The SS-Standarte "Kurt Eggers" was an SS propaganda formation ( SS-Standarte) of

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 ...

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 publicised the actions of

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 ...

combat units. The "Berichter" (literally: reporters) of the Standarte were fully trained and equipped for combat and expected to fight actively, if the situation demanded it.

Operational history

Bundesarchiv Bild 101III-Theil-008-01, Gunter d'Alquen

The SS-Kriegsberichter-Kompanie ("SS War Reporter Company") was formed in January 1940 with four

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may rang ...

s of war correspondents and their support staff. The platoons were able to operate independently of each other, each equipped with

still A still is an apparatus used to distill liquid mixtures by heating to selectively boil and then cooling to condense the vapor. A still uses the same concepts as a basic distillation apparatus, but on a much larger scale. Stills have been use ...

and

movie camera A movie camera (also known as a film camera and cine-camera) is a type of photographic camera that rapidly takes a sequence of photographs, either on an image sensor or onto film stock, in order to produce a moving image to project onto a movie sc ...

s to enable units to visually document the actions of

men in combat. The company came under the command of ex-

Allgemeine-SS The ''Allgemeine SS'' (; "General SS") was a major branch of the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany; it was managed by the SS Main Office (''SS-Hauptamt''). The ''Allgemeine SS'' was officially established in the autumn ...

commander Günter d'Alquen who commanded the unit throughout its existence. One platoon was attached to each of the four Waffen-SS combat formations. These platoons were attached to their respective formations throughout the campaigns during the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second Wor ...

and the

invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, or ''Projekt 25'' was a German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was ...

. By August 1941, the number of Waffen-SS formations had increased, and so the SS-Kriegsberichter-Kompanie increased in size as well, becoming the SS-Kriegsberichter-Abteilung (battalion). As the number of SS combat-formations increased, so did the number of correspondents required. In December 1943, the unit reached regimental size and received the name SS-Standarte ''"Kurt Eggers''". The honorary title referred to

Kurt Eggers Kurt Eggers (10 November 1905 – 12 August 1943) was a German writer, poet, songwriter, and playwright with close links to the Nazi Party. He served as both a member of a propaganda company ( Propagandakompanie) and as a Waffen-SS soldier at the ...

, SS war correspondent and editor of the SS magazine ''

Das Schwarze Korps ''Das Schwarze Korps'' (; German for "The Black Corps") was the official newspaper of the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS). This newspaper was published on Wednesdays and distributed free of charge. All SS members were encouraged to read it. The chief edit ...

,'' who had been killed earlier in the year while reporting on 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 the

Third Battle of Kharkov The Third Battle of Kharkov was a series of battles on the Eastern Front of World War II, undertaken by Army Group South of Nazi Germany against the Soviet Red Army, around the city of Kharkov between 19 February and 15 March 1943. Known ...

. A number of foreign Waffen-SS volunteers became ''Kurt Eggers'' photographers, movie cameramen, writers, broadcasters and recorders, and most were multilingual. Several formations within the Standarte were formed to gather information for occupied or allied countries, and these sub-units were generally staffed by volunteers of the relevant nationality. At least two U.S. citizens, several British and a New Zealander served with the Standarte in the course of World War II. "Three English volunteers are known to have served in this unit, Railton Freeman (aka Royston and Metcalfe), who was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment after the War, Dennis John Leister (aka Beckwith)Weale, Adrian (2014-11-12). Renegades (Kindle Location 2991). Random House. Kindle Edition and

Francis Paul Maton Roy Nicolas Courlander, (6 December 1914 – 1 June 1979), nicknamed 'Reg', was a British-born New Zealand soldier who became an Unterscharführer in the German Waffen-SS British Free Corps during the Second World War. Early life Born out of w ...

(aka Wood) as well as one from New Zealand: Roy Nicholias Courlander (aka Regan).

References

{{reflist Military units and formations of the Waffen-SS Nazi propaganda organizations