Hans-Gösta Pehrsson was born on October 10 1910 in Karlskrona in Sweden. He was a member of the Swedish Nazi party
Nationalsocialistiska arbetarepartiet before moving to Denmark in 1934. Pehrsson volunteered for the Waffen-SS on July 21 1941. Following his military training at the SS-Unterführerschule in Posen-Treskau in annexed Poland, he was assigned to the Danish Volunteer Corps
Frikorps Danmark. After heavy fighting at the
Leningrad front and by Lake Ilmen, south of Novgorod in 1941-1942, he became a commander of a machine-gun section. In May 1942, Pehrsson and SS-Sturmbannführer
C.F. von Schalburg's 2nd company of Frikorps Danmark was transported by air to the beleaguered SS-Division Totenkopf in the
Demyansk Pocket. He distinguished himself in the harsh fightings in Demyansk and was promoted to SS-Oberscharführer on June 2 1942, and became a heavy weapons platoon commander. On September 10 1942 the whole Frikorps Danmark received the NSDAP Honor Cross for Combatants. Pehrsson was selected for officer training as a result of his performance and personality and attended
SS-Junkerschule Bad Tölz in December 1942. After graduating in October 1943, he was posted to the then newly created
11.SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Division Nordland's armored Reconnaissance Battalion. SS-Untersturmführer Pehrsson and his platoon proved themselves in the difficult and bloody fighting on the
Narva Front and in the famous defensive action at the
Battle of Tannenberg Line in Estonia between February and August 1944. On April 19 1944, Pehrsson was given command of the 3rd company of Nordland's SS-Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 11. Shortly afterwards he was promoted to SS-Obersturmführer. Other Swedish Waffen-SS officers, such as SS-Untersturmführer Heino Meyer, Rune Ahlgren and Gunnar Eklöf, were also members of this unit. On April 15 1945, Company Commander Pehrsson was promoted through the ranks to SS-Hauptsturmführer and served as general staff officer at the Nordland headquarters intelligence section. He ended the war by leading the remnants of his company in fierce house-to-house fighting in the
Battle of Berlin. Pehrsson was captured by the Soviets in early May 1945 but managed to escape and returned back to Sweden in the summer that same year. The Waffen-SS commander Pehrsson, was a well-known and popular leader among the Scandinavian SS volunteers. SS-Obersturmführer Josef
Sepp Schirmer, from Nordland's SS Reconnaissance Battalion, remembered the Swede:
Gösta Pehrsson was a good comrade. He was brave, caring, friendly and warm-hearted with great military knowledge and skills. He helped everyone out of trouble, even if he had to risk his life to do it. Every comrade's life was more valuable to him than his own life. He took care of his men and company. For repeated demonstrations of bravery at the head of his men and for his leadership during the battles in the Baltics, Pehrsson was awarded, among others, the Iron Cross First Class, Close Combat Clasp in Silver, Wound Badge in Silver, Panzer Assault Badge in Silver, Infantry Assault Badge and the rare Honour Roll Clasp of the Army. Only 4.556
Ehrenblatt des Heeres were awarded during the war. Its bestowing was at the discretion of the German High Command. It was awarded sparingly to retain a high level of prestige and honour. Credit:
The SS-Pz.Aufkl.Abt.11 Nordland. Top image: Swedish SS-Hauptsturmführer Hans-Gösta Pehrsson. Pehrsson died aged 63 on March 16 1974 in Stockholm. PD. Bottom image: Danish Waffen-SS volunteers of the Frikorps Danmark pose for a group photograph during the intense fighting at the Battle of Velikiye Luki in November 1942, also known as "The Little Stalingrad of the North". Lars Larsen Archives. Fair use.
After Pehrssons baptism of fire in the Novgorod area and after the fighting in the Demyansk Pocket with the Free Corps Denmark he led the "Swedish” company during the heavy fighting in the baltics, at Dorpat, Riga, Dünaborg, Preekuln, and finally in Berlin. In April 1945, the war was about to end and SS-Brigadeführer Generalmajor der Waffen-SS Joachim Ziegler, the divisional commander of "Nordland" didn't like the idea of sacrificing his men for a lost cause. He started to investigate ways of how to get the SS volunteers out of Berlin. Pehrsson, now holder of a so-called "Wehrwolfpass", helped Ziegler in this task in order to help his fellow country-men; he had no success. The situation was very hopeless and on the 27th April Pehrssons company was subordinated to the Reichschancellery. Several veterans have stated that it was only a matter of time before he would be recommended for the Knight's Cross, but he never recieved it.
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