Leningrad Sector: ϟϟ-Freiwilligen-Legion „Norwegen“

Den Norske Legion (DNL)

SS-Untersturmführer Bjørn Østring

The SS-Freiwilligen-Legion Norwegen or Den Norske Legion took part in the siege warfare around Leningrad where it suffered heavy casualties. The unit was formed from Norwegian Waffen-SS volunteers who were assured that its area of operations would be Finland. Instead, the unit was deployed to Northern Russia in the occupied Soviet Union. Initially, the Norwegian Quisling regime hoped to deploy over 30,000 Norwegian legionaries to Finnish Lapland, but this was rejected by both the Germans and the Finns. The Legion Norwegen was disbanded and withdrawn from the Leningrad sector during March 1943. Survivors who wanted to continue fighting were transferred to SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 23 Norge, one of the regiments of the newly formed 11.SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Division Nordland. Left image: Norwegian SS legionnaires swearing the oath of allegiance after months of training and preparation before being sent to the Leningrad front. The photograph was taken in Stettin. After World War II Stettin was transferred to Poland and renamed Szczecin. Credit: Jaris Almazani. Commons: Bundesarchiv. Right image: Norwegian SS-Untersturmführer Bjørn Østring of the Freiwilligen Legion Norwegen. The Leningrad veteran and member of the Norwegian Nazi party Nasjonal Samling Bjørn Østring died aged 95 on November 27 2012 in Bærum in Norway. Credit: Bekors. National Archives of Norway.