Identification marks of the SS divisions. The Wehrmacht is the army of Nazi Germany

During the Second World War, SS divisions were considered selected formations of the armed forces of the Third Reich.

Almost all of these divisions had their own emblems (tactical, or identification, insignia), which were by no means worn by the ranks of these divisions as sleeve patches (rare exceptions did not change the overall picture at all), but were painted with white or black oil paint on divisional military equipment and vehicles, buildings in which the ranks of the corresponding divisions were quartered, corresponding signs in the locations of units, etc. These identification (tactical) insignia (emblems) of SS divisions - almost always inscribed in heraldic shields (which had a “Varangian” or “Norman” or tarch form) - in many cases differed from the lapel insignia of the ranks of the corresponding divisions.

1. 1st SS Panzer Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler".

The division's name means "Adolf Hitler's SS Personal Guard Regiment." The emblem (tactical, or identification, sign) of the division was a tarch shield with the image of a master key (and not a key, as is often incorrectly written and thought). The choice of such an unusual emblem is explained quite simply. The surname of the division commander, Joseph (“Sepp”) Dietrich, was a “speaking” (or, in heraldic language, a “vowel”). In German, "Dietrich" means "master key". After "Sepp" Dietrich was awarded the Oak Leaves for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, the division emblem began to be framed by 2 oak leaves or a semicircular oak wreath.

2. 2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich".

The name of the division is “Reich” (“Das Reich”) translated into Russian means “Empire”, “Power”. The emblem of the division was the "wolfsangel" ("wolf hook") inscribed in the shield-tarch - an ancient German amulet sign that scared away wolves and werewolves (in German: "werewolves", in Greek: "lycanthropes", in Icelandic: " ulfhedin", in Norwegian: "varulv" or "varg", in Slavic: "vurdalak", "volkolakov", "volkudlakov" or "volkodlakov"), located horizontally.

3. 3rd SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf" (Totenkopf).

The division got its name from the SS emblem - “Death's (Adam's) head” (skull and crossbones) - a symbol of loyalty to the leader until death. The same emblem, inscribed in the tarch shield, also served as the identification mark of the division.

4. 4th SS Motorized Infantry Division "Police" ("Police"), also known as "(4th) SS Police Division".

This division received this name because it was formed from the ranks of the German police. The emblem of the division was the “wolf hook” - “wolfsangel” in a vertical position, inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch.

5. 5th SS Panzer Division "Wiking".

The name of this division is explained by the fact that, along with the Germans, it was recruited from residents of Northern European countries (Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden), as well as Belgium, the Netherlands, Latvia and Estonia. In addition, Swiss, Russian, Ukrainian and Spanish volunteers served in the ranks of the Viking division. The division’s emblem was a “scant cross” (“sun wheel”), that is, a swastika with arched crossbars, on a heraldic shield-tarch.

6. 6th mountain (mountain rifle) division of the SS "Nord" ("North").

The name of this division is explained by the fact that it was recruited mainly from natives of the Northern European countries (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia and Latvia). The emblem of the division was the ancient German rune “hagall” (resembling the Russian letter “Zh”) inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch. The rune "hagall" ("hagalaz") was considered a symbol of unshakable faith.

7. 7th Volunteer Mountain (Mountain Rifle) SS Division "Prinz Eugen (Eugen)".

This division, recruited mainly from ethnic Germans living in Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Vojvodina, Banat and Romania, was named after the famous commander of the “Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation” in the second half of the 17th - early 18th centuries. Prince Eugen (German: Eugen) of Savoy, famous for his victories over the Ottoman Turks and, in particular, for conquering Belgrade for the Roman-German Emperor (1717). Eugene of Savoy also became famous in the War of the Spanish Succession for his victories over the French and gained no less fame as a philanthropist and patron of the arts. The emblem of the division was the ancient German rune “odal” (“otilia”), inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch, meaning “heritage” and “blood relationship”.

8. 8th SS Cavalry Division "Florian Geyer".

This division was named in honor of the imperial knight Florian Geyer, who led one of the detachments of German peasants (“Black Detachment”, in German: “Schwarzer Gaufen”), who rebelled against the princes (large feudal lords) during the Peasant War in Germany (1524-1526). , who opposed the unification of Germany under the scepter of the emperor). Since Florian Geyer wore black armor and his “Black Squad” fought under the black banner, the SS men considered him as their predecessor (especially since he opposed not only the princes, but also for the unification of the German state). Florian Geyer (immortalized in the drama of the same name by the classic of German literature Gerhart Hauptmann) died heroically in battle with the superior forces of the German princes in 1525 in the Taubertal Valley. His image entered German folklore (especially song folklore), enjoying no less popularity than, say, Stepan Razin in Russian song folklore. The emblem of the division was a naked sword inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch with the tip up, crossing the shield from right to left diagonally, and a horse's head.

9. 9th SS Panzer Division "Hohenstaufen".

This division was named after the dynasty of the Swabian dukes (since 1079) and the medieval Roman-German emperor-kaisers (1138-1254) - the Hohenstaufens (Staufens). Under them, the medieval German state (“Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation”), founded by Charlemagne (in 800 AD) and renewed by Otto I the Great, reached the peak of its power, subjugating Italy to its influence, Sicily, the Holy Land and Poland. The Hohenstaufens tried, relying on the highly developed economically Northern Italy as a base, to centralize their power over Germany and restore the Roman Empire - “at least” - the Western (within the borders of the empire of Charlemagne), ideally - the entire Roman Empire, including the Eastern Roman (Byzantine), in which, however, they did not succeed. The most famous representatives of the Hohenstaufen dynasty are considered to be the crusader kaisers Frederick I Barbarossa (who died during the Third Crusade) and his great-nephew Frederick II (Roman Emperor, King of Germany, Sicily and Jerusalem), as well as Conradin, who was defeated in the fight against the Pope and Duke Charles of Anjou for Italy and beheaded by the French in 1268. The emblem of the division was a vertically naked sword inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch with the tip up, superimposed on the capital Latin letter "H" ("Hohenstaufen").

10. 10th SS Panzer Division "Frundsberg".

This SS division was named after the German Renaissance commander Georg (Jörg) von Frundsberg, nicknamed the “Father of the Landsknechts” (1473-1528), under whose command the troops of the Holy Roman Emperor of the German Nation and the King of Spain Charles I of Habsburg conquered Italy and in 1514 took Rome, forcing the Pope to recognize the supremacy of the Empire. They say that the ferocious Georg Frundsberg always carried with him a golden noose, with which he intended to strangle the Pope if he fell into his hands alive. The famous German writer and Nobel Prize laureate Günter Grass served in the ranks of the SS division "Frundsberg" in his youth. The emblem of this SS division was the capital Gothic letter "F" ("Frundsberg") inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch, superimposed on an oak leaf located diagonally from right to left.

11. 11th SS Motorized Infantry Division "Nordland" ("North Country").

The name of the division is explained by the fact that it was recruited mainly from volunteers born in northern European countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, Latvia and Estonia). The emblem of this SS division was a heraldic shield-tarch with the image of a “sun wheel” inscribed in a circle.

12. 12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjugend"

This division was recruited mainly from the ranks of the youth organization of the Third Reich "Hitler Youth" ("Hitler Youth"). The tactical sign of this "youth" SS division was the ancient German "solar" rune "sig" ("sowulo", "sovelu") inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch - a symbol of victory and the emblem of Hitler's youth organizations "Jungfolk" and "Hitlerjugend", from among members of which the division's volunteers were recruited, placed on a master key ("similar to Dietrich").

13. 13th mountain (mountain rifle) division of the Waffen SS "Khanjar"

(often referred to in military literature as “Handshar” or “Yatagan”), consisting of Croatian, Bosnian and Herzegovinian Muslims (Bosniaks). "Khanjar" is a traditional Muslim edged weapon with a curved blade (related to the Russian words "konchar" and "dagger", also meaning bladed edged weapon). The emblem of the division was a curved khanjar sword inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch, directed from left to right up diagonally. According to the surviving data, the division also had another identification mark, which was an image of a hand with a khanjar, superimposed on a double “SS” rune “sig” (“sovulo”).

14. 14th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS (Galician No. 1, since 1945 - Ukrainian No. 1); it is also the SS division "Galicia".

The emblem of the division was the ancient coat of arms of the city of Lvov, the capital of Galicia - a lion walking on its hind legs, surrounded by 3 three-pronged crowns, inscribed in a “Varangian” (“Norman”) shield.

15. 15th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS (Latvian No. 1).

The division's emblem was originally a "Varangian" ("Norman") heraldic shield depicting the Roman numeral "I" above a stylized printed capital Latin letter "L" ("Latvia"). Subsequently, the division acquired another tactical sign - 3 stars against the backdrop of the rising sun. 3 stars meant 3 Latvian provinces - Vidzeme, Kurzeme and Latgale (a similar image adorned the cockade of the pre-war army of the Republic of Latvia).

16. 16th SS Motorized Infantry Division "Reichsführer SS".

This SS division was named after Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler. The emblem of the division was a bunch of 3 oak leaves with 2 acorns at the handle, framed by a laurel wreath, inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch, inscribed in the shield-tarch.

17. 17th SS Motorized Division "Götz von Berlichingen".

This SS division was named after the hero of the Peasants' War in Germany (1524-1526), ​​the imperial knight Georg (Götz, Götz) von Berlichingen (1480-1562), a fighter against the separatism of the German princes for the unity of Germany, the leader of a detachment of rebel peasants and the hero of the drama Johann Wolfgang von Goethe “Goetz von Berlichingen with an iron hand” (the knight Goetz, who lost his hand in one of the battles, ordered an iron prosthesis to be made for himself, which he controlled no worse than others - with a hand made of flesh and blood). The emblem of the division was the iron hand of Götz von Berlichingen clenched into a fist (crossing the tarch shield from right to left and from bottom to top diagonally).

18. 18th SS Volunteer Motorized Infantry Division "Horst Wessel".

This division was named in honor of one of the “martyrs of the Hitler movement” - the commander of the Berlin stormtroopers Horst Wessel, who composed the song “Banners High”! (which became the anthem of the NSDAP and the “second anthem” of the Third Reich) and killed by communist militants. The emblem of the division was a naked sword with the tip up, crossing the tarch shield from right to left diagonally. According to the surviving data, the division "Horst Wessel" also had another emblem, which was the Latin letters SA stylized as runes (SA = Sturmabteilungen, i.e. "assault troops"; "martyr of the Movement" Horst Wessel, in whose honor the division was named , was one of the leaders of the Berlin stormtroopers), inscribed in a circle.

19. 19th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS (Latvian No. 2).

The emblem of the division at the time of formation was the "Varangian" ("Norman") heraldic shield with the image of the Roman numeral "II" above the stylized printed capital Latin letter "L" ("Latvia"). Subsequently, the division acquired another tactical sign - an upright, right-sided swastika on the “Varangian” shield. The swastika - “fiery cross” (“ugunskrusts”) or “cross (of the thunder god) Perkon” (“perkonkrusts”) has been a traditional element of Latvian folk ornament from time immemorial.

20. 20th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS (Estonian No. 1).

The emblem of the division was the “Varangian” (“Norman”) heraldic shield with the image of a straight naked sword with the tip up, crossing the shield from right to left diagonally and superimposed on the capital Latin letter “E” (“E”, that is, “Estonia”). According to some reports, this emblem was sometimes depicted on the helmets of Estonian SS volunteers.

21. 21st mountain (mountain rifle) division of the Waffen SS "Skanderbeg" (Albanian No. 1).

This division, recruited mainly from Albanians, was named after the national hero of the Albanian people, Prince George Alexander Kastriot (nicknamed by the Turks "Iskander Beg" or, for short, "Skanderbeg"). While Skanderbeg (1403-1468) was alive, the Ottoman Turks, who had repeatedly suffered defeats from him, could not bring Albania under their rule. The emblem of the division was the ancient coat of arms of Albania, a double-headed eagle, inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch (the ancient Albanian rulers claimed kinship with the basileus-emperors of Byzantium). According to surviving information, the division also had another tactical sign - a stylized image of the “Skanderbeg helmet” with goat horns, superimposed on 2 horizontal stripes.

22. 22nd SS Volunteer Cavalry Division "Maria Theresa".

This division, recruited mainly from ethnic Germans living in Hungary and from Hungarians, was named after the Empress of the "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation" and Austria, Queen of Bohemia (Czech Republic) and Hungary Maria Theresa von Habsburg (1717-1780), one of the most prominent rulers of the second half of the 18th century. The emblem of the division was an image of a cornflower flower inscribed in the heraldic shield-tarch with 8 petals, a stem, 2 leaves and 1 bud - (subjects of the Austro-Hungarian Danube Monarchy who wanted to join the German Empire, until 1918, wore a cornflower in their buttonhole - the favorite flower of the German emperor Wilhelm II of Hohenzollern).

23. 23rd Waffen SS Volunteer Motorized Infantry Division "Kama" (Croatian No. 2)

consisting of Croatian, Bosnian and Herzegovinian Muslims. “Kama” is the name of a traditional Balkan Muslim edged weapon with a curved blade (something like a scimitar). The tactical sign of the division was a stylized image of the astronomical sign of the sun in a crown of rays on the heraldic shield-tarch. Information has also been preserved about another tactical sign of the division, which was the Tyr rune with 2 arrow-shaped processes perpendicular to the trunk of the rune in its lower part.

24. 23rd Volunteer Motorized Infantry Division Waffen SS "Netherlands"

(Dutch No. 1).

The name of this division is explained by the fact that its personnel were recruited mainly from the Netherlands (Dutch) Waffen SS volunteers. The emblem of the division was the “odal” (“otilia”) rune with lower ends in the shape of arrows, inscribed in the heraldic tarch shield.

25. 24th mountain (mountain rifle) division of the Waffen SS "Karst Jaegers" ("Karst Jaegers", "Karstjäger").

The name of this division is explained by the fact that it was recruited mainly from natives of the Karst mountain region, located on the border between Italy and Yugoslavia. The division's emblem was a stylized image of a "karst flower" ("karstbloome"), inscribed in a heraldic shield of the "Varangian" ("Norman") form.

26. 25th Grenadier (Infantry) Division Waffen SS "Hunyadi"

(Hungarian No. 1).

This division, recruited mainly from Hungarians, was named after the medieval Transylvanian-Hungarian Hunyadi dynasty, the most prominent representatives of which were János Hunyadi (Johannes Gounyades, Giovanni Vaivoda, 1385-1456) and his son King Matthew Corvinus (Matiás Hunyadi, 1443-1456). 1490), who heroically fought for the freedom of Hungary against the Ottoman Turks. The division's emblem was a "Varangian" ("Norman") heraldic shield with the image of an "arrow-shaped cross" - the symbol of the Viennese National Socialist Arrow Cross Party ("Nigerlashists") Ferenc Szálasi - under 2 three-pronged crowns.

27. 26th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS "Gömbös" (Hungarian No. 2).

28. 27th SS Volunteer Grenadier (Infantry) Division "Langemarck" (Flemish No. 1).

29. 28th SS Panzer Division. Information about the division's tactical sign has not been preserved.

30. 28th SS Volunteer Grenadier (Infantry) Division "Wallonia".

31. 29th Grenadier Infantry Division Waffen SS "RONA" (Russian No. 1).

This division - "Russian Liberation People's Army" consisted of Russian volunteers B.V. Kaminsky. The tactical sign of the division, applied to its equipment, judging by the surviving photographs, was a widened cross with the abbreviation “RONA” under it.

32. 29th Grenadier (Infantry) Division Waffen SS "Italy" (Italian No. 1).

33. 30th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS (Russian No. 2, also known as Belarusian No. 1).

It should be noted that the double (“patriarchal”) cross, located vertically, served as the tactical sign of the 79th Infantry, and located diagonally - the emblem of the 2nd motorized infantry division of the German Wehrmacht.

34. 31st SS Volunteer Grenadier Division (aka 23rd Waffen SS Volunteer Mountain Division).

The emblem of the division was a full-face deer's head on the "Varangian" ("Norman") heraldic shield.

35. 31st SS Volunteer Grenadier (Infantry) Division "Bohemia and Moravia" (German: "Böhmen und Mähren").

36. 32nd Volunteer Grenadier (Infantry) SS Division "January 30".

37. 33rd Waffen SS Cavalry Division "Hungaria", or "Hungary" (Hungarian No. 3).

38. 33rd Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS "Charlemagne" (French No. 1).

39. 34th SS Volunteer Grenadier (Infantry) Division "Landstorm Nederland" (Dutch No. 2).

40. 36th SS Police Grenadier (Infantry) Division ("Police Division II")

41. 36th Waffen SS Grenadier Division "Dirlewanger".

In addition, in the last months of the war, the formation of the following new SS divisions, mentioned in the orders of the Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler, was begun (but not completed):

42. 35th SS Grenadier (Infantry) Division "Police" ("Policeman"), also known as the 35th SS Grenadier (Infantry) Police Division. Information about the tactical sign (emblem) of the division has not been preserved.

43. 36th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the Waffen SS. No information about the division's emblem has been preserved.

44. 37th SS Volunteer Cavalry Division "Lützow".

45. 38th Grenadier (Infantry) Division of the SS "Nibelungen" ("Nibelungen").

46. ​​39th SS Mountain (Mountain Rifle) Division "Andreas Hofer".

47. 40th SS Volunteer Motorized Infantry Division "Feldgerrnhalle" (not to be confused with the division of the same name of the German Wehrmacht).

48. 41st Waffen SS Infantry Division "Kalevala" (Finnish No. 1).

49. 42nd SS Infantry Division "Lower Saxony" ("Niedersachsen").

50. 43rd Waffen SS Infantry Division "Reichsmarshal".

51. 44th Waffen SS Motorized Infantry Division "Wallenstein".

52. 45th SS Infantry Division "Varyag" ("Varager").

It should be noted that Hitler was not alone in his antipathy towards the Byzantines. Most Western Europeans fully shared this antipathy towards the “Romans” (even since the era of the Crusades), and it is no coincidence that in the Western European lexicon there is even a special concept of “Byzantinism” (meaning: “cunning”, “cynicism”, “meanness”, “ groveling before the strong and ruthlessness towards the weak”, “treachery”... in general, “the Greeks have been deceitful to this day”, as the famous Russian chronicler wrote). As a result, the German-Scandinavian division formed as part of the Waffen SS (which later also included the Dutch, Walloons, Flemings, Finns, Latvians, Estonians, Ukrainians and Russians) was given the name “Viking”. Along with this, on the basis of Russian White emigrants and former citizens of the USSR in the Balkans, the formation of another SS division began, called “Varager” (“Varangians”); however, due to the prevailing circumstances, the matter was limited to the formation in the Balkans of the “Russian (security) corps (Russian security group)” and a separate Russian SS regiment “Varyag”.

During the Second World War on the territory of Serbia in 1941-1944. In alliance with the Germans, the Serbian SS Volunteer Corps also operated, consisting of former soldiers of the Yugoslav royal army (mostly of Serbian origin), most of whom were members of the Serbian monarcho-fascist movement "Z.B.O.R.", led by Dmitrie Letic. The tactical sign of the corps was a tarch shield and an image of an ear of grain, superimposed on a naked sword with the tip down, located diagonally.

In modern Russia, at every opportunity on TV screens: in the news, historical programs or some kind of show, they like to reproach their neighbors for the fact that during the Second World War, SS units, police units or organizations supporting anti-Bolshevik, were formed on their territory. anti-Soviet sentiments.

First of all, it goes to the Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, with their SS divisions, formed one, respectively, in each of these countries - Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia. And also the SS division “Galicia” formed on the territory of Ukraine is especially mentioned in these programs or broadcasts. At the same time, cynically keeping silent about their own SS units formed from Russians. If it were the will of the current fighters against the “Bandera” and “forest brothers”, they would no doubt try to erase the Vlasov ROA from their own history.

To finally appear in all their glory, the one and only fighters for saving the world during the Second World War.
However, history does not tolerate the subjunctive mood. And the truth, no matter how bitter and unpleasant it is, and no matter how much one wants to hide it, the current generation of Russians cannot avoid, gloss over or embellish.

And, in addition to the already notorious ROA - the Russian Liberation Army, under the leadership of the former Soviet general A.A. Vlasov, who, by the way, made a significant contribution to the victory of the Soviet troops near Moscow in 1941 and commanded until he was captured by the Germans 2nd Shock Army, there are also other little-known divisions and SS units formed from Russians. Little known primarily to the Russian fighters themselves and their collaborators. Yes Yes.

Unlike the Latvians or Estonians and Ukrainians, who were only one division at most, there were not even several Russian SS units.

Here they are:

• SS Volunteer Regiment "Varyag".
• 1st Russian national SS brigade "Druzhina".
• 15th SS Cossack Cavalry Corps.
• 29th SS Grenadier Division "RONA" (1st Russian).
• 30th SS Grenadier Division (2nd Russian).
• 36th SS Grenadier Division "Dirlewanger".

CORPS OF SS TROOPS OF THE MAIN OPERATIONAL DIRECTORATE OF THE SS FHA-SS

• 15th Cossack Russian Corps of SS troops FHA-SS - 3 divisions, 16 regiments.
• SS FHA-SS (TROOP-SS)
• 29th Russian FHA-SS - 6 regiments.
• 30th Russian FHA-SS, 1st formation 1944, - 5 regiments.

BRIGADES OF THE MAIN DIRECTORATE OF IMPERIAL SECURITY SS RSHA-SS

• 1st Russian National SS Brigade "Druzhina" - 3 regiments, 12 battalions.
• 1st Guards Brigade ROA "Sonderkommando Љ113" SD - 1 battalion, 2 companies.
• SS Brigade of the Center for Anti-Bolshevik Struggle (CPBB) - 3 battalions.
• The reconnaissance and sabotage unit of the Main Team "Russia - Center" of the Sonderstaff "Zeppelin" RSHA-SS - 4 special forces detachments.

As you can see, there are Russian SS divisions and regiments and corps and brigades, and even reconnaissance and sabotage formations. So why do modern Russian “Herodotus”, when they brand Estonians, Latvians or Ukrainians with shame on the next May 9th, do not remember the Russian SS units?
Everything is very simple. Such an example does not fit with the image of the Russian soldier-liberator (as if only Russians served in the Red Army and there were no Ukrainians, no Belarusians, no Georgians, no Armenians, no Latvians or Estonians), the only one not tainted by connections with the German fascism.
And, you can argue and prove for as long as you like whether they participated or did not participate in punitive operations against civilians, whether they reached the size of a full-blooded division or not, whether they fought at all or were just on paper, but the fact remains - Russian divisions There were SS and they fought on the side of the Third Reich.
But, in addition to the Russian SS units themselves, who fought on Hitler’s side with weapons in their hands, there were other military units and units consisting of Russians in the Wehrmacht’s service. Which, according to the already established “good” tradition, the new Russian historians and patriots themselves “forget” to talk about. Meanwhile, as they say, there is something to see. Eg:

MAIN COLLABORATION FORMATIONS. ARMED FORCES OF THE "UNION STATE"

• Armed forces of the Congress of the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia (KONR) (1 army, 4 corps, 8 divisions, 8 brigades).
• Russian Liberation Army of the Congress of the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia (3 divisions, 2 brigades).

"ARMY" OF THE WEHRMACHT

• Russian Liberation Army of the Wehrmacht - 12 security corps, 13 divisions, 30 brigades.
• Russian Liberation People's Army - 5 regiments, 18 battalions.
• Russian National People's Army - 3 regiments, 12 battalions.
• Russian National Army - 2 regiments, 12 battalions.

AVIATION BODY

• Air Force KONR (Aviation Corps KONR) - 87 aircraft, 1 air group, 1 regiment.

SECURITY CORPS OF THE ARMY REAR AREAS OF THE VERMACHT

• 582nd Security (Russian) Corps of the Wehrmacht - 11 battalions.
• 583rd Security (Estonian-Russian) Corps of the Wehrmacht - 10 battalions.
• 584th Security (Russian) Corps of the Wehrmacht - 6 battalions.
• 590th Security Cossack (Russian) Corps of the Wehrmacht - 1 regiment, 4 battalions.
• 580th Security Cossack (Russian) Corps of the Wehrmacht - 1 regiment, 9 battalions.
• 532nd Security (Russian) Corps of the Wehrmacht - 13 battalions.
• 559th Security (Russian) Corps of the Wehrmacht - 7 battalions.

EASTERN LEGIONS OF THE WEHRMACHT

• Russian Legion "White Cross" of the Wehrmacht - 4 battalions.

ABWERH DIVISIONS

• “Special Division “Russia”” by General Smyslovsky - 1 regiment, 12 battalions.

ABWERH BRIGADES

• Brigade "Graukopf" - "RNNA" of General Ivanov - 1 regiment, 5 battalions.

WEHRMACHT DIVISIONS OF SPECIAL PURPOSE

• 442nd Special Purpose - 2 ROA regiments.
• 136th Special Purpose - 2 ROA regiments.
• 210th Special Purpose Stationary Infantry (Coastal Defense) - 1 regiment, 2 separate ROA battalions.

"NATIVE" SECURITY CORPS AND SELF-DEFENSE

• Russian security corps of the Wehrmacht in Serbia - 1 brigade, 5 regiments.
• Russian "People's Guard" of the General Commissariat "Moscow" (Rear Area of ​​Army Group "Center") - 13 battalions, 1 cavalry division.

(RUSSIAN-CROATIAN)

• 15th Special Purpose Mountain Rifle Corps of the 2nd Tank Army:
• Russians - 1 security corps, 5 regiments, Croatian - 2 divisions, 6 regiments.
• 69th Special Purpose Corps of the 2nd Tank Army: Russians - 1 division, 8 regiments, Croatian - 1 division, 3 regiments.

Thus, the majority, both in the foreign SS units and divisions, were Russians, and in the Wehrmacht units itself, the majority of the collaborators were the same Russians. But how many Russians, at least approximately, fought on the side of Hitler and the Third Reich? Is it even possible to calculate their total number? I guess, yes.

According to various estimates by different researchers, the total number of Russians who fought on the side of the Third Reich ranges from zero (actually the calculations of today’s ardent Russian patriots, who manage to classify all Russian SS units and divisions as Ukrainians, Belarusians and Latvians with Georgians) and up to two million. But, most likely, the truth, as always, is somewhere in the middle, between these two figures.

Moreover, the Germans themselves, as of 1943, put the total number of Russians who fought on the side of the Third Reich at 800 thousand people.

So, for example, Vlasov’s army itself was not very large. His two divisions, which had already been formed, represented no more than 40 thousand fighters. Plus there was another poorly armed and not yet fully formed third division. This is approximately 10-12 thousand more soldiers.

Adjoining Vlasov was the Cossack corps of General Helmut von Panivitz, which became part of the ROA. These are 45 thousand Cossacks who fought in Yugoslavia. It included the Russian corps, formed from emigrants, who fought in Serbia: about six thousand people. In total there are about 120 thousand people. This is what was actually called ROA.

Thus, the ROA alone produced approximately 120 thousand Russians who fought on Hitler’s side.

By adding to these 120 thousand all the other known Russian SS divisions, security regiments and units, formations and detachments, we will just reach the figure of 1 million Russians!!! soldier on the side of the Third Reich. In general, if we take into account that soldiers died in battles and reinforcements were constantly sent to military units, then to these 800 thousand - a million, we can safely add another 200-300 thousand Russians.

A very remarkable thing about the actual number of Russians who fought on Hitler’s side is the fact that when in 1943, Hitler demanded that all Russians be removed from the Eastern Front and transferred to the Western Front, the generals grabbed their heads: this was impossible, because every fifth on the Eastern Front was Russian then.

So it turns out that those who today so vigorously vilify their neighbors for collaborating with the fascist regime were themselves the most massive and loyal supporters of the Third Reich and Hitler during the Second World War. Perhaps this is precisely what explains the incomprehensible craving in modern Russia for neo-Nazi symbols and ideology.

So maybe it’s enough to reproach others for the speck in their eye, when they themselves have a log sticking out of each eye?

Although this is not even in the realm of science fiction. Because then you will have to recognize the past as it really was, and this is neither partial nor heroic and not as idealistic as it has been portrayed for more than 70 years. And as one Soviet comrade from the top said: “Who needs your truth if it interferes with living.”

This is how the current and subsequent generations of Russians will most likely live, basing their knowledge of history primarily on myths, silence, and in some places outright lies.

According to military experts, by 1941 the German army was the strongest in the world. Seasoned in battle, having experienced the taste of victory, the German units approached the Soviet border with a sense of their superiority. The Wehrmacht soldiers considered themselves invincible.
Systems approach
The German historian Werner Picht believed that it was the Treaty of Versailles, according to which Germany did not have the right to have an army of more than 100 thousand people, that forced the Berlin generals to look for new principles for the formation of the armed forces. And they were found. And although Hitler, having come to power in 1933, abandoned the “norms of Versailles,” the ideology of military mobility of the new army had already won the minds of German military leaders. Later, the transfer of German soldiers to Spain to protect the Franco regime made it possible to test 88-mm anti-aircraft guns, Me-109 fighters and Stuka-87 dive bombers in real conditions. There, the young Nazi aviation created its own school of air combat. The Balkan campaign of 1941 showed how important it is to coordinate a large amount of equipment. As a result, the German staff officers before the Russian company had successful experience in the use of mobile units reinforced by aviation. All this allowed them to create a military organization of a new and, most importantly, systemic type, optimally configured to carry out combat missions.
Special training
In 1935, the concept of special training for Wehrmacht soldiers arose in order to make a soldier into a kind of “motorized weapon.” For this purpose, the most capable young men were selected from among the youth. They were trained in training camps. To understand what the German military personnel of 1941 were like, you should read Walter Kempowski’s multi-volume book “Echo sounder”. The books provide numerous evidence explaining the defeat in the Battle of Stalingrad, including soldiers’ correspondence. For example, there is a story about a certain corporal Hans, who at a distance of 40-50 meters could hit a small window with a grenade. “He was an unsurpassed master of urban combat,” writes Hannes, a participant in the Battle of Stalingrad, “it was not difficult for him to destroy a machine gun nest, even if they fired from the other side of the street. If he had been alive, we would have easily taken this damn house, because of which half of our platoon was killed. But in August 1941, a captured Russian lieutenant killed him with a shot in the back. This was ridiculous, because there were so many who surrendered that we didn’t even have time to search them. Dying, Hans shouted that it wasn’t fair.” According to official data, in 1941 the Wehrmacht lost 162,799 soldiers killed, 32,484 missing and 579,795 wounded, most of whom died in hospitals or became disabled. Hitler called these losses monstrous not so much because of the numbers, but because of the lost quality of the German army. In Berlin they were forced to admit that the war would be different - a war by all available means. Russian soldiers offered active resistance in the summer and autumn of 1941. As a rule, these were attacks by desperate and doomed Red Army soldiers, single shots from burning houses, and self-explosions. In total, 3,138 thousand Soviet soldiers died in the first year of the war, most often in captivity or in “cauldrons.” But it was they who bled the Wehrmacht elite, which the Germans had so carefully prepared for six years.
Massive military experience
Any commander will tell you how important it is to have fighters under fire. The German army that attacked the USSR had this invaluable experience of military victories. In September 1939, the Wehrmacht soldiers, having easily defeated 39 Polish divisions of Edward Rydz-Śmigła, tasted victory for the first time. Then there was the Maginot Line, the seizure of Yugoslavia and Greece - all this only strengthened the self-awareness of its invincibility. No country in the world at that time had so many fighters motivated to succeed under fire. Retired infantry general Kurt von Tippelskirch believed that this factor was the most important in the first victories over the Red Army. Describing the concept of lightning wars, he emphasized that, in contrast to the anxious hours of waiting for a war with Poland, self-confident German conquerors entered the territory of Soviet Russia. By the way, the multi-day defense of the Brest Fortress is largely explained by the fact that the 42nd Rifle Division of the Red Army, which had combat experience in the Finnish War, was stationed on its territory.
Precision destruction concept
The Germans also emphasized the prompt destruction of pockets of resistance, no matter how well they were defended. According to the German generals, in this case the enemy develops a feeling of doom and futility of resistance. As a rule, precise, almost sniper-like artillery attacks were used. This was achieved through the successful use of visual optical observation posts, with the help of which the shelling was adjusted at a distance of 7-10 km from our positions. Only at the end of 1941 did the Red Army find an antidote to the all-seeing fascist artillery, when it began to build defensive structures on the reverse slopes of the hills, out of the reach of German optics.
High-quality communication
The most significant advantage of the Wehrmacht over the Red Army was high-quality communications. Guderian believed that a tank without reliable radio communications would not show even a tenth of what it was capable of. In the Third Reich, from the beginning of 1935, the development of reliable ultrashort-wave transceivers intensified. Thanks to the appearance in the German communications service of fundamentally new devices designed by Dr. Grube, the Wehrmacht generals were able to quickly manage a huge theater of military operations. For example, high-frequency telephone equipment served German tank headquarters without any interference at distances of up to one and a half thousand kilometers. That is why on June 27, 1941, in the Dubno area, Kleist’s group of only 700 tanks was able to defeat the mechanized corps of the Red Army, which included 4,000 combat vehicles. Later, in 1944, analyzing this battle, Soviet generals bitterly admitted that if our tanks had had radio communications then, the Soviet Army would have turned the tide of the war at the very beginning.
And still nothing helped them, not even elephants! Thanks to the selfless courage and great love for the Motherland of our fathers and grandfathers, the most perfect military machine in the world was defeated and, I hope, will never be reborn!

Details

The ISRAELI newspaper "Vesti" published sensational material about 150 thousand Jewish soldiers and officers who fought in Hitler's army.

The term "Mischlinge" in the Reich was used to describe people born from mixed marriages of Aryans with non-Aryans. The racial laws of 1935 distinguished between "Mischlinge" of the first degree (one of the parents is Jewish) and the second degree (grandparents are Jewish). Despite the legal "taint" of people with Jewish genes and despite the blatant propaganda, tens of thousands of "Mischling" lived quietly under the Nazis. They were routinely drafted into the Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine, becoming not only soldiers, but also part of the generals at the level of commanders of regiments, divisions and armies.

Hundreds of "Mischlinge" were awarded Iron Crosses for their bravery. Twenty soldiers and officers of Jewish origin were awarded the highest military award of the Third Reich - the Knight's Cross. However, many Wehrmacht veterans complained that their superiors were reluctant to introduce them to orders and delayed promotion in rank, keeping in mind their Jewish ancestors.

For a long time, the Nazi press published a photograph of a blue-eyed blond man in a helmet. Under the photo it said: “The ideal German soldier.” This Aryan ideal was Wehrmacht fighter Werner Goldberg (with a Jewish dad).

Wehrmacht Major Robert Borchardt received the Knight's Cross for the tank breakthrough of the Soviet front in August 1941. He was then sent to Rommel's Afrika Korps. Near El Alamein he was captured by the British. In 1944 he was allowed to come to England to reunite with his Jewish father. In 1946, Borchardt returned to Germany, telling his Jewish dad: “Someone has to rebuild our country.” In 1983, shortly before his death, he told German schoolchildren: “Many Jews and half-Jews who fought for Germany in World War II believed that they should honestly defend their Fatherland by serving in the army.”

Colonel Walter Hollander, whose mother was Jewish, received Hitler’s personal letter, in which the Fuhrer certified the Aryanity of this halakhic Jew (Halacha is traditional Jewish legislation, according to which a Jew is considered to be born of a Jewish mother - K.K.). The same certificates of “German blood” were signed by Hitler for dozens of high-ranking officers of Jewish origin.

During the war, Hollander was awarded the Iron Cross of both degrees and a rare insignia - the Golden German Cross. In 1943, he received the Knight's Cross when his anti-tank brigade destroyed 21 Soviet tanks on the Kursk Bulge in one battle.

When he was given leave, he went to the Reich via Warsaw. It was there that he was shocked by the sight of the Jewish ghetto being destroyed. Hollander returned to the front broken. Personnel officers wrote in his personal file: “too independent and poorly controlled,” and canceled his promotion to the rank of general.

Who were the Wehrmacht's "Mischlinge": victims of anti-Semitic persecution or accomplices of the executioners?

Life often put them in absurd situations. One soldier with the Iron Cross on his chest came from the front to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp to visit his Jewish father there. The SS officer was shocked by this guest: “If it weren’t for the award on your uniform, you would quickly end up with me where your father is.”

And here is the story of a 76-year-old resident of Germany, one hundred percent Jewish. In 1940, he managed to escape from occupied France using forged documents. Under a new German name, he was drafted into the Waffen-SS - selected combat units. “If I served in the German army, and my mother died in Auschwitz, then who am I - a victim or one of the persecutors? - he often asks himself. - The Germans, feeling guilty for what they did, do not want to hear about us. The Jewish community also turns away from people like me. After all, our stories contradict everything that is commonly believed to be the Holocaust.”

In 1940, all officers with two Jewish grandparents were ordered to leave military service. Those who were tainted with Jewishness only by one of their grandfathers could remain in the army in ordinary positions.

But the reality was different: these orders were not carried out. Therefore, they were repeated once a year to no avail. There were frequent cases when German soldiers, driven by the laws of “front-line brotherhood,” hid “their Jews” without handing them over to the party and punitive authorities.

There are 1,200 known examples of "mischlinge" service in the Wehrmacht - soldiers and officers with immediate Jewish ancestors. A thousand of these front-line soldiers had 2,300 Jewish relatives killed - nephews, aunts, uncles, grandfathers, grandmothers, mothers and fathers.

In January 1944, the Wehrmacht personnel department prepared a secret list of 77 high-ranking officers and generals “mixed with the Jewish race or married to Jews.” All 77 had Hitler's personal certificates of "German blood". Among those listed are 23 colonels, 5 major generals, 8 lieutenant generals and two full generals.

This list could be supplemented by one of the sinister figures of the Nazi regime - Reinhard Heydrich, the Fuhrer's favorite and head of the RSHA, who controlled the Gestapo, criminal police, intelligence and counterintelligence. All his life (fortunately short) he struggled with rumors about his Jewish origin.

Heydrich was born in 1904 in Leipzig into the family of the director of the conservatory. Family history says that his grandmother married a Jew shortly after the birth of the father of the future RSHA chief. As a child, older boys beat Reinhard, calling him a Jew.

It was Heydrich who held the Wannsee Conference in January 1942 to discuss the “final solution to the Jewish question.” His report stated that the grandchildren of a Jew were treated as Germans and were not subject to reprisals. They say that one day, returning home drunk to smithereens at night, he turned on the light, saw his image in the mirror and shot him twice with a pistol with the words: “You vile Jew!”

A classic example of a “hidden Jew” in the elite of the Third Reich can be considered Air Field Marshal Erhard Milch. His father was a Jewish pharmacist.

Due to his Jewish origin, he was not accepted into the Kaiser's military schools, but the outbreak of the First World War gave him access to aviation. Milch ended up in the division of the famous Richthoffen, met young Goering and distinguished himself at headquarters, although he himself did not fly airplanes. In 1929, he became general director of Lufthansa, the national air carrier. The wind was already blowing towards the Nazis, and Milch provided free planes for the leaders of the NSDAP.

This service is not forgotten. Having come to power, the Nazis claim that Milch's mother did not have sex with her Jewish husband, and Erhard's true father is Baron von Bier. Goering laughed for a long time about this: “Yes, we made Milch a bastard, but an aristocratic bastard.” Another aphorism by Goering about Milch: “In my headquarters, I myself will decide who is Jewish and who is not!”

After the war, Milch served nine years in prison. Then, until the age of 80, he worked as a consultant for the Fiat and Thyssen concerns.

The vast majority of Wehrmacht veterans say that when they joined the army, they did not consider themselves Jews. These soldiers tried to refute Nazi race talk with their courage. Hitler's soldiers, with triple zeal at the front, proved that Jewish ancestors did not prevent them from being good German patriots and staunch warriors.

There is an opinion that the Germans are a punctual people, and therefore the control system of the fascist army differed from other armies in the world in its ideal precision and accuracy. But is this statement true? Let's figure it out.

The leader of the German people, Hitler, held many different positions. He was the leader of the party, the Reich Chancellor, the President of Germany, the Minister of War, the Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Army. Stalin had something similar. He was the General Secretary of the Central Committee, Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, and Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

But no matter what capacity Joseph Stalin acted in, all the levers of power converged in his secretariat. Any reports, reports, denunciations ended up on the desk of the assistant leader of the peoples, Poskrebyshev. He processed the information, reported to his boss and received appropriate instructions. And Hitler had a separate office for each of his positions. In total, the Fuhrer had five such structures, and each of them had its own apparatus of employees.

It is quite understandable that each such structure strived for leadership. She gave orders and instructions on behalf of the leader of the German people and was not interested in the orders and instructions of the other four structures. All this gave rise to chaos, confusion and bickering between employees of different administrative apparatuses.

The control system of the armed forces of Nazi Germany worked on a similar principle. Every army in the world has a brain - General base. And in the fascist army there was not one, but three brains, that is, three General Staffs absolutely independent from each other. The ground forces, air force and navy had their own General Staffs, and each of them planned their own military actions. There were also SS troops who reported only to Himmler, who reported directly to the Fuhrer.

It is quite understandable that the three General Staffs and the command of the SS troops could not thoroughly coordinate their actions. Each proceeded from personal departmental interests and tried to wage the war that was convenient only for him. Each command authority planned its operations and deployed its own command and control systems. All this had the most negative impact on the conduct of both offensive and defensive military operations.

Stalin had nothing like this. Its control system was simple and efficient. The front was considered the main organizational unit. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, five Soviet fronts operated against Germany; at the end of the war there were ten. At the head of each front was a commander with his own staff. It was the front commander who led the combat operations of the combined arms, tank armies and aviation. Therefore, both ground forces and aviation acted according to a single plan.

This organization of leadership made it possible to control tanks, artillery, aviation, and infantry from a single center. If, for example, infantry with artillery and tanks are in a defensive position, and aviation is conducting air battles, then all front-line assets are directed to support its actions, according to the order of the commander. And if rifle divisions and tank corps move forward, and aviation is not needed, then communications, transport, fuel reserves and everything else work for the attackers.

The fascist army had a completely different control system. If in some area of ​​​​combat operations the pilots had huge reserves of fuel, and the tank crews had almost none, then there was no mechanism capable of providing such information, much less taking the surplus from the aviation and transferring it to the tank unit. And all because the ground forces had their own commanders, and the aviation had their own. And they did not obey each other in any way. Therefore, the issue of transferring fuel could only be resolved through the Fuhrer.

The commander of the army group of ground forces had to contact Hitler's headquarters, and there he could be asked to wait a few hours until the Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht decided on some other issues. Then, having received the information, Hitler had to contact Goering and give him the order to allocate surplus fuel to the tank unit. Goering, in turn, had to contact the commander of the air fleet and give him the order. The latter had to give the order to the squadron commander, and only after that the tankers’ fuel tankers would be refueled.

Yes, discipline and order are evident, but who needs them in difficult combat conditions, when the situation changes hourly. True, there was a second option. The tank unit commander could directly contact the air unit commander and ask for help with fuel. But exactly ask, and applicants are often refused.

From this it is clear that in the fascist army the land, air, naval and SS commanders had to negotiate with each other, like traders at a market. Is this a military approach? Could the Nazis have won with such a control system? And this was the case everywhere – in Africa, Greece, Italy, France.

But we must give Adolf Hitler his due. He thought about how to properly and effectively organize the interaction of three mutually independent General Staffs. And, in the end, I came up with it. Above these headquarters, he placed two more headquarters, but made it so that they were also not subordinate to each other. The headquarters of the Supreme High Command of the Wehrmacht, headed by Field Marshal Keitel, and the headquarters of the operational leadership of the Wehrmacht, headed by Colonel General Jodl, appeared. All this led to even greater confusion in the fascist army.

The new headquarters, trying to prove their necessity, began to interfere in military operations on individual fronts, sending orders and directives, often contradicting the orders and directives of the General Staffs. As a result, disputes began to arise between competing headquarters. They became increasingly bitter as the situation on the Eastern Front worsened.

Any comparisons with the Soviet management system are not in favor of Germany. Here it should also be taken into account that the SS troops were not at all subordinate to all these accumulations of headquarters. And their forces were impressive: the SS cavalry division “Florian Geyer”, the SS division “Adolf Hitler”, the SS mountain rifle division “Skanderbeg”, the motorized division “Reichsführer SS”, the SS division “Totenkopf”, the SS grenadier division.

In total, there were 43 such divisions, and among them were tank, cavalry, infantry, mountain rifle, etc. Himmler even had the 6th SS Panzer Army under his command. Also under the personal control of the Reichsführer SS there were 50 Volkssturm divisions. In total he commanded 93 divisions. This entire armada fought on the fronts, but had nothing to do with the General Staffs and ignored their orders. By the way, the SS men fought very bravely, but the losses in their ranks were the greatest.

Thus, the fascist army with its control system could not resist the clear, simple and perfectly organized Stalinist system. A huge number of German headquarters could not find a common language among themselves. In fact, all these military structures lived among themselves in the same way as the cardinal’s guards lived with the royal musketeers from Dumas’s novel. Each structure rowed everything for itself and supplied only itself. That is, the German army consisted of hostile clans. And how could she win in such a situation?

At the end of the war, even Goebbels recognized the superiority of the Soviet control system over the German one. He declared that the German pyramids of orders and instructions destroyed Germany. Who would argue with the Minister of Propaganda? Indeed, the German army simply drowned in confusion and chaos. It could not resist a more progressive system and suffered a complete collapse.