U.S. Massacre of ϟϟ-Pz.Gren.Reg. 38 (Götz von Berlichingen)

Zenz Kaiser as SS-Sturmbannführer

Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS POWs

According to Professor and historian Antonio J. Muñoz about two hundred Waffen-SS soldiers were captured near Nürnberg by men of the U.S. 42nd Infantry Division, known as the Rainbow Division, and subsequently massacred on April 19-20 1945. The victims belonged to the 1st Battalion of SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 38 of the German-Latin 17.SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Götz von Berlichingen. The fate of these prisoners, including the Reich veteran SS-Obersturmbannführer Vinzenz Kaiser and his adjutant SS-Hauptsturmführer Franz Kukula, had been shrouded in mystery for many years. Eyewitnesses to what happened to these men were not forthcoming. Shortly after the war, some citizens of Nürnberg directed Red Cross officials to what turned out to be a mass grave which yielded some two hundred bodies, all in Waffen-SS uniforms. Nothing was done to identify these men or how they came to be there until 1976, when the remains of one of the corpses was positively identified as that of Franz Kukula, the commander of 1.Battalion of SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 38. Further autopsies on the other bodies soon followed, showing that many of the men in that grave had been beaten to death with blunt instruments, possibly rifle butts. Most had been shot at very close range, suggesting that a massacre had taken place. The presumed massacre of men from Götz von Berlichingen executed in April 1945 by the American Rainbow Division have never been officially investigated and perpetrators have never faced justice. Nevertheless, most high-ranking German officers captured by U.S. forces were subject to interrogation by U.S. Army's intelligence-gathering Ritchie Boys. They were all German-speakers, and importantly they knew German mentality and behavior, better than most American-born soldiers. References: American historian Antonio J. Muñoz and British military historian Gordon Williamson. Left image: the then SS-Sturmbannführer Vinzenz Kaiser pictured while engaged in combat with Soviet forces during the Battle of Kursk in July 1943. Awards among others: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, German Cross in Gold, Infantry Assault Badge and no less than four Single-Handed Tank Destruction Badges. Kaiser also appears on the front cover of Waffen-SS Knights and Their Battles: The Waffen-SS Knight’s Cross Holders Vol. 2 by Irish author Peter Mooney. Credit: Johannes Dorn. c. Bundesarchiv. Right image showing a small group of LW and Waffen-SS men who surrendered their strongpoint to the 143rd Infantry of the U.S. 36th ID when ammunition ran out in Rohrwiller in Feb. 1945. The Kampfgruppe was an ad hoc combined arms formation. Unfortunately, none of the men have been ID'ed so far. (TDA). FU.

General Theodor Busse's Desperate Breakthrough at the Halbe Pocket

Waffen-SS officer surrenders to the U.S. 102nd Inf. Div. at River Elbe

Waffen-SS survivors of the slaughter at Halbe crossing the River Elbe

British soldier beating the POWs on the west side of the Elbe

Brit or Canadian soldier beating SS POWs and stealing war trophies

Guarding German soldiers and civilians wearing German gear

After a third breakout attempt from the Halbe pocket where about 80,000 German troops had been encircled by the Soviet Red Army, some 25,000 remnants of the combined German 9th Army, 12th Army and schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 502 and other German and foreign Waffen-SS formations managed to fight their way westwards through the village of Halbe and the pine forests south of Berlin to the River Elbe. At the Elbe they could surrender to American forces, which had halted their advance on the west bank of the river. Its estimated that some 30,000 German troops were killed during the three major break-out attempts from around Halbe in late April 1945. Nobody knows how many civilians died, but it could have been as high as 10,000 according to British military historian Antony Beevor. The occupying Soviet troops celebrated, some indulging in the rape and murder of German citizens. Antony Beevor has concluded that at least 1.4 million women were raped in East Prussia, Pomerania and Silesia alone. Female deaths in connection with Soviet rapes in Germany, overall, are estimated at 240,000 by historians Franz W. Seidler, Alfred-Maurice de Zayas, Helke Sander and Barbara Johr. When Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin was told how the Red Army soldiers were treating East European and German refugees, he is reported to say: We lecture our soldiers too much; let them have some initiative. Those Waffen-SS men who were in the combat-ready elements and continued to fight the Soviets did so for three main reasons: They were determined to protect German civilians from Soviet reprisals; and they had little to return to in their homelands. Some hoped to join with the British and Americans in an anti-Soviet war. Also, they knew all too well about the Soviet Red Army's methods if captured. Vladlen Anchishkin, a Soviet battery commander on the 1st Ukrainian Front, sums up the horror, when he tells how he took personal revenge on captured Waffen-SS men: I can admit it now. I said, Bring them here for an interrogation and I had my special knife, and as they come in I slit their throats. I knifed a lot of them. Four years I waited for you. Four years you hunted me. Dont look at me as if I were a criminal. It was a long time ago. Source: former Head of BBC TV History Programmes Laurence Rees: Crimes of the Red Army (BBC). Top image: an unidentified SS-Untersturmführer surrenders to soldiers of the U.S. 102nd Infantry Division at the River Elbe at Tangermünde in early May 1945. Photo by American photojournalist William Vandivert. LIFE photo archive. Fair use. Second image: Waffen-SS survivors of the slaughter at Halbe cross a bridge on the River Elbe to escape the then ongoing Soviet massacres of German prisoners of war and civilian refugees. Third image: British soldier seen beating German survivors of the Halbe on the west side of the river, while American soldiers of the 405th Infantry Regiment of the 102nd Infantry Division is looking on. Prisoners who dared to protest the beating were beaten with extra severity. On May 3 1945, the 102nd shook hands with the Russian 156th Division just outside Berlin. Fourth image: British or Canadian soldier seen hunting war trophies. In other images, he is seen kicking and hitting passing Waffen-SS POWs on their faces and their backs. Bottom image: the same man as in the previous picture who was beating the POWs after they had crossed the bridge, now guarding POWs and civilians below the bridge, wearing his German war souvenirs. All screenshots from U.S. War Department Film.

Won the Battles but Lost the War: Defeated by Forces Vastly Superior in Numbers after 2,077 Days of Battle in the European Theater (I)

Surrender negotiations at Udine on May 7 1945

Blindfolded SS-Obersturmführer in the Province of Udine

Es Geht Alles Vorüber, Es Geht Alles Vorbei

The once-mighty Waffen-SS panzers divisions inflicted heavy casualties on the Soviets in their desperate fighting withdrawal in the spring of 1945. The battered and tired remnants of 1.SS-Panzer-Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, 5.SS-Panzer-Division Wiking and 9.SS-Panzer-Division Hohenstaufen marched into American captivity west of Wien with all heads held high after the ferocious fighting to escape the Soviets. So did what was left of 12.SS-Panzer-Division Hitlerjugend under the watchful eye of a Soviet tank column and 16.SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Reichsführer SS surrendered to British forces near Klagenfurt also Austria. 3.SS-Panzer-Division Totenkopf, together with Das Reich stubbornly defended Wien until April 15 1945 by fighting side-by-side in the southern wall of the city. When that collapsed they succeeded in escaping the Soviet trap only by crossing the left bank of Danube. After surrendering to the U.S. 11th Armored Division, at Linz in May 1945, the badly depleted Totenkopf were marched to Pregarten where the veterans were turned over to their sworn enemy, the Soviets, by the U.S. Third Army. The senior officers were executed on the spot by the NKVD, others were murdered as they were shipped to Siberia. The surviving remnants of the Totenkopf division later died in Soviet Gulags or were simply shot out of hand. Only few of them survived captivity to return to Europe. General of the U.S. Army Douglas MacArthur´s statement of July 8 1952: Hundred thousands of German prisoners of war we have handed over to the Soviets without any protests as slave-workers under violation of every human principle and every tradition. We have failed to resent the massacres. The Waffen-SS units that were dispatched to Heeresgruppe Mitte, found themselves trapped in Protektorat Böhmen und Mähren (Czech Republic) when World War II ended. Most of the troops tried to reach the demarcation line to surrender to the Western Allies. Elements of the Austrian SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 4 Der Führer of Das Reich performed a fighting retreat out of Prague. The regiment lead a convoy of 1000 vehicles towards Pilsen (Plzen) and surrendered near the Czech town of Rokycany to the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division in May 1945, saving several hundred ethnic Germans, mostly woman and children from the Czech communist partisans. The convoy was led by SS-Obersturmbannführer Otto Weidinger. However, part of SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 3 Deutschland of Das Reich was stationed east of Prague and completely cut off. Many were murdered by the Soviets and communist partisans, only a few managed to reach the demarcation line at Pilsen. On May 9 1945 the following message was sent to the divisional HQ: The regiment which had the honor of bearing the name "Deutschland" is now signing off. But in the end, the main body of 2.SS-Panzer-Division Das Reich managed to escape and surrender to the Western Allies. 10.SS-Panzer-Division Frundsberg was encircled by overwhelming Soviet units on the Czech-German border. Nevertheless, rather than formally surrender, the decimated Frundsberg managed to tear out a gap and headed westward. A few made it and surrendered to the U.S. 102nd Infantry Division on the Elbe River, but most were trapped by the Soviets or murdered by Czech communist partisans. The Czech communists resumed their hostilities on the surrendered Estonian 20.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS regardless of their intentions. It is estimated that between 500 to 1,000 Estonian freedom fighters were tortured and murdered. Some of the Estonians who had reached the Western Allies from Böhmen und Mähren were handed back to the Soviets. Top image: SS-Obersturmführer Oswin Merwald (in tropical clothing) of the multi-ethnic 24.Waffen-Gebirgs-(Karstjäger-)Division der SS being guided to negotiate terms of surrender around Tarvisio in Northeastern Italy at the border with both Austria and Slovenia on May 7 1945. Although primarily focused on anti-partisan activities, the Karstjäger division successfully fought to keep passes into Austria open at the end of World War II, allowing German units to escape the Balkans and Italy. The remains of the unit finally surrendered to the British 6th Armoured Division on May 9 1945, one of the last German formations to lay down its arms. Oswin Merwald is wearing a Der Führer cuff-title and the very rare Bandenkampfabzeichen in Silver (Anti-Partisan Badge) and an Iron Cross First Class on his left breast pocket. Credit: Mateusz Pietruszkiewicz. FU. Middle image: the other SS-Obersturmführer is unidentified but wears a Leibstandarte SS cuff-title and like Merwald an Iron Cross First Class next to an Infantry Assault Badge on his left breast pocket. After being blindfolded he is led though the British lines at Tarvisio to discuss terms of surrender. Photo by Sergeant W.G. Johnson. Imperial War Museums. FU. Bottom image: captured by the First U.S. Army near Straß in Bayern. His facial expression clearly reflect what's going on in his heart and mind. U.S. Army Signal Corps.

Won the Battles but Lost the War: Defeated by Forces Vastly Superior in Numbers after 2,077 Days of Battle in the European Theater (II)

Unidentified Waffen-SS Panzer crew captured by the Americans

Elements of Landstorm Nederland taken POWs and marched off

French volunteers of SS-Div. Charlemagne prior to their execution

U.S. Army enclosure at Remagen, part of the Rheinwiesenlager

Most of the predominantly Nordic and Volksdeutsche 11.SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Division Nordland along with a volunteer battalion of the French 33.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS Charlemagne fought to annihilation in the Battle of Berlin after the Soviet offensive of April 16 1945. A few survivors broke out of the city on May 2 1945. Scattered elements that avoided encirclement surrendered to Western Allied forces along the Elbe River. Most were handed over to their respective countries and tried as traitors, some serving prison time and a few even receiving the death penalty. Danish volunteers were branded as traitors by the post-war Danish government, despite having had permission to serve in the Waffen-SS granted by the Danish government and the king during World War II. Others were shot upon capture, for example, the French General Philippe Leclerc was presented with a group of 12 captured French volunteers of the Charlemagne division. General Leclerc asked them why they wore German uniforms, according to Company Commander Fritz Hall, one of the volunteers replied by asking the General why he wore an American uniform. General Leclerc ordered the group of French Waffen-SS men to be executed without any form of military tribunal procedure. The main body of the Charlemagne surrendered in May 1945 to Allied forces near Salzburg in Austria. The Belgian 27.SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Division Langemarck of Flemish background had fought itself to virtual extinction as a part of SS-Obergruppenführer Felix Steiner's SS-Panzer-Armeeoberkommando 11. Reduced to a SS-Kampfgruppe it surrendered to the Soviets at Mecklenburg on May 8 1945. The Belgian 28.SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Division Wallonien of Walloon background held as best they could during the final Soviet offensives in April 1945, but after several unsuccessful counterattacks, SS-Standartenführer Léon Degrelle ordered his troops to make it to Lübeck, where they eventually surrendered to British troops. The final Soviet Berlin offensive on April 16 1945 broke the lines of communication between the two SS-Kampfgruppen of the Dutch 23.SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Division Nederland. SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 49 de Ruyter was attacked by a large number of Soviet tanks. In heavy fighting, the SS-Kampfgruppe halted the enemy attack before it broke out to the west, surrendering to the U.S. Army. Meanwhile, elements of SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 48 General Seyffardt withdrew south of Berlin, cought in the Halbe pocket. The remnants of General Seyffardt were absorbed into SS-Kampfgruppe Vieweger of the Latvian 15.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS. During the hellish fighting in Battle of Halbe, the General Seyffardt was annihilated. The survivors surrendered to American forces along the Elbe in May 1945. After the war, the volunteers were tried and imprisoned in the Netherlands, and several were murdered by Dutch Communists in acts of revenge. Individual Dutch Waffen-SS veterans joined the French Foreign Legion after World War II, and several hundred regained some measure of their rights by volunteering to fight with the Dutch Army in Korea. The much reduced 4.SS-Polizei-Panzergrenadier-Division fought its way across the Elbe were it surrendered to U.S. forces in May 1945. Although greatly reduced in numbers, the German-Latin 17.SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Götz von Berlichingen took part in the defense of Nürnberg, where its SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 38 was destroyed by April 20 1945. About 200 of its Grenadiers are presumed to have been captured and subsequently killed by the U.S. 42nd Infantry Division (Rainbow) on April 19 – 20 1945. The rest of Götz von Berlichingen continued fighting until May 6 1945 when it surrendered to the U.S. 101st Airborne Division south of Kufstein. 6.SS-Gebirgs-Division Nord remained on the western front after the Nordwind offensive, fighting the Americans. Destroyed as a division the survivors fought on with elements of 38.SS-Grenadier-Division Nibelungen before surrendered to U.S. forces in Bayern in May 1945. Top image: Waffen-SS Panzer crew captured in Dorste in Niedersachsen by the U.S. 1st Infantry Division in April 1945. U.S. Army Signal Corps. Second image: the Dutch volunteer SS-Untersturmführer Evert Verton marches with his company into Canadian captivity, Netherlands May 11 1945. The soldiers belonged to 34.SS-Freiwilligen-Brigade Landstorm Nederland. Third image: of those 12 Frenchmen murdered by the 2nd Free French Armoured Division on May 8 1945 in Bad Reichenhall, only five have been positively identified. They all belonged to the Charlemagne. From the left SS-Obersturmführer Serge Krotoff born 1911 in Tananarive, Madagascar, SS-Untersturmführer Paul Briffaut born 1918 in Hanoi, Vietnam, when executed he was still in the uniform of the Wehrmacht worn by the LVF (Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism), facing the camera SS-Untersturmführer Jean Robert Daffas born 1908 in Auch, France and without a cap SS-Schutze Raymond Payras born 1922 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. In 1979, the SS volunteer Jacques Ponnau was identified from photographs of General Philippe Leclerc in the presence of the victims prior to their killing. On October 1981, a commemorative cross was erected at the site of the execution. Bottom image: U.S. POW camp at Sinzig-Remagen, which held around 200,000 POWs at capacity in June 1945. Many thousands died there from dehydration, starvation, and exposure while the U.S. army refused to supply shelter and food, though it was readily available. Even the Red Cross was prohibited from providing aid and visit the camps until 1946. U.S. Army Signal Corps. All photos in the PD.

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 in the bottom screenshot. 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 is wearing bears the inscription Der Führer. Source: U.S. National Archives. 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.