing the enemy from entering Arnhem. He formed a defensive perimeter around the city, and were instrumental in stopping the majority of the British 1st Airborne trying to get to Arnhem. The fighting was fierce as both sides realized what was at stake. On September 26 1944, Spindler launched an offensive with hastily assembled units while ruthlessly demanding the utmost of himself, forcing the reinforced British to withdraw. He received the Knight's Cross on September 27 1944. The prestigious award was recommended by SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS Wilhelm Bittrich. Kampfgruppe commander SS-Obersturmbannführer Ludwig Spindler was killed aged 34 during the Battle of the Bulge when his staff car was strafed by Allied fighter-bomber on December 27 1944. He is buried at the Altenkirchen War Cemetery in Westerwald. Left image: a studio portrait of the Das Reich veteran Ludwig Spindler wearing the Knight's Cross. Private collection, used with permission. Right image: a fellow soldier of the Hohenstaufen photographed by KB Höppner at Dreijenseweg in Oosterbeek west of Arnhem on September 20 1944. Credit: Julia Kotterias. Commons: Bundesarchiv.

Soviet Operation Kutuzov: Casualties and losses

Battle-hardened Panzer crew members

Pz.Kpfw. Tiger n°123 of 2.s.Pz.Abt. 503

Soviet-backed Communist partisans

The Soviet Operation Kutuzov represents the final Soviet seizure of the strategic initiative in the east. With the Battle of Prokhorovka still in the balance, the massive Soviet counteroffensive near Orel caused Adolf Hitler to order the cancellation of Operation Citadel. The German panzer forces began to withdraw from the Kursk salient to meet Operation Kutuzov. The Soviet armies earmarked for the operation had amassed a force of 1,286,000 men and 2,400 tanks. These were supported by 26,400 guns and 3,000 aircraft. The Soviet offensive was aided by partisan attacks behind the German lines. Approximately 100,000 partisans according to Soviet reports. The German's mustered 300,700 men and 625 tanks and assault guns. The Operation began on July 12 and ended on August 18 1943 with the destruction of the Orel bulge. The Wehrmacht were unable to stop further Soviet advances westwards and were on the defensive continually thereafter. According to official Soviet sources Soviet casualties in Operation Kutuzov were 429,890 including 112,529 killed. According to German historian Karl-Heinz Frieser, Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS units suffered 86,064 casualties, including 25,515 killed and missing. Credit: Wikipedia inter alia. Top clip: Die Deutsche Wochenschau. Middle image: according to some accounts, a Tiger of the schwere Panzerabteilung 503. The unit had lost three of its 42 operational Tigers during Citadel and five more during the subsequent retreat. The massive Tiger tank will remain forever a symbol of the formidable German Panzer formations of World War II. Credit: Irootoko Jr. c. Bundesarchiv. Bottom image: a group photo of Soviet Red partisans, some in German uniforms and others in civilian clothes. Note the man in the lower right corner who is wearing an SS-Sturmmann tunic. The partisans, in order to live, needed to raid and steal from farms and villages on the fringes of the towns. War crimes against locals and Germans alike was the order of day. Credit: Georgiy Stanislavskiy.

Women of the Reich: Reichsschule-ϟϟ für ϟϟ-Helferinnen Oberenheim

Leader of the Reich

Women of the Reich

German women played a vital role in the Nazi movement, some thirteen million were active in Nazi Party organizations that furthered the regime's goals of racial purity and imperial conquest. The number of female auxiliaries in the German armed forces approached 500,000 by 1945. The SS-Helferinnenkorps, the women who volunteered to support the Waffen-SS, and who formed a female Nazi trained elite, have to date been the subject of minimal research. The plans for the founding of the SS-Helferinnen school in Oberenheim in Alsace began in early 1942. These women would replace men, who would then be free to fight at the front. They had to be recommended by either an SS-man, a Bund Deutsche Mädel leader, or by a leader in the NS-Frauenschaft, the National Socialist Women's Organisation. The applicants’ reasons for applying varied from professional to familial to personal to political. The selection procedure involved the completion of a detailed application form which required 15 different documents, an extensive written examination, a racial examination and a medical examination. The written exam took place at the local SS Office, and tested spelling, dictation, general knowledge and ideological knowledge. If the applicants passed these initial tests, they would receive a call-up. The average age of applicants was 20 years old. The youngest applicant was 16 years old, the oldest 42 – and her application was received favourably, probably because she was Princess Ingeborg Alix von Schaumburg-Lippe, and was recommended for the position by her brother-in-law Prince Josias Georg Wilhelm Adolf zu Waldeck und Pyrmont, who was held in high esteem by the SS. The SS-Helferinnen were expected to behave impeccably. If the girls did not maintain the good reputation expected of them, it was grounds for dismissal. As members of the Waffen-SS they wore the SS runes and sleeve eagle on their uniforms. After the war, its members were mistakenly often regarded as members of the SS-Gefolges, female SS guards. These female guards were not members of the Waffen-SS, but were members of the so-called female civilian employees of the SS. Credit: authors Jutta Mühlenberg and Rachel Century. Left image: Austrian-born pan-German dictator Adolf Hitler. Photo taken by Hitler's private cameraman OLt. Walter Frentz at the Berghof in 1941. Walter Frentz Coll. FU. Right image: excited German girls are cheering for Hitler during the annual Nürnberg Rally. Photo by photog. Hugo Jäger on Sept. 6 1938. LIFE photo archive.