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

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It publicised the actions of

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 conscr ...

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

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

platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

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 distillation, distill liquid mixtures by heating to selectively Boiling, boil and then cooling to Condensation, condense the vapor. A still uses the same concepts as a basic Distillation#Laboratory_procedures, ...

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 onto film stock or an image sensor, in order to produce a moving image to display on a screen. In c ...

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 autum ...

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 (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

and the

invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, was a Nazi Germany, 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 put fo ...

. 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, SS war correspondent and editor of the SS magazine '' Das Schwarze Korps,'' who had been killed earlier in the year while reporting on the SS Division Wiking during the

Third Battle of Kharkov The Third Battle of Kharkov was a series of battles on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II, undertaken by Nazi Germany's Army Group South against the Soviet Red Army, around the city of Kharkov between 19 February ...

. 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 one American, Martin James Monti, several Britons, 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 (aka Wood) as well as one from New Zealand: Roy Nicholias Courlander (aka Regan). After the war, Leister, Matton, and Courlander were all court-martialled for aiding the enemy. Leister was sentenced to three years in prison, Matton to 10 years in prison, and Courlander to 15 years in prison, which was reduced to nine years on appeal. Monti was court-martialed for stealing a plane in order to defect, but before being charged with treason in a civilian court. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

References

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