Waffen-SS
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Seyffardt, Hendrick, 137, 194
Seyffardt Regiment, 271
Sicherheitsdienst (SD), 332
Siebken, Bernhard, 411
Siegel, Hans, 386
Siegrune symbol, 13
Sierk, Otto, 212
Simon, Max, 80, 310
Army Group North’s campaign and, 142, 148
on Eastern Front during winter 1941–1942, 186, 188
Eicke and, 63–64
Kharkov counterstroke and, 216
Operation Nordwind and, 370
on Slavs, 132–133
Totenkopf Division and, 222
Skorzeny, Otto, 233, 363, 377–378
Slavs, Nazi view of as inferior, 43, 132–133
Slovakia, 243, 294, 296–297
Sonderkommando Dirlewanger, 106
Sørensen, Per, 187
Soviet Union
antipartisan warfare in, 288
German prisoners of war and, 408
See also Eastern Front; individual republics; Red Army; Stalin, Josef
Spanish Division, on Eastern Front 1942–1943, 191
Speer, Albert, 238, 373, 399
Springer, Heinz, 163
SS (Schustzstaffel), 1. See also Waffen-SS
SS-Verfugüngs (SS-V), 57–59
disarmament of Dutch Army and, 100
invasion of France and, 82–84, 86, 90, 95, 97–98
invasion of Netherlands and, 66, 68, 71–72, 75–77
plans for invasion of Britain and, 101
redeployment to the West, 59
units transferred to Wiking Division, 104
SS Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT), 16, 37
Austrian recruits and, 41
expansion of, 21
function of relative to army, 39–40
Hausser and, 27
invasion of Poland and, 43–44
regiments, 27
Steiner and, 27–29
See also Das Reich
Stack, Hans-Gerhard, 25–26
Stadler, Sylvester, 215, 385, 386–387, 389, 404
Stahl, Erich (Erich Kern), 157
Stalin, Josef, 127, 132, 139, 248, 250, 283, 409
Stalingrad
Operation Uranus, 208–209
Sixth Army trapped in, 203
Staudegger, Franz, 226–227
Steiger, Martin, 215
Stein, George, 400
Steiner, Felix, 22, 24
awards, 98
on Berger, 61
biographical sketch of, 27–29
defense of Berlin and, 393, 400
“Deutschland” and, 28–29, 45
Die Freiwilligen der Waffen-SS, 138–139, 415
at Eastern Front 1942–1943, 196, 197
in Estonia, 272
Germanic army corps and, 237–238
HIAG and, 413
invasion of Netherlands and, 75–77
invasion of Ukraine and, 154–155, 158–159
Kampfgruppe Steiner, 49, 50
retreat from northern Eastern Front and, 267–268, 269–270
Volksdeutsche and Germanic recruits to SS and, 110
Wiking Division and, 104, 199, 200, 202–203
Stemmermann, Wilhelm, 258
Stennes, Walther, 12
Sternicki, Mme., 82
Stern (magazine), 414
Strasser, Gregor, 19
Streng, Ernst, 254–255
Stroop, Jürgen, 294
Student, Kurt, 68, 72, 75
Sturmabteilung (SA), 10, 12–13, 18–20
swastika, 13
Sydnor, Charles, 39, 95–96
Tiger tanks, 207, 225–227, 255–256, 316, 326–327, 349
Tiso, Jozef, 296
Tito. See Broz, Josip “Tito”
Titschkus, Alfred, 284–285
Toll, Otto, 325
Tollenaere, Reimond, 136
Totenkopf and crossbones, 13–14
Totenkopf Division, 63–65, 66
advance on Leningrad and, 141
Army Group North’s campaign and, 141—150
defense against Red Army in Hungary, 382
defense of Warsaw and, 284–285
on Eastern Front during winter 1941–1942, 185–189
end of war and, 404
in German-occupied France, 100
improvements in soldierly bearing, 91
invasion of France and, 79–82, 83, 84–85, 86–88, 92, 93, 95–96, 97, 98
Kharkov counterstroke and, 214–215, 216
leadership, 222
military assessment of, 179, 421
occupation of Vichy France and, 208
Operation Barbarossa and, 130
as part of Panzer Corps, 207
retreat from Ukraine and, 253
SS-VT and, 33
training of, 103
transfer to France 1942, 205
Totenkopf Reiterstandarte, 105
Totenkopf Standarte, 104
Totenkopfstandarte IV “Ostmark,” 42
Totenkopfstandarten, 39, 55, 61, 105, 287
Totenkopfverbände (SS-TV), 16, 37–39
training of SS troops, 21–22, 24–27
Hitlerjugend Division, 221, 316–317
Langemarck Brigade, 240
Leibstandarte, 31, 32
Panzer Corps, 208
Totenkopf, 63, 64–65, 103
Totenkopverbände, 37–38
Treuenfeld, Karl von, 262, 265–266
Tripartite Pact, 116
Tsolakoglou, Georgios, 122
Tuff, Olav, 134–135
Tulle Massacre, 412
Tychsen, Christian, 95, 342, 343
Ukraine
Army Group South’s invasion of, 153–164
defense of, 253–266
Hitler’s focus on, 171–172
“Hunger Plan” and, 132
Kharkov battle, 209–219
massacres of Jews in, 134, 288
Operation Bagration and, 277–282
SS recruits from, 248–250
support for Germans in, 248
Wiking Division memorial in, 418–419
Ukrainian Division, 277–280, 297, 422
Ukrainian prisoners of war, 409
Ullrich, Karl, 80, 96, 149, 186, 227–228, 389
Umbrich, Fred, 243, 245, 300
Vahl, Herbert-Ernst, 214, 222
Versailles Treaty, 10, 32, 35, 40, 42
Verton, Hendrik, 180–181
Vichy France, German occupation of, 208
Vogt, Fritz, 98
Volker, Werner, 224
Volkner, Werner, 27, 282, 285
Volksdeutsche
Allied invasion of France and, 332
complaints about caliber of recruits, 244–245
Hungarian, 378, 380
Romanian, 113, 242–243, 245
Yugoslavian, 118, 242–243
as source of recruits for Waffen-SS, 107–113, 118, 238, 241–248, 261, 378, 380
Volksdeutsche prisoners of war, 409–410
Volksdorf, Werner, 405
Volksgrenadier divisions, Germany’s final offensive in Belgium and, 363, 365
VoMi, 112–113
Voss, Johann, 273–274, 275, 371
Vyazma encirclement, 174
Wacker, Friedrich-Karl, 29
Wäckerle, Hilmar, 16, 68–70, 73, 111, 134, 154
Waffen-SS, 1, 22–23
as Allied prisoners, 408–410
army criticism of during invasion of Poland, 55, 56
atrocities committed by, 3–4
auxiliary and reserve units, 131
casualty rates, 405
clothing shortage and, 180
comradeship and, 29, 399
conflict with army over role of armed, 60
continued resolve to keep fighting at war’s close, 398–399
convergence with German army, 420–421
corps system, 207–208
creation of last round of divisions, 391–392
cult status of, 4
designation as, 62
development into divisional size, 35–37
divisional and unit histories, 416–417
effect of Operation Barbarossa on strength of, 205–206
equipment for, 206–207
expansion of via induction of German youth, 178
fall of Berlin Wall and collapse of communism and veterans of, 417–418
Freikorps movement and, 11–12, 14
general vs. armed, 37
HIAG, 413–417
Himmler appointed as head of, 9
Hitler’s loss of confidence in, 400–401
insignia, 13–14
invasion of Poland and, 43–44
Knight’s Crosses awarded to men of, 99
military assessment of, 421–422
modern assessment of, 420–422
motto, 12
multinational, 237–252 (see also national legions)
numerical strengths on eve of Operation Barbarossa, 130–131
Nuremberg trials and, 411–413
origins of, 9, 14–15
recruitment for (see recruitment for Waffen-SS)
reorganization of following invasion of Poland, 57–59
retreat from France, 352–353
security in subject territories and, 287
selection criteria, 23–24, 62–63, 109–110
SS-VT and, 33
surrender of, 397, 403–405
training of troops (see training of SS troops)
Ukrainian recruits and, 248–250
uniforms of, 13
veterans’ characterization of, 2–3
view of veterans in Eastern Europe, 417–420
war memoirs, 415–416
Waffen-SS im Einsatz (Hausser), 415
Wagner, Jürgen, 111
Waldmüller, Hans, 340, 353
Wallin, Erik, 398, 402
Wallonia, 240, 421
Wallonien Brigade, 241, 254
Wallonien Division, 361
Walloon Brigade, 258–260, 270, 271
Walloon Legion, 199, 240–241
Walther, Herbert, 29, 322, 327
War Grave Memorial Foundation, 419
war memoirs by Waffen-SS members, 416
Warsaw
fall of, 54
Red Army offensive against, 282–285
Warsaw Uprising, 282–283, 288, 294
weather
advance on Leningrad and, 149–150
drive toward Moscow and, 175
Germany’s final offensive in Belgium and, 364–365
invasion of Ukraine and, 160–163
Kharkov counterstroke and, 214–215, 217
Red Army advance into Yugoslavia and, 385–386
war on Eastern Front 1941–1942 and, 180–181
war on Eastern Front 1942–1943 and, 203–204
Wehrmacht, 35
atrocities and, 2
attitude toward SS, 36, 37
counterinsurgency and, 288–289
See also German army
Weidinger, Otto, 99, 331–332, 333, 404–405
Weiss, Alfred, 268
Wenck, Walther, 393, 397
Wendt, Werner, 218
Westernhagen, Heinz von, 218
Westland Regiment, 109, 111, 154, 156, 159
Wiking Division, 104, 238
antipartisan warfare and, 288
in Chechen region, 199–203, 201–202
defense against Red Army advance into Hungary, 382, 389
defense of Kovel, 280–282
defense of Ukraine against Red Army, 253, 254, 258–259, 260
on Eastern Front during 1941–1942, 182, 189
on Eastern Front during 1942–1943, 191, 195–199
end of war and, 404
foreign volunteers in, 110
“Germania” Regiment and, 33
high regard for, 179
invasion of Ukraine and, 153, 154, 155–156, 158–159, 160–161
leadership of, 110–111
massacre of Jews in Galicia and, 134–135
memorial in Ukraine, 418–419
military assessment of, 421
Operation Barbarossa and, 130, 131
withdrawal from Caucasus region, 203–204
Wiking-Ruf (magazine), 415
Wilmot, Chester, 336
Wilson, Henry, 119, 120
Wisch, Theodor, 222, 351
Witt, Franz, 120
Witt, Fritz, 54, 76–77, 98, 160, 221
Allied invasion of France and, 315, 316–318, 323, 327–328
invasion of Greece and, 119–120
Wittmann, Michael, 226, 255–256, 326–327, 349
Witt Regiment, 213
Wolff, Karl, 147
Woltersdorf, Hans Werner, 244–245, 385, 387
Wormhoudt killings, 89–90, 412
Wünsche, Max, 89, 213, 221, 317, 324, 337, 340, 349, 351
Yalta Conference, 409
Yugoslavia
antipartisan warfare in, 299–308, 311–312
expansion of Waffen-SS and Volksdeutsche from, 241–243
German defense from Soviet advance in, 379–380
German invasion of, 116–118
treatment of collaborators after the war in, 408–409
Zahnfeld, Peter, 46, 101
Zehender, August, 185
Zeitzler, Kurt, 203
Zistler, Friedrich, 325