ϟϟ-Standartenführer d. R. der Waffen-SS Degrelle

Léon Degrelle after receiving the Knight's Cross

Adolf Hitler awards the Oakleaves to Léon Degrelle

Léon Degrelle was born in 1906 in Bouillon, a small town in the Belgian Ardennes. He was a devout Catholic and his family was of French origin. Degrelle joined the Walloon legion of the Wehrmacht, which was raised in 1941, to combat against the Soviet Union. Initially, the group was meant to represent a continuation of the Belgian Army, and fought as such during Operation Barbarossa. Degrelle's knowledge of tactics were somewhat dubious but his ability to lead and his unflinching courage were beyond question. He proved this time and time again during the fierce mountain warfare at Gromovaya-Balka. During the summer and autumn of 1942 Degrelle was involved in numerous battles with considerable success capturing one objective after another and it was not long before his Walloon brigade caught the attention of the officers of the Waffen-SS. The Walloons were transferred to the control of the Waffen-SS in 1943. Degrelle was awarded the Knight's Cross for his part in the breakout of the Cherkassy Pocket in January 1944 where he was severely wounded. Adolf Hitler commended him on his bravery saying "if I had a son, I wish he'd resemble you". He was later awarded the Oakleaves to the Knight's Cross, a distinction only earned by two other foreigners, the Estonian Waffen-Standartenführer der SS Alfons Rebane and the Spanish commander of División Azul and later vice-president General Agustín Muñoz Grandes. Against Hitler's wishes Degrelle returned to combat on the Eastern Front, fighting all the way back to Berlin in the face of the Russian onslaught. The Wallonien Sturmbrigade was upgraded to become 28.SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Division Wallonien in October 1944. Degrelle steadily climbed in the SS hierarchy being made an Obersturmbannführer in the early months of 1945. By the end of the war, Degrelle had risen to the rank of Standartenführer within the SS, was involved in 75 direct combat actions, and was wounded 34 times. After Germany's defeat, Degrelle fled to Denmark and eventually Norway, where he commandeered a Heinkel aircraft, allegedly provided by former Reichsminister Albert Speer. He was severely wounded in a crash-landing on the beach at San Sebastian in Northern Spain. The government of Franco in Spain refused to hand him over to the Allies, Francisco Franco permitted his escape from hospital, while handing over a look-alike. In 1954, Spain granted Degrelle Spanish citizenship under the name José León Ramírez Reina. He continued to live undisturbed when Spain became democratic after the death of Franco. Asked if he had any regrets about World War II, his reply was - Only that we lost! Léon Degrelle, one of only 98 winners of both the Knight's Cross and the Close Combat Clasp in Gold, died aged 87 in Málaga on March 31 1994. Awards among others: Knight's Cross with Oakleaves, German Cross in Gold, Close Combat Clasp in Gold, Infantry Assault Badge in Silver and Wound Badge in Gold. External link: German Newsreel Excerpt: The homecoming of Léon Degrelle and the Walloon volunteers (Bruxelles, Belgium 1944) after the breakout from the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket. Source: Campaign in Russia - The Waffen SS on the Eastern Front. Top image: Léon Degrelle pictured as an SS-Hauptsturmführer at the time of his presentation of the Knight's Cross on Feb. 20 1944. He wears the sleeve insignia of the Walloons below the SS arm eagle. Fair use. Bottom image: Adolf Hitler congratulates the then SS-Sturmbannführer Léon Degrelle after presenting him with the Oakleaves to the Knight's Cross on Aug. 25 1944. Next to Degrelle stands SS-Obergruppenführer Felix Steiner. Still from Die Deutsche Wochenschau.