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HIAG
HIAG () was a Advocacy group, lobby group and a denialist veterans' organisation founded by former high-ranking Waffen-SS personnel in West Germany in 1951. Its main objective was to achieve legal, economic, and historical rehabilitation of the Waffen-SS. To achieve these aims, the organisation used contacts with political parties, and employed multi-prong historical negationism and propaganda efforts, including periodicals, books, and public speeches. A HIAG-owned publishing house, Munin Verlag, served as a platform for its publicity. This extensive body of work, 57 book titles and more than 50 years of monthly periodicals, has been described by historians as revisionist apologia. Always in touch with its members' Nazi past, HIAG was a subject of significant controversy, both in West Germany and abroad. The organisation drifted into open far-right extremism in its later history; it disbanded in 1992 at the federal level, but local groups continue to exist into the 21st century. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waffen-SS In Popular Culture
The ''Waffen-SS'', the combat branch of the paramilitary Schutzstaffel, SS organisation of Nazi Germany, is sometimes portrayed uncritically or admiringly in popular culture. The activities of HIAG, a German lobby group founded by former high-ranking ''Waffen-SS'' officers in 1951, have shaped much of this portrayal. HIAG leaders—Paul Hausser, Felix Steiner, and Kurt Meyer—directed a campaign to promote public perception of the force as elite, apolitical fighters who were not involved in the German war crimes#World War II, crimes of the Nazi regime. Although historians have since discredited these notions, the uncritical, often admiring, tradition continues to the present through Popular history, popular-history books, websites and wargames. It appears in the works of Franz Kurowski (1923–2011), Bruce Quarrie (1947–2004), Gordon Williamson (military author), Gordon Williamson (1951–), and Mark C. Yerger (1955–2016), among others. Background The ''Waffen-SS'' ("Armed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Hausser
Paul Hausser, also known by his birth name Paul Falk post war (7 October 1880 – 21 December 1972), was a German general and, together with Sepp Dietrich, one of the two highest ranking commanders in the Waffen-SS. He played a key role in the post-war revisionist efforts by former members of the Waffen-SS to achieve historical and legal rehabilitation. Hausser served as an officer in the Prussian Army during World War I and attained the rank of general in the inter-war '' Reichsheer''. After retirement, he joined the SS and was instrumental in forming the Waffen-SS. During World War II, he rose to the level of army group commander. He led Waffen-SS troops in the Third Battle of Kharkov, the Battle of Kursk and the Normandy Campaign. After the war he became a founding member and the first spokesperson of HIAG, a lobby group and a negationist veterans' organisation, founded by former high-ranking Waffen-SS personnel in West Germany in 1951. It campaigned for the restora ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kurt Meyer
Kurt Meyer (23 December 1910 – 23 December 1961) was an SS commander and convicted war criminal of Nazi Germany. He served in the Waffen-SS (the combat branch of the SS) and participated in the Battle of France, Operation Barbarossa, and other engagements during World War II. Meyer commanded the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend during the Allied invasion of Normandy, and was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. After ordering the mass murder of civilians and prisoners of war (POWs) several times during the conflict, Meyer was convicted of war crimes for his role in the Ardenne Abbey massacre (the murder of Canadian POWs in Normandy). He was sentenced to death, but the sentence was later commuted to life in prison. Released in 1954, he subsequently became active in HIAG, a lobby group organised by former high-ranking Waffen-SS men. Meyer was a leading Waffen-SS apologist and HIAG's most effective spokesperson, depicting most o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waffen-SS
The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both German-occupied Europe and unoccupied lands. With the start of World War II, tactical control was exercised by the (OKW, "High Command of the Armed Forces"), with some units being subordinated to the (Command Staff ''Reichsführer-SS'') directly under Himmler's control. It was disbanded in May 1945. The grew from three regiments to over 38 division (military), divisions during World War II. Combining combat and police functions, it served alongside the German Army (1935–1945), German Army (''Heer''), ''Ordnungspolizei'' (Order Police), and other security units. Originally, it was under the control of the (SS operational command office) beneath Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS. Initially, in keeping with the raci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herbert Gille
Herbert Otto Gille (8 March 1897 – 26 December 1966) was a high-ranking German SS general, and divisional & corps commander of the Waffen-SS. He commanded the SS Division Wiking during World War II. Gille was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, making him the most highly decorated Waffen-SS member of the war. After the war, Gille opened a book store and became active in HIAG, a lobby group and a revisionist veteran's organisation founded by former high-ranking Waffen-SS personnel in West Germany in 1951. Career Gille served in World War I and was awarded the Iron Cross First and Second Classes. Gille joined the Nazi Party and the SS in 1931. In 1934 he joined the SS combat support forces. As the commander of a battalion in an SS-V regiment, Gille participated in the invasion of Poland and in the western campaign. In 1940 he was appointed a regimental commander in the SS Division Wiking, led by Felix Steiner. With his r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Otto Kumm
Otto Kümm (1 October 1909 – 23 March 2004) was a German military officer who commanded two Waffen-SS divisions in the latter stages of World War II and was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. At the post-war Nuremberg trials, the Waffen-SSof which Kümm was a senior officerwas declared to be a criminal organisation due to its major involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity. After the war, Kümm became one of the founders of HIAG, a lobby group and a revisionist organization of former Waffen-SS members. SS career Born in 1909 into a family of a merchant in Hamburg, Kümm trained as a typesetter and worked at a newspaper. On 1 June 1934, Kümm joined the SS-''Verfügungstruppe'' (SS Dispositional Troops) and on 1 July received his first training with the SS-Standarte "Germania" in Hamburg. Kümm commanded the Der Führer Regiment of the SS Division Das Reich from July 1941 to April 1943. This regiment was nearly destroyed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hubert Meyer
Hubert Meyer (5 December 1913 – 16 November 2012) was a German SS commander during the Nazi era and a post-war activist. In World War II, Meyer served in the Waffen-SS and had junior postings with the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler; he briefly commanded the SS Division Hitlerjugend in 1944. After the war, he became active in HIAG, a Waffen-SS negationist lobby group, and was HIAG's last chairman before the group dissolved in 1992. SS career Born in 1913, Meyer joined the SS in 1933; in 1937 Meyer was posted to Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH). He took part in the invasion of Poland, invasion of the Netherlands and invasion of France, and Operation Barbarossa. In February 1943 Meyer was given command of a regiment and participated in the Third Battle of Kharkov. He was awarded the German Cross in Gold on 6 May 1943. In September 1943 Meyer graduated from the General Staff Officer course and was assigned to the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend. After the divisional ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wilhelm Bittrich
Wilhelm Bittrich (26 February 1894 – 19 April 1979) was a high-ranking Waffen-SS commander of Nazi Germany. Between August 1942 and February 1943, Bittrich commanded the SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer, in rear security operations (''Bandenbekämpfung'', literally: "gang fighting") in the Soviet Union. From July 1944 until the end of the war Bittrich commanded the 2nd SS Panzer Corps in Normandy, during Market Garden and in Hungary. After his arrest in May 1945, Bittrich was extradited to France to stand trial for allegedly ordering the executions of 17 members of the French Resistance. After being convicted of less serious charges in relation to the executions, Bittrich was sentenced to five years in prison. Following his release, he became active in HIAG, a revisionist organization and a lobby group of former Waffen-SS members and served as chairman during the 1970s. World War I and inter-war career Born in 1894 into the family of a traveling salesman, Bittrich volunteer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. Together with Paul Hausser, he contributed significantly to the development and transformation of the Waffen-SS into a combat force made up of volunteers and conscripts from both occupied and un-occupied lands. Steiner was chosen by Heinrich Himmler to oversee the creation of and then command the SS Division Wiking. In 1943, he was promoted to the command of the III SS Panzer Corps. On 28 January 1945, Steiner was placed in command of the 11th SS Panzer Army, which formed part of a new Army Group Vistula, an ad-hoc formation to defend Berlin from the Soviet armies advancing from the Vistula River. On 21 April 1945, during the Battle for Berlin, Steiner was placed in comman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sepp Dietrich
Josef "Sepp" Dietrich (28 May 1892 – 21 April 1966) was a German politician, general and war criminal in the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) during the Nazi era. Despite having no formal staff officer training, Dietrich was, along with Paul Hausser, the highest-ranking officer in the Waffen-SS, the military branch of the SS. He joined the Nazi Party in 1928 and was elected to the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic in 1930. Prior to 1929, Dietrich was Adolf Hitler's chauffeur and bodyguard. Reaching the rank of ''SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer'', he commanded units up to army level during World War II. As commanding officer of the 6th Panzer Army during the Battle of the Bulge, Dietrich bore responsibility for the Malmedy massacre, the murder of U.S. prisoners of war in December 1944. After the war, an American military tribunal convicted Dietrich of war crimes at the Malmedy massacre trial. Upon his release from Landsberg Prison in 1955, Dietrich became active in HIAG, a lobby group esta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erich Kern
Erich Kern, (born Erich Knud Kernmayr on 27 February 1906 – died 13 September 1991) was a far-right Austrian journalist, war-time propagandist, and a post-war Nazi activist. He became a writer of revisionist books that sought to glorify the activities of the German soldiers during the Second World War. Early years Kernmayer was born in Graz. As a youth he was briefly affiliated to the youth wing of the Social Democratic Party of Austria and Communist Party of Austria, before moving to the right, initially with the radical ''Sturmvolk'' movement before joining the Austrian Nazi Party. Philip Rees, '' Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'', 1990, p. 208 As the party was illegal he was imprisoned for a while in 1934. His first experience as a journalist came on the ''Essener National-Zeitung'', a local newspaper owned by Hermann Göring. He subsequently served as press-chief to Gauleiter Josef Bürckel, effectively controlling the press in both Ostmark and Saa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Der Freiwillige
''Der Freiwillige'' () was a German magazine, published from 1956 as the official organ of HIAG, a lobby group and a denialist veterans' organisation founded by former high-ranking Waffen-SS personnel in West Germany in 1951. In 2014, the publication was merged into '. taz Taz or TAZ may refer to:
Geography
*Taz (river), a river in western Siberia, Russia
*Taz Estuary, the estuary of the river Taz in Russia
People
* Taz people, an ethn ...
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