The Volunteer Legion Netherlands ( nl, Vrijwilligerslegioen Nederland) was a
collaborationist
Wartime collaboration is cooperation with the enemy against one's country of citizenship in wartime, and in the words of historian Gerhard Hirschfeld, "is as old as war and the occupation of foreign territory".
The term ''collaborator'' dates to ...
military formation recruited in the
German-occupied Netherlands during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. It was formed in the aftermath of the
German invasion of the Soviet Union
Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...
and fought on the
Eastern Front in the
Waffen SS
The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with volunteers and conscripts from both occupied and unoccupied lands.
The grew from th ...
alongside similar formations from other parts of
German-occupied Western Europe. It was the largest Dutch SS unit.
The Volunteer Legion was renamed the 4th SS Panzer Grenadier Brigade Netherlands in October 1943. It was officially re-designated as a
division in February 1945 but never grew to larger than a brigade.
Background
There were several political parties in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
at the time of the
German invasion in May 1940 that were broadly sympathetic to the
authoritarian
Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic vot ...
and
anti-democratic ideals represented by
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. The most important was the
National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands
The National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands ( nl, Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging in Nederland, ; NSB) was a Dutch fascist and later Nazi political party that called itself a " movement". As a parliamentary party participating in legisl ...
(''Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging in Nederland'', NSB), led by
Anton Mussert, which was founded in 1931 on the example of the
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
in Germany. It initially gained limited interest from the Dutch lower-middle class but never gained widespread support. It polled only three percent by 1939.
After the
invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week af ...
in 1939,
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...
, head of the
SS, sought to expand the
Waffen-SS
The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...
with "Germanic" volunteers from other countries. The enrollment began in April 1940 with the creation of two regiments: the Waffen-SS Regiment Nordland (for Danish, Norwegian and Swedish volunteers), and the Waffen-SS Regiment Westland (for Dutch and Flemish volunteers).
The recruitment drive in The Netherlands was given an air of respectability by the support of Dutch General Staff officer Lieutenant-General
Hendrik Seyffardt
Hendrik Alexander Seyffardt (1 November 1872 – 6 February 1943) was a Dutch general, who during World War II collaborated with Nazi Germany during the occupation of the Netherlands, most notably as a figurehead of the Dutch Legion, a unit of ...
. The drive was successful, and by April 1941, volunteers began arriving in
Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...
. By July 1941, the Dutch were organized into SS Volunteer Unit Niederlande. The formation was the size of a reinforced infantry battalion, with five motorized companies. The unit was again redesignated, this time as SS Volunteer Legion Niederlande. General Seyffardt was appointed to command the unit. In November 1941, the legion was ordered to the front near
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, under the overall command of
Army Group North Rear Area
Army Group North Rear Area (''Rückwärtiges Heeresgebiet Nord'') was one of the three Army Group Rear Area Commands, established during the 1941 German invasion of the Soviet Union. Initially commanded by General Franz von Roques, it was an area ...
.
Northern Russia and Yugoslavia
The Legion arrived at the
Volkhov River
The Volkhov (russian: Во́лхов) is a river in Novgorodsky and Chudovsky Districts of Novgorod Oblast and Kirishsky and Volkhovsky Districts of Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia. It connects Lake Ilmen and Lake Ladoga and form ...
in mid-January 1942 and was engaged in
rear-security activities. In late June, it was transferred north in support of units at the
Siege of Leningrad
The siege of Leningrad (russian: links=no, translit=Blokada Leningrada, Блокада Ленинграда; german: links=no, Leningrader Blockade; ) was a prolonged military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the Soviet city of ...
. The unit was then to take part in an offensive
Operation Nordlicht, which was ultimately called off to deal with the Soviet
Sinyavino Offensive. The Legion was then moved south near
Lake Ladoga
Lake Ladoga (; rus, Ла́дожское о́зеро, r=Ladozhskoye ozero, p=ˈladəʂskəjə ˈozʲɪrə or rus, Ла́дога, r=Ladoga, p=ˈladəɡə, fi, Laatokka arlier in Finnish ''Nevajärvi'' ; vep, Ladog, Ladoganjärv) is a fresh ...
. At the end of 1942, it was merged with the
2nd SS Infantry Brigade
The 2nd SS Infantry Brigade (mot.) was formed on the 15 May 1941, under the command of Karl Fischer von Treuenfeld with the 4th and 5th SS Infantry (formerly ''Totenkopf'') Regiments and began its operational service in September in the Army Gr ...
.
In January 1943, Dutch troops were heavily involved in defending against Soviet attempts to lift the siege at Leningrad. One 19-year old Dutch gun crew leader, Geradus Mooyman, destroyed 23 Russian tanks with his
Pak 40
The 7.5 cm Pak 40 (''7,5 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 40 -'' "7.5cm armour defence cannon 90") was a German 75 millimetre anti-tank gun of the Second World War.
The gun was developed in 1939–1941 and entered service in 1942. With 23,303 e ...
in about a month of fighting. He became the first foreigner to be awarded
Knight’s Cross.
[Gilbert pp. 194.] On 6 February, General Seyffardt, while campaigning for new recruits in Amsterdam, was assassinated by the
Dutch resistance.
In April 1943, the unit was sent to Germany to be reformed as the SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade Nederland. The brigade was to consist of two
Panzergrenadier
''Panzergrenadier'' (), abbreviated as ''PzG'' (WWII) or ''PzGren'' (modern), meaning '' "Armour"-ed fighting vehicle "Grenadier"'', is a German term for mechanized infantry units of armoured forces who specialize in fighting from and in conju ...
regiments under the command of SS-Oberführer
Jürgen Wagner. In September 1943, the Brigade sent to the
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist It ...
(
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...
) to join SS-Obergruppenführer
Felix Steiner
Felix Martin Julius Steiner (23 May 1896 – 12 May 1966) was a German SS commander during the Nazi era. During World War II, he served in the Waffen-SS, the combat branch of the SS, and commanded several SS divisions and corps. He was awarded t ...
's
III SS Panzer Corps
The III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps (''III. (germanisches) SS-Panzerkorps'') was a German Waffen-SS armoured corps which saw action on the Eastern Front during World War II. The ''(germanische)'' (lit. Germanic) part of its designation was grant ...
currently forming in the area. Upon its arrival, the Brigade received 1,500 Dutch recruits, drawn from the
SS Division Wiking
The 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking (german: 5. SS-Panzerdivision Wiking) or SS Division Wiking was an infantry and later an armoured division among the thirty-eight Waffen-SS divisions of Nazi Germany. It was recruited from foreign volunteers ...
. During its time there, elements of the brigade were engaged in rear-security operations. During this period, the brigade was redesignated 4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade Nederland. At this time, its strength stood at 9,342 men.
Retreat
On 25 December 1943, the brigade was transferred, along with Steiner's SS Corps, to
Oranienbaum, Russia
Oranienbaum (russian: Ораниенба́ум) is a Russian royal residence, located on the Gulf of Finland west of St. Petersburg. The Palace ensemble and the city centre are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
History
In 1707, four years af ...
in
Army Group North
Army Group North (german: Heeresgruppe Nord) was a German strategic formation, commanding a grouping of field armies during World War II. The German Army Group was subordinated to the ''Oberkommando des Heeres'' (OKH), the German army high comman ...
's sector. The corps was deployed to the area near Oranienbaum as part of the
18th Army. The Soviet
Krasnoye Selo–Ropsha Offensive Krasnoye may refer to:
* Krasnoye, Krasnensky District, Belgorod Oblast, rural locality and the administrative center of Krasnensky District of Belgorod Oblast, Russia
* Krasnoye, Krasninsky District, Smolensk Oblast
Krasnoye (russian: Крас� ...
cut through the weak infantry units formed out of the
9th and
10th Luftwaffe Field Division
The 10th ''Luftwaffe'' Field Division (german: 10.Luftwaffen-Feld-Division) was an infantry division of the '' Luftwaffe'' branch of the '' Wehrmacht'' that fought in World War II.
History
the division was formed in October 1942 from surplus gro ...
s. The unit, alongside the
SS Division Nordland, soon retreated to avoid encirclement by General
Leonid A. Govorov
Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov (russian: Леони́д Алекса́ндрович Го́воров; – 19 March 1955) was a Soviet military commander. Trained as an artillery officer, he joined the Red Army in 1920. He graduated from severa ...
's
Leningrad Front
The Leningrad Front (russian: Ленинградский фронт) was formed during the 1941 German approach on Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) by dividing the Northern Front into the Leningrad Front and Karelian Front on August 27, 1941. ...
. In the face of the Soviet
Kingisepp–Gdov Offensive, the unit retreated to the
Narva River
The river Narva ( et, Narva jõgi; russian: Нарва), formerly also Narova flows north into the Baltic Sea and is the largest Estonian river by discharge. A similar length of land far to the south, together with it and a much longer interme ...
in
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...
, where it took part in the
Battle of Narva deployed on the
Ivangorod
Ivangorod ( rus, Иванго́род, p=ɪvɐnˈɡorət; et, Jaanilinn; vot, Jaanilidna) is a town in Kingiseppsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the east bank of the Narva river which flows along the Estonia–Russia int ...
bridgehead.
The launch of
Operation Bagration
Operation Bagration (; russian: Операция Багратио́н, Operatsiya Bagration) was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (russian: Белорусская наступательная оп ...
on 22 June threatened the German positions. On 23 July, Steiner ordered a withdrawal to the
Tannenberg Line. The unit was destroyed from the air on 24 July, with only a few personnel reaching the Tannenberg Line a week later. The regiment was ordered to be reformed at
Schlochau. In September,
Leon Degrelle's battle group from
SS Brigade Wallonien was placed under the command of Nederland.
The unit arrived in the area near Gumi-Wolmar in mid-October. The Soviet forces cut off Army Group North in the Courland area, creating the
Courland Pocket
The Courland Pocket (Blockade of the Courland army group), (german: Kurland-Kessel)/german: Kurland-Brückenkopf (Courland Bridgehead), lv, Kurzemes katls (Courland Cauldron) or ''Kurzemes cietoksnis'' (Courland Fortress)., group=lower-alpha ...
. During the unit's presence in Courland, Wagner ordered the reprisal executions of an unknown number of civilians. On 26 January 1945, the brigade received orders to evacuate the pocket by sea and report to the
Swinemünde-
Stettin
Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...
area to participate in the defence of the
Oder
The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows ...
line. The brigade arrived in German territory on 4 February.
End of war and aftermath
On 10 February, the brigade was redesignated 23rd SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nederland, with a strength of 1,000 men. The new division was attached to Steiner's
Eleventh SS Panzer Army, defending the Northern Oder region. The Nederland took part in the abortive
Operation Sonnenwende
Operation Solstice (german: Unternehmen Sonnenwende), also known as ''Unternehmen Husarenritt'' or the Stargard tank battle, was one of the last German armoured offensive operations on the Eastern Front in World War II.
It was originally plan ...
, and the battles near
Altdamm in February 1945.
In April 1945, the division was split into two battle groups. The Soviet offensive of 16 April had broken the German lines by 25 April, cutting the lines of communication between the two units. One of the battle groups broke out to the west, surrendering to the
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
. The other battle group was pushed south by the Soviet offensive, into the area around
Halbe. The remnants of the unit were absorbed into ''Kampfgruppe Vieweger'' of the
15th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Latvian). The unit was destroyed in the
Halbe pocket
The Battle of Halbe (german: Kesselschlacht von Halbe, russian: Хальбский котёл, Halbe pocket) was a battle lasting from April 24 – May 1, 1945 in which the German Ninth Army—under the command of General Theodor Busse—was dest ...
.
After the war, the unit personnel were tried in the Netherlands, with several death sentences handed down. Wagner was extradited to Yugoslavia in 1947 to stand trial for
war crimes. Found guilty before the Yugoslav military tribunal, he was sentenced to death and executed on 27 June 1947.
Commanders
* SS-''Sturmbannführer'' Herbert Garthe (? November 1941 – ? February 1942)
* SS-''Oberführer''
Otto Reich (? February 1942 – 1 April 1942)
* SS-''Obersturmbannführer'' Arved Theuermann (1 April 1942 – ?)
* SS-''Standartenführer''
Josef Fitzthum (? – ?)
* SS-''Brigadeführer''
Jürgen Wagner (20 April 1944 – 1 May 1945)
See also
*
List of Waffen-SS units
*
Ranks and insignia of the Waffen-SS
*
Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts
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 betw ...
References
Footnotes
Bibliography
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:23rd Ss Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division Nederland
#23
Dutch collaborators with Nazi Germany
Foreign volunteer units of the Waffen-SS
Military units and formations established in 1941
Panzergrenadier divisions of the Waffen-SS
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945
Collaboration with the Axis Powers