Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts

Ukrainian volunteers of the SS Galician Division marching in Sanok, May 1943

Bosniak volunteers of the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS "Handschar" (1st Croatian) being inspected by Haj Amin al-Husseini, alongside SS-Brigadeführer Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig, November 1943

During World War II, the Waffen-SS recruited significant numbers of non-Germans, both as volunteers and conscripts. In total some 500,000 non-Germans and ethnic Germans from outside Germany, mostly from German-occupied Europe, were recruited between 1940 and 1945. ^[1] The units were under the control of the SS Führungshauptamt (SS Command Main Office) beneath Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler. Upon mobilisation, the units' tactical control was given to the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (High Command of the Armed Forces). ^[2]

History of the Waffen-SS

Main article: Waffen-SS

The Waffen-SS (Armed SS) was created as the militarised wing of the Schutzstaffel (SS; "Protective Squadron") of the Nazi Party. Its origins can be traced back to the selection of a group of 120 SS men in 1933 by Sepp Dietrich to form the Sonderkommando Berlin, which became the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH). ^[3] In 1934, the SS developed its own military branch, the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT), which together with the LSSAH, evolved into the Waffen-SS. ^[3] Nominally under the authority of Heinrich Himmler, the Waffen-SS developed a fully militarised structure of command and operations. It grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions during World War II, serving alongside the Heer (army), while never formally being a part of it. ^[4] Adolf Hitler did not want the Waffen-SS integrated into either the army or the state police. Instead it was to remain an independent force of military-trained men at the disposal of the Führer. ^{[5] [6]}

Recruitment and conscription

In 1934, Himmler initially set stringent requirements for recruits. They were to be German nationals who could prove their Aryan ancestry back to 1800, unmarried, and without a criminal record. Recruits had to be between the ages of 17 and 23, at least 1.74 metres (5 ft 9 in) tall (1.78 metres (5 ft 10 in) for the Leibstandarte). Recruits were required to have perfect teeth and eyesight and provide a medical certificate. ^[7] By 1938, the height restrictions were relaxed, up to six dental fillings were permitted, and eyeglasses for astigmatism and mild vision correction were allowed. ^[8] Once World War II began in Europe, the physical requirements were no longer strictly enforced. ^[8] Following the Battle of France in 1940, Hitler authorised the enlistment of "people perceived to be of related stock", as Himmler put it, to expand the ranks. ^[9] A number of Danes, Dutch, Norwegians, Swedes, and Finns volunteered to serve in the Waffen-SS under the command of German officers. ^{[10] [ better source needed ] [11]} Non-Germanic units were not considered to be part of the SS directly, which still maintained its strict racial criteria; instead they were considered to be foreign nationals serving under the command of the SS. ^[12]

Not all members of the SS-Germanischen Leitstelle (SS-GL) or the RHSA stressed the nationalistic tenets of the Nazi state with respect to the war and occupation but instead looked to pan-Germanic ideas that included disempowering the political elites, while at the same time, integrating Germanic elements from other nations into the Reich on the basis of racial equality. ^[13] One of the leaders of the SS-GL, Dr. Franz Riedweg (an SS-Colonel), unambiguously emphasized:

"We must be clear about the fact that Germanic politics can only be resolved under the SS, not by the state, not by the bulk of the party!...We cannot build Europe as a police state under the protection of bayonets, but must shape the life of Europe according to greater Germanic viewpoints." ^{[13] [lower-alpha 1]}

Recruitment began in April 1940 with the creation of two regiments: Nordland (later SS Division Nordland) and Westland (later SS Division Wiking). ^[9] As they grew in numbers, the volunteers were grouped into Legions (with the size of battalion or brigade); their members included the so-called Germanic non-Germans as well as ethnic German officers originating from the occupied territories. Against the Führer's wishes—who forbade using military units of so-called "racially inferior" persons—the SS added foreign recruits and used them to flexibly overcome manpower shortages. ^[14] Some of these foreign Waffen-SS units were employed for security purposes, among other things. ^[14]

After Germany invaded the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa, recruits from France, Spain, Belgium, the territory of occupied Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and the Balkans were signed on. ^[15] By February 1942, Waffen-SS recruitment in south-east Europe turned into compulsory conscription for all German minorities of military age. ^[16] From 1942 onwards, further units of non-Germanic recruits were formed. ^[11] Legions were formed of men from Estonia, Latvia as well as men from Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia, Ukraine, Russia, and Cossacks. ^[17] However, by 1943 the Waffen-SS could no longer claim to be an "elite" fighting force overall. Recruitment and conscription based on "numerical over qualitative expansion" took place, with many of the "foreign" units being good for only rear-guard duty. ^[18]

A system of nomenclature developed to formally distinguish personnel based on their place of origin. Germanic units would have the "SS" prefix, while non-Germanic units were designated with the "Waffen" prefix to their names. ^[19] The formations with volunteers of Germanic background were officially named Freiwilligen (volunteer) (Scandinavians, Dutch, and Flemish), including ethnic Germans born outside the Reich known as Volksdeutsche , and their members were from satellite countries. These were organised into independent legions and had the designation Waffen attached to their names for formal identification. ^[20] In addition, the German SS Division Wiking included recruits from Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Estonia throughout its history. ^[21] Despite manpower shortages, the Waffen-SS was still based on the racist ideology of Nazism. ^[22] Early in 1943, the Waffen-SS accepted 12,643 of the 53,000 recruits it garnered in western Ukraine and by 1944 the number reached as high as 22,000. ^[23]

Recruitment efforts in 1943 in Estonia yielded about 5,000 soldiers for the 20th Estonian SS Division. ^[24] In Latvia, however, the Nazis were more successful, as, by 1944, there were upwards of 100,000 soldiers serving in the Latvian Waffen-SS divisions. ^[24] Before the war's end, the foreigners who served in the Waffen-SS numbered "some 500,000", including those who were pressured into service or conscripted. ^[1] Historian Martin Gutmann adds that some of the additional forces came from "Eastern and Southeastern Europe, including Muslim soldiers from the Balkans." ^[25]

Post-war

Former Baltic Waffen-SS conscripts, wearing black uniforms with blue helmets and white belts, guarding Hermann Goering, Rudolf Hess, and other top Nazis during the Nuremberg Trials

During the Nuremberg trials, the Waffen-SS was declared a criminal organisation for its major involvement in war crimes and for being an "integral part" of the SS. ^{[26] [27]} Conscripts who were not given a choice as to joining the ranks and had not committed "such crimes" were determined to be exempt from this declaration. ^{[28] [lower-alpha 2]}

Belgian collaborator Léon Degrelle escaped to Spain, despite being sentenced to death in absentia by the Belgian authorities. ^[29] About 150 Baltic soldiers from Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia who fought against the Soviets and escaped to Sweden were extradited to the Soviet Union in 1946. ^[30]

The men of the XV SS Cossack Corps found themselves in Austria at the end of the war and surrendered to British troops. Though they were given assurances that they would not be repatriated, the Cossack prisoners of war were nonetheless forcibly returned to the Soviet Union. Most along with their families were executed for treason. ^{[31] [lower-alpha 3]}

After the war, members of Baltic Waffen-SS units were considered separate and distinct in purpose, ideology and activities from the German SS by the Western Allies. ^{[32] [lower-alpha 4]} During the 1946 Nuremberg trials, Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians who were drafted into the Waffen-SS were determined not to be criminals for having been "wedged between, and subject to, the dictates of two authoritarian regimes." ^[33]

Amid the 11,000 Ukrainian members of the former SS Galizien , who had fled westwards to surrender—replete in their German SS uniforms—to the British in Italy, only 3,000 of them were repatriated to the Soviet Union. The rest remained temporarily lodged at Rimini as displaced persons, many of whom became British or Canadian citizens as a result of Cold War expediency. ^[34]

Foreign Waffen-SS formations and foreign units under SS control

Foreign Waffen-SS formations

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Designation	Formation	Personnel	Peak size	Notes
1st SS Cossack Cavalry Division	November 1943 [35]	Don, Cuban, Terek and Siberian Cossacks [36]	n/a	United with 2nd Cossack Cavalry Division into the XV SS Cossack Cavalry Corps in 1945 [37] [38]
2nd Cossack Cavalry Division	December 1944 [35]	Don, Cuban and Terek Cossacks [36]	n/a	United with 1st SS Cossack Cavalry Division into the XV SS Cossack Cavalry Corps [37]
SS Regiment ‘Westland’	June 1940 [39]	Dutch volunteers and Belgian Flemings. [40]	n/a	Absorbed in 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking in December 1940 [40] [41]
SS Regiment ‘Nordwest’	April 1941 [42]	Dutch (1,400), Belgian Flemings (805) and Danes (108) volunteers [43] [42]	2,500 [42] [43]	Disbanded in September 1941. [42]
5th SS Panzer Division 'Wiking'	September 1940 [44]	Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Flemish, German, Swedish. [45] [46] [lower-alpha 5]	19,377 [47] [48]	Formed by merging SS Regiment ‘Westland’ and 'Nordland'. [44] Mostly Reich Germans and Volksdeutsche. [49]
VI SS Army Corps (Latvian)	October 1943 [50]	Latvian [50]	31,500 [50] [lower-alpha 6]	Formed in October 1943 with the Latvian brigade and Waffen-SS divisions (1st Latvian and 2nd Latvian). [50]
7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen	March 1942 [51]	Volksdeutsche (Ethnic Germans) [52] from the Serbian Banat mostly [53] but also Croatia, Hungary and Romania [54] with some Reich German cadres [55]	20,624 [55]	Germanic formation [56] Volksdeutsche (92%) and Reich German [52] In January 1945 absorbed the remnants of the 21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg (1st Albanian) as a battalion. [57]
IX Waffen Mountain Corps of the SS (Croatian)	July 1944 [58]	Albanian, Croatian, [58] Bosnian Muslims. [59]	n/a	Formed from 'Kama' (2,000 men) and 'Handschar' (10,000 men) [59] as well as some German and Hungarian units. [58]
11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division 'Nordland'	March 1943 [60]	Volksdeutsches from Romania and Reich Germans plus Danes, Norwegians, Dutches, Swedes and Belgian Flemings. [61]	n/a	Formed from Wiking's 'Nordland' Regiment, [62] mostly Volksdeutsche Balkan personnel. [63] Also included Norwegians in SS-Volunteer-Panzer-Grenadier Regiment 23 "Norge" [64]
13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian)	March 1943 [60]	Bosnian Muslims with some Catholic Croats, Albanian Muslims [65] and German cadres. [66]	26,000 [66]	First non-Germanic Waffen-SS division [67]
SS-Waffen-Gebirgsjäger Battalion 13	March 1943 [60]	Albanian Muslims from Kosovo and Sanjak. [68]	1,340 [68]	Part of SS Waffen Gebirgsjäger Regiment 2 under 13th Division of the SS Handschar [68]
14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician/Ukrainian)	July 1943 [60]	Ukrainian volunteers [60]	n/a	In November 1944, renamed 1st Ukrainian Division of the Ukrainian National Army" (1st UD UNA). [63] [19] [lower-alpha 7]
15th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Latvian)	May 1943 [69]	Latvian conscripts [69]	n/a	n/a
XV SS Cossack Cavalry Corps	December 1944 [35]	Don, Cuban, Terek and Siberian Cossacks [36]	n/a	Formed from the 1st and 2nd Cossack Cavalry Division, and the Cossack Plastun Brigade. [35]
19th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (2nd Latvian)	February 1944 [69]	Latvian [60]	n/a
Latvian SS Volunteer Legion	February 1943 [70]	Latvian [70]	n/a	Merged to form the 15th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Latvian).
20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian)	January 1944 [60]	Estonians [60]	n/a	Formed from the 3rd Estonian SS Volunteer Brigade, Wiking's Estonian "Narwa" Battalion [71]
3rd Estonian SS Volunteer Brigade	October 1943 [72]	Estonians [73]	5,099 [73]	Formed from the Estonian Legion, became the 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian) in 1944.
Estonian SS Legion	August 1942 [74]	Estonians [73]	n/a	Waffen-SS-organized, brigade size [74] expanded into the 3rd Estonian SS Volunteer Brigade, followed by the 20th Division of the SS (1st Estonian) in 1944.
21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg (1st Albanian)	May 1944 [51]	Albanian Muslims (mostly Kosovo Gheg Albanians) [75] [76] [77] with German, Austrian and Volksdeutsche cadres [75]	9,000 [68]	Formed from volunteers supplied by the League of Prizren and the Albanian collaborationist government, as well as Croatian Ustaša militias and SS "Handschar" division Albanian personnel. [78] Disbanded in November 1944 with some members joining ‘Prinz Eugen’. [71] [79]
22nd SS Volunteer Cavalry Division Maria Theresia	n/a	Volksdeutsche from Hungary and Hungarians. [80] [81]	n/a
23rd SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division 'Nederland'	February 1945 [80]	Dutch [60]	n/a	Formed from the 4th Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Brigade Nederland and SS Legion Nederland. Received number 23 after SS Kama was disbanded [56]
4th SS Panzer Grenadier Brigade Nederland	October 1943 [82]	Dutch (40%), Reich Germans and Volksdeutsche. [83]	5,426 [83]	Formed from Volunteer Legion Nederland upgraded to 23rd SS Volunteer Division Nederland on 10 February 1945. [82]
23rd Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Kama (2nd Croatian)	June 1944 [80]	Bosnian Muslims, Croats and Volksdeutsche [56]	n/a	n/a
24th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Karstjäger	August 1944 [84]	Volksdeutsche from Yugoslavia and the South Tyrol [85]	n/a	Downgraded to brigade in January 1945. [86]
25th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Hunyadi (1st Hungarian)	November 1944 [86]	Hungarian volunteers and conscripts. [60] [81]	n/a	n/a
26th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS 'Hungaria' (2nd Hungarian)	November 1944 [87]	Hungarian volunteers [88] [81]	n/a	n/a
27th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division Langemarck (1st Flemish)	May 1943 [89]	Belgian Flemish with a few Finnish volunteers [89]	2,022 [90]	Formed from the Flemish Legion as SS Volunteer Assault Brigade Langemarck. [83]
28th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division 'Wallonia'	September 1944 [91]	n/a	n/a	Formed when SS Assault Brigade Wallonia was raised to a division. [92]
SS Volunteer Assault Brigade 'Wallonia'	n/a	Belgian Walloons [93]	1,850 [93]	Formed when the Walloon Legion was admitted into the Waffen SS [91]
29th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS RONA (1st Russian)	June 1944 [92]	Russian [94]	n/a	Formed from the Kaminski Brigade (RONA), became division in August 44, [80] received number in August. [94]
29th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Italian)	September 1944 [92]	Italian [60]	n/a	Established as Italian SS Volunteer Legion, [95] then Waffen-Grenadier-Brigade der SS (ital. Nr. 1). [96] Received number 29 after SS RONA was disbanded [56]
30th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (Russian No. 2)	Aug 1944 [97]	Byelorussian, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Tartar with German officers. [98]	n/a	Disbanded in December 1944 [99]
30th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Belarusian)	Aug 1944 [98]	Belarusian, Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian [98]	10,000 [100]	Formed from Schutzmannschaft-Brigade Siegling personnel [101]
31st SS Volunteer Grenadier Division	January 1945 [102]	Volksdeutsche from the Hungarian Bačka and Baranja region [102] and members of the Arrow Cross. [103]	14,800 [104]	Formed partially from remnants of the disbanded 23rd Mountain Division 'Kama'. [103]
33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne	Feb 1945 [105]	French [106]	7,340 [107]	Formed from LVF, Brigade Frankreich and other French collaborators. [107]
33rd Waffen Cavalry Division of the SS (3rd Hungarian)	December 1944 [108]	Hungarian volunteers [108] [81]	n/a	Absorbed in January 1945 by the 26th SS Panzer Grenadier Division (Ungarische # 2) [108]
34th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division 'Landstorm Nederland'	November 1944 [109]	Dutch [109]	n/a	Formed as Landstorm Nederland then in November 1944 integrated as SS Brigade 'Landstorm Nederland', [96] upgraded to division in February 1945. [109]
Indian Volunteer Legion of the Waffen-SS	August 1944 [110]	n/a	n/a
35th SS-Police Grenadier Division	February 1945 [108]	n/a	n/a	Formed from police personnel, near the end of the war. [102]
36th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS	February 1945 [109]	Russian and Ukrainian volunteers [111]	4,000 [109]	Formerly Dirlewanger Assault Brigade. [109]
37th SS Volunteer Cavalry Division Lützow	February 1945 [112]	Hungarians, [112] and Volksdeutsche from Hungary. [102]	n/a	Attached to the 6th SS Panzer Army [112]
SS Ski Jäger Battalion "Norwegen"	September 1942 [113]	Norwegian [114]	n/a	Part of the 6th SS Mountain Division Nord [114]
Norwegian Legion	June 1941 [115]	Norwegian [115]	1,218	de facto incorporated into the Waffen- SS [116]
SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade France	July 1943 [117]	French [113]	1,688 [118]	In September 1944 the Sturmbrigade brigade was amalgamated with the Legion of French Volunteers (L.V.F), which became the core of the SS Division Charlemagne. [119]
Waffen Grenadier Regiment of the SS (1st Bulgarian)	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
SS-Freiwilligen Legion Flandern	September 1941 [120]	Flemish [121]	875 [122]	Formed from the Flemish Legion disbanded in May 1943 and reformed within the SS Assault Brigade Langemarck [123]
Finnish Volunteer Battalion of the Waffen-SS	March 1941 [124]	Finnish [81]	1,408 [125]	disbanded in mid-1943 [126]
Finnish SS-Company [127]	1944 [128]	Formed of Finnish defectors, POWs and interned sailors. [129]	250 [128]	Disbanded in May 1945 [129]
1st Hungarian SS-Ski Battalion [130]	n/a	n/a	n/a	Formed of two battalions [130]
SS-Brigade Ney	October 1944 [131]	Hungarian volunteers [132]	3,100 [132]
SS Waffen Mountain Brigade (Tatar No. 1) [133] [38]	July 1944 [134]	n/a	n/a	Formed from the SS Waffen Mountain Regiment (Tatar No. 1), [134]
SS Waffen Mountain Regiment (Tatar No. 1) [133]	n/a	n/a	n/a	Upgraded to SS Waffen Mountain Brigade (Tatar No. 1) in July 1944. [134]
East Turkish Armed League of the SS [135]	January 1944 [136]	Turkmen, Azeri, Kyrgyz, Uzbeki and Tadjiki volunteers [136]	n/a	Muslim SS division based in northern Italy, recruited in the Caucasus. [135]
Waffen Grenadier Regiment of the SS (1st Romanian) [137]	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Waffen Grenadier Regiment of the SS (2nd Romanian) [137]	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Spanische-Freiwilligen-Kompanie der SS 101 [138]	September 1944 [139]	Spaniard [139]	240 [138]	Merged into 28th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division Wallonien. [139]
Spanische-Freiwilligen-Kompanie der SS 102 [137]	January 1944 [139]	Spaniard [139]	n/a

Foreign units under SS command

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Designation	Formation	Personnel	Peak size	Notes
Freikorps Danmark	July 1941 [140] [141]	Danish volunteers [140] [141]	1,164 [122] [142]	Battalion sized, [143] disbanded in May 1943, [144] personnel transferred to the Nordland Division. [142]
Schalburg Corps	April 1943 [145]	Danes [145]	n/a	Formed with former Freikorps soldiers, disbanded in February 1945. [146]
Guard Corps of the German Luftwaffe in Denmark	February 1944 [147]	Danes [147]	1,200 [147]	Known as ‘Sommer's Guard Corps’. [147]
Volunteer Legion Netherlands	July 1941 [148]	Dutch [82]	n/a	Formed by the Waffen‐SS, led by Dutch officers. [82] On April 1943 became the SS‐Freiwilligen Panzergrenadier Brigade ‘Nederland’ and on January 1945 absorbed in the 23rd SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division 'Nederland'. [42]
German-Croatian SS Police and Gendarmerie	March 1943 [149]	Croatian volunteers or conscripts with German and Volksdeutsche cadres. [150]	32,000 [150]	A police force under the command of the German Reichsführer-SS Plenipotentiary for Croatia SS-Brigadeführer Konstantin Kammerhofer. [151]
Serbian Volunteer Corps	November 1944 [37]	Serbian [152]	9,886 [152]	Serbian collaborationist militia, placed under Waffen SS command during the German withdrawal from Serbia, [153] and renamed Serbian S.S. Corps (Serbisches S.S. Korps) in March 1945. [154] [lower-alpha 8]
Serbian Gestapo	July 1942 [155]	Serbian	121 [156]	Disbanded in February 1944
North African Legion	January 1944 [157]	Algerian (from the Paris region) with French cadres [157]	300 [157]	Established by the Sicherheitsdienst [157]
St. Wenceslas Company	March 1945 [79]	Czech volunteers [79]	13 [79]
September 1943 [158]	Slovene [158]	n/a	Formed from collaborationist units under SS control [158]
SS Polizei – Selbstschutz – Regiment Sandschak	July 1944 [65]	Albanian Muslims (from Kosovo and Sandžak) [65] [159]	4,000 [65]	Albanian Muslim unit set up in the Sandžak by SS- und Polizeiführer Karl von Krempler [159]
Breton SS Armed Formation	Dec 1943 [160]	Bretons French	80 [160]	Established by the Sicherheitsdienst [161]
British Free Corps	January 1944 [93]	British PoW [93]	54 [162]	Initially called the Legion of St. George [93]
Caucasian-Muslim Legion [163]	December 1941 [163]	Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Karakalpaks, Tajiks, Azeris, Dagestanis, Chechens, Ingusges and Lezgins [163]	n/a
SS East Turk Armed Formation [164]	July 1944 [164]	Turkic ethnic groups [164]	3,000 [164]	Formed from the merging of the Turkestan unit, a Soviet Muslim formation established in January 1944. [164]
Tatar Legions	n/a	n/a	n/a
Kaukasische Waffen-Verbände der SS [137]	n/a	n/a	n/a

Waffen-SS volunteers and conscripts by country

Albania

Total: 6,500 to 8,000 ^[165]

Belgium

Total: 18,000 (about "evenly divided between Flemings and Walloons") ^[166]

Bohemia and Moravia

Total: 77 ^[167]

Denmark

Total: 6,000 ^[168]

Estonia

Total: 20,000 officially entered in the Waffen-SS ^{[169] [lower-alpha 9]}

Finland

Total: 1,180 ^[170] to 3,000 ^[165]

Hungary

Total: 20,000 ^[165]

India

Total: 4,500 ^[171]

Italy

Total: 15,000 ^[165]

Latvia

Total: 80,000 ^{[165] [lower-alpha 10]}

Netherlands

Total: 20,000 to 25,000 ^{[lower-alpha 11]}

Norway

Total: 6,000 ^[172]

Sweden

Swedish volunteers in the Waffen SS ^{[lower-alpha 12]}

Switzerland

In total, approximately 1,300 Swiss volunteers joined the Waffen-SS. ^{[173] [lower-alpha 13]}

Ukraine

Total: 20,000 ^[19]

United Kingdom

Total: 54 ^[162]

See also

• List of Waffen-SS units
• Non-Germans in the German armed forces during World War II
• Waffen-SS in popular culture
• Wehrmacht foreign volunteers and conscripts

Notes

1. The original German reads: "Wir müssen uns darüber im klaren sein, daß die germanische Politik nur unter der SS gelöst werden kann, nicht vom Staat, nicht vom Gros der Partei!...Wir können Europa nicht als Polizeistaat aufbauen unter dem Schutz von Bajonetten, sondern müssen das Leben Europas nach großgermanischen Gesichtspunkten gestalten" ^[13]
2. A number of volunteers were executed, while others were tried and imprisoned by their countries. Still others either lived in exile or returned to their homeland.
3. Most of these Cossacks had left Russia before or soon after the end of the Russian Civil War or had been born abroad, and thus had never been Soviet citizens. See the following primary source document: https://web.archive.org/web/20070928204604/http://www.holycross-hermitage.com/pages/Orthodox_Life/cossacks.htm
4. Also see: Richard Rashke, Useful Enemies: America's Open-Door Policy for Nazi War Criminals, Open Road Media (2013)
5. Incorporated from Regiment SS-Westland and SS-Nordland into the 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking ^[46]
6. Number of Latvians serving in the Latvian Waffen SS in July 1944 ^[50]
7. According to Andrii Bolianovskyi, the change of the division's official names illustrates the change of attitude of the Third Reich towards Ukrainian national aspirations. ^[19]
8. According to Military historian Georg Tessin its incorporation in the Waffen SS was never implemented. ^[153]
9. Historian Rolf-Dieter Müller points out that an additional 20,000 Estonians served in SS frontier guard regiments. ^[169]
10. Historian Andrejs Plakans puts this figure at 100,000. ^[24]
11. See: http://publications.niod.knaw.nl/publications/Veld_SSenNederland_01.pdf
12. See: Bosse Schön, "Svenskarna som stred för Hitler" ("The Swedes who fought for Hitler"), (2000) [1999], ISBN   978-9-1765-7208-5, p. 119 + 4 unnumbered pages (a photo of Christmas greetings for named men of the "Swedish" Waffen-SS unit Sveaborg in the Swedish pro-Nazi paper/magazine "Den Svenske" Swedes and Estonian-Swedish Waffen-SS volunteers fought in various SS units. Bosse Schön identifies various units. Many of them were from Norrland, Stockholm, Göteborg and had fought for Finland. A significant number of them were members of NSAP/SSS with about 60% between 17 and 25 years of age. Also see: https://www.svd.se/aventyret-lockade-svenskar-till-ss
13. Of particular note was Swiss-born SS Colonel Hans Riedweg, the de facto leader of the Germanische Leitstelle's Germanic recruits. Riedweg gave a speech in 1943, criticizing the manner in which the SS handled the escape of 7,000 Danish Jews from Nazi-held territory. He and fellow Germanic volunteers from neutral Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland were stripped of leadership roles and sent to the Eastern Front, where most perished. See: Richard Byers, "Byers on Gutmann, 'Building a Nazi Europe: The SS's Germanic Volunteers'", H-War (August 2018) at: https://networks.h-net.org/node/12840/reviews/2140807/byers-gutmann-building-nazi-europe-sss-germanic-volunteers

References

Citations

1. Stein 1984, p. 133.
2. Stein 1984, p. 23.
3. Flaherty 2004, p. 144.
4. McNab 2009, pp. 56, 57, 66.
5. Reitlinger 1989, p. 84.
6. McNab 2009, pp. 56–66.
7. Weale 2010, pp. 201–204.
8. Weale 2010, p. 204.
9. Stein 1984, pp. 150, 153.
10. Koehl 2004, pp. 213–214.
11. Longerich 2012, pp. 500, 674.
12. Longerich 2012, p. 769.
13. Wegner 2010, p. 298.
14. Kott, Bubnys & Kraft 2017, p. 162.
15. Stein 1984, pp. 172, 179.
16. Longerich 2012, pp. 611, 612.
17. Stein 1984, pp. 178–189.
18. Wegner 1990, pp. 307, 313, 325, 327–331.
19. Młynarczyk et al. 2017, p. 200.
20. Stein 1984, pp. xvi, xviii, 151–164, 168–178.
21. Hale 2011, p. 324.
22. Młynarczyk et al. 2017, pp. 166–167.
23. Młynarczyk et al. 2017, p. 167.
24. Plakans 2011, p. 357.
25. Gutmann 2017, p. 31.
26. Flaherty 2004, pp. 155, 156.
27. Stein 1984, p. 251.
28. Avalon Project–Yale University, Judgement: The Accused Organizations.
29. Griffiths 2005, p. 144.
30. Buttar 2013, pp. 329–330.
31. Mueggenberg 2020, pp. 264–273.
32. U.S. Government 1949, pp. 174–177.
33. Mole 2012, p. 48.
34. Hale 2011, p. 379.
35. Merriam 1999, p. 4.
36. Mitcham 2007, p. 189.
37. Tessin 1965, p. 400.
38. Merriam 1999, p. 7.
39. Estes 2015, p. 31.
40. Afiero & Bujeiro 2020, p. 4.
41. Littlejohn 1979, p. 193.
42. Afiero & Bujeiro 2020, p. 5.
43. Littlejohn 1979, p. 194.
44. Estes 2015, p. 32.
45. Bender 1971, p. 132.
46. Mitcham 2007, p. 1942.
47. Gilbert 2019, p. 120.
48. Estes 2015, p. 20.
49. Estes 2015, p. 34.
50. Thomas, Jurado & Pavlovic 2012, p. 23.
51. Zakić 2017, p. 223.
52. Gilbert 2019, pp. 242–243.
53. Tomasevich 2002, p. 77.
54. McNab 2009, p. 220.
55. Zakić 2017, p. 225.
56. Hetmanchuk 2019, pp. 38–42.
57. Béraud 2021, p. 103.
58. McCroden & Nutter 2019, p. 122.
59. Lepre 1997, p. 251.
60. Zabecki 2015, p. 676.
61. Gilbert 2019, p. 243.
62. Gilbert 2019, p. 211.
63. Gilbert 2019, p. 426.
64. Mitcham 2007, p. 1949.
65. Manes 2023, p. 87.
66. Tomasevich 2001, pp. 498–499.
67. Tomasevich 2001, pp. 496.
68. Manes 2023, p. 88.
69. Gilbert 2019, p. 256.
70. Thomas, Jurado & Pavlovic 2012, p. 21.
71. Gilbert 2019, p. 427.
72. Thomas, Jurado & Pavlovic 2012, p. 13.
73. Thomas, Jurado & Pavlovic 2012, p. 14.
74. Gilbert 2019, p. 255.
75. Tomasevich 2002, p. 154.
76. Manes 2023, p. 90.
77. Béraud 2021, p. 102.
78. Bougarel et al. 2017, p. 256.
79. Littlejohn 1994, p. 24.
80. Gilbert 2019, p. 428.
81. Hale 2011, p. 388.
82. van Roekel 2022, p. 24.
83. Gilbert 2019, p. 244.
84. Mitcham 2007, p. 94.
85. Littlejohn 1994, p. 267.
86. Mitcham 2007, p. 95.
87. Gilbert 2019, p. 429.
88. Mitcham 2007, p. 96.
89. Afiero & Bujeiro 2021, p. 44.
90. Afiero & Bujeiro 2021, p. 45.
91. Littlejohn 1979, p. 177.
92. Gilbert 2019, p. 430.
93. Gilbert 2019, p. 246.
94. Hale 2011, pp. 390–391.
95. McNab 2009, pp. 325–326.
96. Hale 2011, p. 389.
97. Mitcham 2007, p. 100.
98. Rein 2011, p. 370.
99. Rein 2011, p. 375.
100. Savin 2021.
101. Tessin & Kannapin 2000, p. 105.
102. Gilbert 2019, p. 432.
103. Littlejohn 1994, p. 120.
104. Pencz 2010, p. 145.
105. Littlejohn 1987, p. 172.
106. Zabecki 2015, p. 709.
107. Littlejohn 1987, p. 170.
108. Mitcham 2007, p. 101.
109. Mitcham 2007, p. 102.
110. André, André & Kohlbauer 2022, p. 155.
111. Rikmenspoel 2004, p. 193.
112. Odegard & Deeter 1968, p. 61.
113. Béraud 2021, p. 54.
114. Johansen 2016, p. 362.
115. Stahel 2018, p. 329.
116. Stahel 2018, p. 334.
117. Forbes 2010, p. 55.
118. Forbes 2010, p. 62.
119. Littlejohn 1987, pp. 161, 170, 172.
120. Afiero & Bujeiro 2021, p. 19.
121. Afiero & Bujeiro 2021, p. 18.
122. Stein 1984, p. 154.
123. Odegard & Deeter 1968, p. 11.
124. Pajunen & Karjalainen 2019, p. 14.
125. Westerlund 2019, p. 12.
126. Pajunen & Karjalainen 2019, p. 28.
127. Jokipii 2002, p. 158-160.
128. Lappalainen 1997, p. 114–115.
129. Westerlund 2010, p. 58-72.
130. Kursietis & Munoz 1999, p. 61.
131. Walters 2010, p. 318.
132. Bernád & Kliment 2015, p. 295.
133. Hale 2011, p. 391.
134. Muñoz 2001, p. 98.
135. Hale 2011, p. 17.
136. Hale 2011, p. 332.
137. Hale 2011, p. 390.
138. Rikmenspoel 2004, p. 192.
139. Christie 2003, p. 205.
140. Estes 2015, p. 36.
141. Littlejohn 1987, p. 93.
142. Littlejohn 1987, p. 94.
143. Estes 2015, p. 37.
144. Estes 2015, p. 39.
145. Littlejohn 1987, p. 102.
146. Littlejohn 1987, p. 107.
147. Littlejohn 1987, p. 112.
148. van Roekel 2022, p. 23.
149. Ramet 2020, p. 73.
150. Brnardic & Aralica 2016, pp. 39–40.
151. Tomasevich 2002, p. 285.
152. Tomasevich 2001, p. 194.
153. Tessin 1965, p. 596.
154. Littlejohn 1994, p. 255.
155. Marković, Milovanović & Rebić 1979, p. 183.
156. Radanović 2016, p. 595.
157. Littlejohn 1987, p. 184.
158. Littlejohn 1994, p. 261.
159. Bougarel et al. 2017, p. 266.
160. Broderick 2005, pp. 5–7.
161. Littlejohn 1987, p. 185.
162. Thurlow 1998, p. 168.
163. Hale 2011, p. 330.
164. Rubin & Schwanitz 2014, p. 149.
165. McNab 2009, p. 95.
166. Stein 1984, p. 136.
167. Littlejohn 1987b, p. 238.
168. Stein 1984, pp. 136, 137.
169. Müller 2012, p. 169.
170. Stein 1984, p. 161.
171. Stein 1984, p. 189.
172. Stein 1984, pp. 136–137.
173. Gutmann 2017, p. 20.

Bibliography

• Afiero, M.; Bujeiro, R. (2021). Belgian Waffen-SS Legions & Brigades, 1941–1944: Wallonie, Wallonien, Flandern & Langemarck. Men-at-Arms. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN   978-1-4728-4429-3.
• Afiero, M.; Bujeiro, R. (2020). Dutch Waffen-SS Legion & Brigade 1941–44. Men-at-Arms. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN   978-1-4728-4030-1.
• André, G.; André, W.; Kohlbauer, C. (2022). OPPORTUNITY – The power of resistance: English Version. INSEPARABLE – The Trilogy of Adventures. tredition. ISBN   978-3-347-58486-0.
• Avalon Project. "Avalon Project–Yale University". Judgement: The Accused Organizations. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
• Bender, R.J. (1971). Uniforms, organisations and history of the Waffen SS. Scott.
• Béraud, Y. (2021). German Mountain Troops 1942–45. Casemate Illustrated. Casemate Publishers. ISBN   978-1-61200-947-6.
• Bernád, D.; Kliment, C.K. (2015). Magyar Warriors. Volume 1: The History of the Royal Hungarian Armed Forces 1919–1945. Helion, Limited. ISBN   978-1-912174-49-2.
• Bougarel, Xavier; Korb, Alexander; Petke, Stefan; Zaugg, Franziska (2017). "Muslim SS units in the Balkans and the Soviet Union". In Jochen Böhler; Robert Gerwarth (eds.). The Waffen-SS: A European History. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-879055-6.
• Brnardic, V.; Aralica, V. (2016). World War II Croatian Legionaries: Croatian Troops under Axis Command 1941–45. Men-at-Arms. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN   978-1-4728-1769-3.
• Broderick, George (2005). "The Breton Movement and the German Occupation 1940–44. Alan Heusaff and Bezen Perrot: A Case Study" (PDF). Form und Struktur in der Sprache. Festschrift für Elmar Ternes. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
• Buttar, Prit (2013). Between Giants: The Battle for the Baltics in World War II. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN   978-1-4728-0287-3.
• Christie, S. (2003). General Franco Made Me a 'terrorist': The Interesting Years Abroad of a West of Scotland 'baby-boomer'. Christie file. S. Christie. ISBN   978-1-873976-19-7.
• Estes, K. (2015). A European Anabasis: Western European Volunteers in the German Army and SS, 1940-45. Helion. ISBN   978-1-912174-25-6.
• Flaherty, T. H. (2004) [1988]. The Third Reich: The SS. Time-Life. ISBN   1-84447-073-3.
• Forbes, Robert (2010) [2006]. For Europe: The French Volunteers of the Waffen-SS. Stackpole Books. ISBN   978-0-8117-3581-0.
• Gilbert, Adrian (2019). Waffen-SS: Hitler's Army at War. New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN   978-0-306-82465-4.
• Griffiths, Richard (2005). Fascism. London: Continuum. ISBN   978-0-8264-7856-6.
• Gutmann, Martin R. (2017). Building a Nazi Europe: The SS's Germanic Volunteers. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-1-107-15543-5.
• Hale, Christopher (2011). Hitler's Foreign Executioners: Europe's Dirty Secret. The History Press. ISBN   978-0-7524-5974-5.
• Hetmanchuk, M. P. (2019). "Foreign military formations of the SS – European Army of the Third Reich (1939–1945)". Гілея: науковий вісник. 141 (1). Українська академія наук, Національний педагогічний університет імені М. П. Драгоманова: 38–42. ISSN   2076-1554.
• Johansen, C. (2016). Hitler's Nordic Ally?: Finland and the Total War 1939–1945. Pen and Sword. ISBN   978-1-4738-5315-7.
• Jokipii, Mauno (2002). Hitlerin Saksa ja sen vapaaehtoisliikkeet: Waffen-SS:n suomalaispataljoona vertailtavana. Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura. ISBN   951-746-335-9.
• Kott, Matthew; Bubnys, Arūnas; Kraft, Ülle (2017). "The Baltic States: Auxiliaries and Waffen-SS Soldiers from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania". In Jochen Böhler; Robert Gerwarth (eds.). The Waffen-SS: A European History. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-879055-6.
• Kursietis, A.J.; Munoz, A.J. (1999). The Hungarian Army and Its Military Leadership in World War II. Axis Europa Books. Axis Europa Books & Magazines. ISBN   978-1-891227-28-8.
• Lappalainen, Niilo (1997). Aselevon jälkeen. WSOY. ISBN   951-0-21813-8.
• Koehl, Robert (2004). The SS: A History 1919–45. Stroud: Tempus. ISBN   978-0-7524-2559-7.
• Lepre, G. (1997). Himmler's Bosnian Division: The Waffen-SS Handschar Division, 1943–1945. Schiffer military history. Schiffer Military History. ISBN   978-0-7643-0134-6.
• Littlejohn, D. (1979). Foreign Legions of the Third Reich Vol. 2. Foreign Legions of the Third Reich. R.J. Bender Pub. ISBN   978-0-912138-22-0.
• Littlejohn, D. (1994). Foreign Legions of the Third Reich Vol.3. Foreign Legions of the Third Reich. R. James Bender Publishing. ISBN   978-0-912138-29-9.
• Littlejohn, David (1987b). Foreign Legions of the Third Reich, Vol. 2, Belgium, Great Britain, Holland, Italy and Spain. Bender Publishing. ISBN   978-0-91213-822-0.
• Littlejohn, David (1987). Foreign Legions of the Third Reich Vol. 1 Norway, Denmark, France. Bender Publishing. ISBN   978-0912138176.
• Longerich, Peter (2012). Heinrich Himmler: A Life . Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-959232-6.
• McCroden, W.T.; Nutter, T.E. (2019). German Ground Forces of World War II: Complete Orders of Battle for Army Groups, Armies, Army Corps, and Other Commands of the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS, September 1, 1939, to May 8, 1945. Savas Beatie. ISBN   978-1-61121-101-6.
• Muñoz, A.J. (2001). The East Came West: Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist Volunteers in the German Armed Forces, 1941–1945. Axis Europa Books. Axis Europa Books. ISBN   978-1-891227-39-4.
• McNab, Chris (2009). The SS: 1923–1945. Amber Books Ltd. ISBN   978-1-906626-49-5.
• Manes, L. (2023). Albanian units in the Second World War. Witness to War. Soldiershop Publishing. ISBN   979-1-255-89047-8.
• Marković, D.; Milovanović, N.B.; Rebić, Đ. (1979). Ratnici mira: Rat. Biblioteka Kompas (in Serbian). Sloboda.
• Merriam, R. (1999). Waffen-SS. World War II Arsenal Series. Merriam Press. ISBN   978-1-57638-168-7.
• Mitcham, S.W. (2007). German Order of Battle: Panzer, Panzer Grenadier, and Waffen SS divisions in World War II. Stackpole Books. ISBN   978-0-8117-3438-7.
• Młynarczyk, Jacek Andrzej; Rein, Leonid; Bolianovskyi, Andrii; Romanko, Oleg (2017). "Eastern Europe: Belarusian Auxiliaries, Ukrainian Waffen-SS Soldiers and the Special Case of the Polish 'Blue Police'". In Jochen Böhler; Robert Gerwarth (eds.). The Waffen-SS: A European History. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-879055-6.
• Mole, Richard C.M. (2012). The Baltic States from the Soviet Union to the European Union: Identity, Discourse and Power in the Post-Communist Transition of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. London and New York: Routledge. ISBN   978-0-415-39497-0.
• Mueggenberg, Brent (2020). The Cossack Struggle Against Communism, 1917–1945. McFarland. ISBN   978-1-4766-3802-7.
• Müller, Rolf-Dieter (2012). The Unknown Eastern Front: The Wehrmacht and Hitler's Foreign Soldiers. New York: I.B. Taurus. ISBN   978-1-78076-072-8.
• Odegard, W.W.; Deeter, R.E. (1968). Foreign Volunteers of Hitler's Germany. DO Enterprises.
• Pajunen, Jussi; Karjalainen, Mikko (2019). "Finnish Volunteer Battalion of the Waffen SS in 1941–1943 and Related Finnish studies" (PDF). Finno-German Yearbook of Political Economy. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-10-19. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
• Pencz, R. (2010). For the Homeland: The 31st Waffen-SS Volunteer Grenadier Division in World War II. Stackpole military history series. Stackpole Books. ISBN   978-0-8117-3582-7 . Retrieved 2024-01-04.
• Plakans, Andrejs (2011). A Concise History of the Baltic States. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-521-83372-1.
• Radanović, M. (2016). Kazna i zločin: snage kolaboracije u Srbiji : odgovornost za ratne zločine (1941–1944) i vojni gubici (1944–1945) (in Croatian). Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, Regionalna kancelarija za jugoistočnu Evropu. ISBN   978-86-88745-16-1.
• Ramet, S.P. (2020). The Independent State of Croatia 1941–45. Taylor & Francis. ISBN   978-1-00-015499-3.
• Rein, L. (2011). The Kings and the Pawns: Collaboration in Byelorussia during World War II. War and Genocide. Berghahn Books. ISBN   978-0-85745-043-2.
• Reitlinger, Gerald (1989). The SS: Alibi of a Nation, 1922–1945. Da Capo Press. ISBN   978-0-306-80351-2.
• Rikmenspoel, M.J. (2004). Waffen-SS Encyclopedia. Aberjona Press. ISBN   978-0-9717650-8-5.
• van Roekel, E. (2022). As political soldiers we face Moscow's hordes: Dutch volunteers in the Waffen-SS. Series in World History. Vernon Press. ISBN   978-1-64889-334-6.
• Rubin, B.; Schwanitz, W.G. (2014). Nazis, Islamists, and the Making of the Modern Middle East. Yale University Press. ISBN   978-0-300-14090-3.
• Savin, Kyryl (2021). "Coming to terms with the past (23 March 2021)". Deutsche Welle . Retrieved 30 October 2023.
• Stahel, D. (2018). Joining Hitler's Crusade. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-1-316-51034-6.
• Stein, George H (1984). The Waffen SS: Hitler's Elite Guard at War, 1939–1945 . Cornell University Press. ISBN   978-0-8014-9275-4.
• Tessin, Georg; Kannapin, Norbert (2000). Waffen-SS und Ordnungspolizei im Kriegseinsatz 1939–1945 (in German). Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. doi:10.1080/13518040701378360. S2CID   144741225.
• Tessin, G. (1965). Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939–1945: -13. Bd. Die Landstreitkräfte: Namensverbände 1-13400 (in German). Mittler.
• Thurlow, Richard (1998). Fascism in Britain: A History, 1918–1945. I.B. Tauris. ISBN   978-1-86064-337-8.
• Thomas, N.; Jurado, C.C.; Pavlovic, D. (2012). Germany's Eastern Front Allies (2): Baltic Forces. Men-at-Arms. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN   978-1-78096-734-9.
• Tomasevich, J. (2001). War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941–1945: Occupation and Collaboration. ACLS Humanities E-Book. Stanford University Press. ISBN   978-0-8047-7924-1.
• Tomasevich, J. (2002). War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941–1945: Occupation and Collaboration. ACLS Humanities E-Book. Stanford University Press. ISBN   978-0-8047-7924-1.
• U.S. Government (1949). Hearings Before Subcommittee No. 4 of the Committee on the Judiciary House of Representatives, Eightieth Congress, Second Session on H.R. 1285, H.R. 4928, H.R. 5040, and H.R. 5192. Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. OCLC   54523633.
• Walters, G. (2010). Hunting Evil: How the Nazi War Criminals Escaped and the Hunt to Bring Them to Justice. Bantam. ISBN   978-0-553-81939-7.
• Weale, Adrian (2010). The SS: A New History. Little, Brown. ISBN   978-1-4087-0304-5.
• Westerlund, Lars (2019). The Finnish SS Volunteers and Atrocities 1941–1943 (PDF). The National Archives of Finland and Finnish Literature Society. ISBN   978-951-858-111-9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-08-23. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
• Westerlund, Lars (2010). Sotatapahtumia, internointeja ja siirto sodanjälkeisiin oloihin. Kansallisarkisto. ISBN   978-952-0000-00-0.{{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help)
• Wegner, Bernd (1990). The Waffen-SS: Organization, Ideology and Function. Blackwell. ISBN   0-631-14073-5.
• Wegner, Bernd (2010). Hitlers Politische Soldaten: Die Waffen-SS, 1933–1945 (in German). Paderborn: Ferdinand Schöningh. ISBN   978-3-506-76313-6.
• Zabecki, D.T. (2015). World War II in Europe: An Encyclopedia. Military History of the United States. Taylor & Francis. ISBN   978-1-135-81242-3.
• Zakić, M. (2017). Ethnic Germans and National Socialism in Yugoslavia in World War II. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-1-107-17184-8.

Further reading

• Hurd, Madeleine; Werther, Steffen (2016). "Retelling the Past, Inspiring the Future: Waffen-SS Commemorations and the Creation of a 'European' Far-right Counter-narrative". Patterns of Prejudice. 50 (4–5): 420–444. doi:10.1080/0031322X.2016.1243346. S2CID   151757461.
• Judah, Tim (2002). Kosovo: War and Revenge. Yale University. ISBN   978-0-300-09725-2.
• Tomasevich, Jozo (1975). War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941–1945: The Chetniks. Stanford University. ISBN   0-8047-0857-6.
• Weale, Adrian (2012). Army of Evil: A History of the SS. New York; Toronto: NAL Caliber (Penguin Group). ISBN   978-0-451-23791-0.
• Zaugg, Franziska Anna (2021). Rekrutierungen für die Waffen-SS in Südosteuropa : Ideen, Ideale und Realitäten einer Vielvölkerarmee (in German). De Gruyter. hdl:20.500.12657/52340. ISBN   978-3-11-073077-7.
• Gutmann, Martin (2013). "Debunking the Myth of the Volunteers: Transnational Volunteering in the Nazi Waffen-SS Officer Corps during the Second World War". Contemporary European History. 22 (4): 585–607. doi:10.1017/S0960777313000374. hdl: 20.500.11850/319670 . ISSN   0960-7773. JSTOR   43299406. S2CID   159564891.

External links

• SS veterans in Britain hold secret reunions: The Telegraph, 5 May 2002.