Leningrad Sector: ϟϟ-Freiwilligen-Legion „Flandern“

SS-Freiwilligen-Legion Flandern

Flemish Waffen-SS ceremony at the Sterckshof castle

The Belgian SS-Freiwilligen-Legion Flandern was also inserted into the ring around Leningrad. The men of Flandern saw heavy fighting defeating two major Soviet attacks towards the city. On March 31 1943, the Legion was ordered back to be reformed into the 27.SS-Freiwilligen-Sturmbrigade Langemarck. The allocation of the title Langemarck, in memory of the bloody First World War battle fought at Langemarck in Belgium, was intended to represent Flemish-German camaraderie. However, the Flemings themselves didn't understand why they had been given a title which represented the losses suffered by German soldiers in 1914. Despite this, large numbers of Flemings continued to sign up for service with the Waffen-SS. The volunteers of the SS-Freiwilligen-Legion Flandern served on the Eastern front with distinction in a number of battles. Left image: a general version of a Waffen-SS recruiting poster encouraging European citizens to join the SS and fight Bolshevism. The poster was created by the niedersächsischen artist Walther Hoeck. Its based on a photograph of an unidentified SS volunteer from the Flemish Legion, one of several hundred thousand that volunteered for the Waffen-SS in order to fight against Communism and Soviet supremacy. Right image: Flemish SS ceremony marking the departure of military nurses and soldiers to the Waffen-SS at the Sterckshof castle in Deurne, near Antwerpen. Both photos in the PD.