Azeri Waffen SS Volunteer Formations
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Azerbaijani SS volunteer formations were recruited from prisoners of war, mainly from the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
and the countries annexed by it after 1939.
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 ...
organised them to fight against the Soviet Union.


Origins

In November 1943, Meyer-Mader offered his services to
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 ...
to help raise and command a Turkic SS unit. Himmler approved the broad plan and then transferred him into the ranks of 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 ...
and promoted him to the rank of SS-Obersturmbannführer. Then, on 14 December, a meeting was held in Berlin in the presence of the
Grand Mufti of Jerusalem The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem is the Sunni Muslim cleric in charge of Jerusalem's Islamic holy places, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The position was created by the British military government led by Ronald Storrs in 1918.See Islamic Leadershi ...
,
Amin al-Husseini Mohammed Amin al-Husseini ( ar, محمد أمين الحسيني 1897 – 4 July 1974) was a Palestinian Arab nationalist and Muslim leader in Mandatory Palestine. Al-Husseini was the scion of the al-Husayni family of Jerusalemite Arab notab ...
. The Grand Mufti approved the plan to raise a Turkic-Muslim SS division and to give his "spiritual leadership" to influence the Muslim volunteers.


Ostmuselmanisches SS-Regiment

Between November 1943 and January 1944, there was a series of meetings between Meyer-Mader and Muslim volunteers. As a result of these meetings, on January 4, 1944, it was decided to form the Ostmuselmanisches SS-Regiment. At the same meeting, it was decided to disband the following
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
battalions who would serve as a basis for a new platform: 450th, 480th, 782nd, 786th, 790th, 791st and I/94th Turkestanische battalions, Aserbeidschanische 818th and Volga Tatar 831st. Unfortunately, many of the volunteers deserted at this time, and the 818th defected to
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
and Ukrainian resistance movements in 1943. Furthermore, at the same time, Meyer-Mader visited prisoners of war camps and called for volunteers to join the new Muslim SS legion. The recruits were not only Turkestani but also Azerbaijani, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, and Tajik. By the end of January 1944, he was able to recruit three thousand volunteers who were concentrated in Poniatova. To increase the staffing regiment, dozens of German officers and non-commissioned officers were transferred there. Nevertheless, it was a prolonged process, mainly due to a lack of equipment, including uniforms and even shoes. Therefore, by the October 1944 deadline, which Himmler appointed for the deployment of divisions, the regiment had only four thousand people formed into three
battalions A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...
. The unit was formed in
Trawniki Trawniki is a village in Świdnik County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland. It is the seat of the present-day gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Trawniki. It lies approximately south-east of Świdnik and south-east of the regio ...
, Poland, before they were transferred to Byelorussia for further training. SS-Obersturmbannführer Andreas Meyer-Mader was appointed as its first commander. This unit suffered from poor discipline, and poor morale, especially after Meyer-Mader was killed during a skirmish with partisans in Yuratishki, near
Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
, on March 28, 1944. The situation worsened when the replacement commander, SS-Hauptsturmführer Billig, executed 78 unit members for
insubordination Insubordination is the act of willfully disobeying a lawful order of one's superior. It is generally a punishable offense in hierarchical organizations such as the armed forces, which depend on people lower in the chain of command obeying ord ...
. This incident angered Himmler, who relieved Billig. In May 1944, the 550 men (Turkestanis,
Volga Tatars The Volga Tatars or simply Tatars ( tt-Cyrl, татарлар, tatarlar) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the Volga-Ural region of Russia. They are subdivided into various subgroups. Volga Tatars are Russia's second-largest ethnicity after ...
, Azerbaijanis, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, and Tajiks) from the Ostmuslemanische SS-Regiment were attached to the SS
Dirlewanger brigade , image = File:Dirlewanger Crossed Grenades symbol.svg , image_size = 180 , caption = Symbol of the Division , dates = 1940–45 , country ...
.


Warsaw

On January 29, 1944,
Heinz Reinefarth Heinz Reinefarth (26 December 1903 – 7 May 1979) was a German SS commander during World War II and government official in West Germany after the war. During the Warsaw Uprising of August 1944 his troops committed numerous atrocities. After t ...
was assigned as SS and Police Leader in
Reichsgau Wartheland The ''Reichsgau Wartheland'' (initially ''Reichsgau Posen'', also: ''Warthegau'') was a Nazi German ''Reichsgau'' formed from parts of Polish territory annexed in 1939 during World War II. It comprised the region of Greater Poland and adjacent ...
(the pre-war Polish
Greater Poland Voivodeship Greater Poland Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo wielkopolskie; ), also known as Wielkopolska Voivodeship, Wielkopolska Province, or Greater Poland Province, is a voivodeship, or province, in west-central Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 ...
, annexed by Germany in 1939). In this post, he was responsible for the organised repression against Poles and other nationalities deprived of all rights by Germany. After the outbreak of the
Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led ...
, Reinefarth was ordered to organise a military unit from the 16th Police Company and other smaller security units and head for
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
. Upon arrival, his forces were included in the ''Korpsgruppe Von Dem Bach'' of General
Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski Erich Julius Eberhard von dem Bach-Zelewski (born Erich Julius Eberhard von Zelewski; 1 March 1899 – 8 March 1972) was a high-ranking SS commander of Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State" ...
who Himmler ordered to quell the rebellion. From August 5, 1944, Reinefarth's group fought in the
Wola Wola (, ) is a district in western Warsaw, Poland, formerly the village of Wielka Wola, incorporated into Warsaw in 1916. An industrial area with traditions reaching back to the early 19th century, it underwent a transformation into an office (co ...
area. In several days, his and Dirlewanger's soldiers executed approximately 40,000 civilian inhabitants of
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
in what is now known as the
Wola massacre The Wola massacre ( pl, Rzeź Woli, lit=Wola slaughter) was the systematic killing of between 40,000 and 50,000 Poles in the Wola neighbourhood of the Polish capital city, Warsaw, by the German Wehrmacht and fellow Axis collaborators in the ...
. The Wola killings were mostly inflicted by ''Kampfgruppe Reinefarth'' that assaulted the area held by the insurgents from the west. It is hard to determine which specific units are to be held responsible, but the main “cleansing” tasks had been assigned to Angriffsgruppe Dirlewanger with following forces: * 2 Grenadier Battalions (I & II) of SS Sonderregiment Dirlewanger, * Aserbeidschanisches Feld Bataillon I./111 (com. Hptm. Werner Scharrenberg), * Ostmuselmanisches SS Regiment (without Battalion III), * II Btl. "
Bergmann Bergmann is a German or Swedish surname. It means "mountain man" in both languages, as well as "miner" in German. '' Bergman'' is also a common surname in the United States, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands. The surname may refer to: *Art Be ...
" – (without 7. Komp.) Ltn. Mertelsmann, * Gendermerie Operationsgruppe Walter (2 gendarmerie Komp.), * Komp. I & II of Aserb. Feld Btl. I/111, * Anti-aircraft battery of 80th Regiment, * Sturmpanzer-Kompanie z.b.V. 218 (8x Brummbär) Hptm. Kellmann, * a part of machine gun 4. Kompanie of Aserb. Feld Btl. I/111, * 1. Platoon of 654. Pioniere Battalion, * 1 KRONE flamethrower unit (8x
Flammenwerfer 41 The Flammenwerfer 41, or ''FmW 41'' (literally, "flame thrower") was the standard German flamethrower beginning in 1941 and an upgraded version of the earlier Flammenwerfer 35, whose main issue was its excessive weight of 36kg, with the Flammenwer ...
) Lack of precise documentation does not allow to specify precisely which elements of the above were involved in the Wola killing. It is also possible that some units of the other assault group that operated in the Wola area (''Angriffsgruppe Reck'') were taking active part in the events, as they also consisted of police/gendarmerie and special assignment units (Hptm. Kirchhubel's ''Warschau Polizei Kompanie'', Hptm. Fersemann's ''Polizei Wachtkompanie'', platoon of ''SS-Röntgen MG Kompanie'' from
Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...
, but also SS Grenadiere of SS-Schule Treskau and Azerbaijani 7.Komp/II Bt. Bergmann).Rolf Michaelis Die SS-Sturmbrigade „Dirlewanger“. Vom Warschauer Aufstand bis zum Kessel von Halbe. Band II. 1. Auflage, 2003, http://www.powstanie-warszawskie-1944.ac.pl/niemcy%20_w_powstaniu_warszaws2.htm http://www.powstanie-warszawskie-1944.ac.pl/cv_reinefarth.htm www.poloniatoday.com/uprising5.htm - 20k - www.powstanie-warszawskie-1944.ac.pl/niemcy%20_w_powstaniu_warszaws2.htm - 74k


Osttürkische Waffen-Verbände der SS

On October 20, 1944, the rest of the Ostmuselmanisches SS-Regiment was transferred from Ukraine to Slovakia and renamed "Osttürkische Waffen-Verbände der SS" and reorganized into 3 battalions organized along ethnic lines. *1 Waffengruppe Turkestan *1 Waffengruppe Aserbeidschan (2851 soldiers:
Gerhard von Mende Gerhard von Mende (December 25, 1904 – December 16, 1963) was a Baltic German who was head of the Caucasus division at the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territory, or Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories, Ostministerium, i ...
archives) *1 Waffengruppe
Idel-Ural Idel-Ural ( tt-Cyrl, Идел-Урал, translit=Idel-Üral, russian: Идель-Урал), literally Volga-Ural, is a historical region in Eastern Europe, in what is today Russia. The name literally means ''Volga-Urals'' in the Tatar language. ...
Each battalion would consist of staff, one staff company and five infantry companies. The Ostmuselmanisches regiment was integrated into the Osttürkische Waffen-Verbände der SS and was considered to be dissolved. In December 1944 The Waffen-Gruppe Aserbeidschan (commander W-Ostuf Kerrar Alesgerli) was transferred to the Kaukasiche Waffen-Verbände der SS. The disbanded Tatar Waffen Gebirgs Brigade der SS would replace the Azerbaijani soldiers; Commander: SS-Standartenführer Harun el-Raschid Hintersatz. (born Wilhelm Hintersatz (A German officer, born in Senftenberg, Lausitz, who had converted to Islam in 1919.) The reorganisations began in January 1945 as follows: * SS-Waffengruppe Turkestan * SS-Waffengruppe Krim * SS-Waffengruppe Idel Urals Apparently, new “volunteers” were integrated because the Osttürkische Waffen-Verbände had increased from 5,000 men in January 1945 to 8,500 men in the period of February–May 1945. As Hitler's Reich crumbled, the Waffen-SS gave up all adherence to standards for recruit selection. If they could walk and shoot a rifle, they were good enough for the SS. At this time, all German military forces were scraping the bottom of the manpower barrel - for example, in January 1945, Heer and Waffen-SS recruiting centres were combined. Waffen-SS troops were increasingly transfers from other military branches of the Wehrmacht from paramilitary and labour formations. The whole unit arrived in March 1945 in
Merate Merate ( Brianzöö: ) is a municipality of 14,872 inhabitants in the province of Lecco, in the northern Italian region of Lombardy. It is served by Cernusco-Merate railway station. History The name ''Melatum'' appeared for the first time in ...
, 20 km north of
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, northern Italy. Assigned to the area's defence, the Osttürkische Waffen-Verbände apparently participated in no larger operation against partisans. On 26 April 1945, Hintersatz signed a pact with the local partisan command, according to which the soldiers would remain in the barracks in Merate until the US troops arrived. This happened on 30 April 1945, the whole unit went into the 1st Armored Division's hands.


Kaukasischer Waffen-Verband der SS

In December 1944, while training in
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
, a rumour that the unit was to be transferred to Russian Liberation Army demoralized the soldiers. On December 24, 450 men deserted on Christmas Eve, although 300 eventually returned. The Azerberjani regiment was removed from the Osttürkische Waffen-Verbände on 30 December 1944, and transferred to Kaukasischer Waffen-Verband der SS. Kaukasischer Waffen-Verband der SS, also known as Freiwilligen Brigade Nordkaukasien, began forming with volunteers from the Caucasus region, with the Frewilligen-Stamm-Division as a nucleus. It was transferred from the Neuhammer training camp to
Paluzza Paluzza ( fur, Paluce) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia. A local term in the Bavarian language for " hello" is . Geography It is located about northwest of Trieste and about nor ...
in northern Italy in Jan. 1945 and was still forming when it surrendered to British forces at the end of the war. *Commander: SS-Standartenführer Arved Theuermann Organisation: *Stab Kaukasischer Waffen-Verband der SS *Stab Waffen-Gruppe Armenien *Stab Waffen-Gruppe Nordkaukasus *Stab Waffen-Gruppe Georgien *Stab Waffen-Gruppe Aserbeidschan (1090 soldiers:
Gerhard von Mende Gerhard von Mende (December 25, 1904 – December 16, 1963) was a Baltic German who was head of the Caucasus division at the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territory, or Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories, Ostministerium, i ...
archives)


See also

*
Azerbaijani Legion The Azerbaijani Legion (german: Aserbaidschanische Legion) was one of the foreign units of the Wehrmacht. It was formed in December 1941 on the Eastern Front as the ''Kaukasische-Mohammedanische Legion'' (Muslim Caucasus Legion) and was re-desi ...
* Free Arabian Legion *
Ostlegionen ''Ostlegionen'' ("eastern legions"), ''Ost-Bataillone'' ("eastern battalions"), ''Osttruppen'' ("eastern troops"), and ''Osteinheiten'' ("eastern units") were units in the Army of Nazi Germany during World War II made up of personnel from the ...
* Israfil Israfilov


References


Notes


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * *{{Cite book, last=Akber, first=Ismayil, title=Die Azerbaydzhanische Legionare Im kampf


Further reading

*Eduard Abramian - Forgotten Legion: Sonderverbände Bergmann in World War II 1941-1945. *Eduard Abramian -Kavkatsy v Abvere . Moscow 2006 *Christopher Ailsby - Hitler's Renegades: Foreign Nationals in the Service of the Third Reich. *Wladyslaw Anders - Russian Volunteers in Hitler's Army 1941-1945. *Christopher Bishop - SS Hitler's Foreign Divisions: Foreign Volunteers in the Waffen SS 1940-1945. *J. Borsarello & W. Palinckx - Wehrmacht & SS: Caucasian, Muslim, Asian Troops. *Dallin A. German Rule in Russia 1941–1945: A Study of occupation policies. London New York, 1957. *Littlejohn D. Foreign Legions of the Third Reich: In 4 vols. San Jose, 1987. Vol.4. *Antonio J. Muñoz - The East Came West: Muslim, Hindu & Buddhist Volunteers in the German Armed Forces 1941-1945. *Munoz, Antonio J. Forgotten Legions: Obscure Combat Formations of the Waffen SS. Axis-Europa Books, 1991. *Antonio Muñoz & Dr Oleg V. Romanko - Hitler's White Russians: Collaboration, Extermination and Anti-Partisan Warfare in Byelorussia 1941-1944. *Foreign Volunteers of the Wehrmacht 1941-45 K. Yurado *Tessin, Georg: Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945. 20 Bde. Osnabrück 1967 ff. *Held, Walter: Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg. Eine Bibliographie der deutschsprachigen Nachkriegsliteratur. 5 Bde. Osnabrück 1978 ff. *
Joachim Hoffmann Joachim Hoffmann (1 December 1930 – 8 February 2002) was a German historian who was the academic director of the German Armed Forces Military History Research Office. Life Joachim Hoffmann was born in Königsberg, East Prussia, in 1930. In ...
: ''Die Ostlegionen 1941–1943. Turkotartaren, Kaukasier und Wolgafinnen im deutschen Heer.'' Freiburg 1976. *Jeloschek, Albert und Friedrich Richter, Ehrenfried Schütte, Johannes Semmler: Freiwillige vom Kaukasus. Georgier & Tschetschenen auf deutscher Seite. „Der Sonderverband Bergmann“ unter Theo Oberländer. Graz, Stuttgart 2003. *ВА-МА, Oberkommando des Heeres / Generalstab des Heeres, H 1/136, bl. 64 *NARA. Microcopy T-354. Roll 161. Frames 3806724 through 3807091. 1940s in Azerbaijan Azerbaijani collaborators with Nazi Germany Foreign volunteer units of the Waffen-SS