Slovenians serving in German uniform in Norway

Discussions on the foreigners (volunteers as well as conscripts) fighting in the German Wehrmacht, those collaborating with the Axis and other period Far Right organizations. Hosted by George Lepre.
Post Reply
KarlAlbert
Member
Posts: 9
Joined: 08 Feb 2014, 23:53

Slovenians serving in German uniform in Norway

#1

Post by KarlAlbert » 09 Feb 2014, 00:10

I found a list over POWs in Norway held by the allies in Norway, summer of 1945, with Slovenian and Bosnian names. These were people supposed to have been repatriated to Yugoslavia over Berlin.
Any one have any ideas on were to find out more about these people, units, background etc.
I have names, birthdates and were they came from in Slovenia and Bosnia, some of them were quite young, here are some samples:

BOROVAC HAKIJA 05.01.1927. BORCVA BOSNIA
SKULJEVIĆ AGO 14.02.1927. DOBOJ BOSNIA
RAMINIKOV LEVPOL 27.10.1924. JABOVEC SLOVENIJA
GOLOT FRANC 27.09.1925. JAVORJE SLOVENIJA

I know that Slovenes were draftet into the German army, but Bosnians in the Wehrmacht in Norway? I also found a list naming nationality on soldiers in the German Polizei rgt. 27 stationed at Terningmoen camp in Norway mentioning 127 "Yugoslav's".
These are not the above mentioned Slovenes and Bosnians, anyone have any idea why Yugoslavs served in 27. polizei regiment?
Any help appreciated, thank you. :)

trekker
Member
Posts: 311
Joined: 16 Mar 2011, 08:55

Re: Slovenians serving in German uniform in Norway

#2

Post by trekker » 20 Feb 2014, 10:52

I suggest you make a contact with Zveza društev mobiliziranih Slovencev v nemško vojsko (Association of Societies of Slovenes mobilized into German Army) or with one of the six societies belonging to the association listed at http://www.mobilizacija.si/o-nas/2.
You can make a contact with the Association at http://www.mobilizacija.si/kontakt.


KarlAlbert
Member
Posts: 9
Joined: 08 Feb 2014, 23:53

Re: Slovenians serving in German uniform in Norway

#3

Post by KarlAlbert » 01 Mar 2014, 18:22

Thanks a lot trekker, I have sent them a letter.

Simon Orchard
Member
Posts: 743
Joined: 01 Jan 2003, 23:31
Location: Norway

Re: Slovenians serving in German uniform in Norway

#4

Post by Simon Orchard » 20 Mar 2014, 22:39

I also have many lists regarding non-Germans serving in the Wehrmacht in Norway, i think you will find that in most cases we're talking of ethnic Germans or Germans of mixed parentage. The 'rules' put a persons nationality as at 1st January 1938.

KarlAlbert
Member
Posts: 9
Joined: 08 Feb 2014, 23:53

Re: Slovenians serving in German uniform in Norway

#5

Post by KarlAlbert » 25 Mar 2014, 13:11

Thanks Simon, I agree that many of the persons listed as Yugoslavs were Volksdeutche from Banat, but the Slovenes and Bosnians have Slovenian names, and the Bosnians have typical Muslim names. I have found some more about this, but I am still looking for more info and lists. I think I will try to trace their history back to Slovenia and Bosnia to see what happened to them.

User avatar
TISO
Member
Posts: 1044
Joined: 23 Dec 2004, 02:25
Location: Slovenia - vojvodina Å tajerska

Re: Slovenians serving in German uniform in Norway

#6

Post by TISO » 27 Mar 2014, 22:25

German mobilised slovenes into the their armed forces on a rather big scale.

KarlAlbert
Member
Posts: 9
Joined: 08 Feb 2014, 23:53

Re: Slovenians serving in German uniform in Norway

#7

Post by KarlAlbert » 27 Mar 2014, 22:35

Thanks, do you know what happend With them after the war?, many of the ones i have on my list were quite Young, some might still be alive, i have some documentation that they were sent back to Yugoslavia. I can understand why slovenians were part of the 6. gebirgsdivision since this had quaters in Kantern, but what about the Bosnian muslims?

trekker
Member
Posts: 311
Joined: 16 Mar 2011, 08:55

Re: Slovenians serving in German uniform in Norway

#8

Post by trekker » 31 Mar 2014, 10:54

Mobilisation of Slovenes into German army was against the international law of occupation as they were Yugoslav not German citizens. These men expected to die as German soldiers (as many did) but accepted it rather than joining partisans thus exposing their families to retaliation of German authorities. Their reasoning was: Better to lose my single life than losing lives of my whole family.
see my posts #49 #50 #52 #53 at
Frankolovo
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 6&start=45

Once in the German army their lives took different courses. Accordingly, I can make the following categorization:

I. those who remained German soldiers until the end of WWII
II. those who deserted or were captured before the end of WWII in both Eastern and Western fronts
II.1. those who remained in POW camps until the end of WWII
II.2. those who joined Tito's Yugoslav army from POW camps before the end of WWII
III. those who collaborated with local resistance movements (France) while German soldiers, some of them being killed
IV. those who deserted from German army while on leave and joined Slovene partisans
V. those who joined domobranci to avoid serving in the German army (Gorenjska region) - see my post #3 at
Organization of Domobranstvo in Slovenia
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 1&t=204917

Those from goups I and II.1 were regarded as German collaborators after WWII. As they were returning to Yugoslavia from POW camps abroad they were being arrested, imprisoned and questioned. Afterwards, they were released except some of them who disappeared (were killed). In years and decades after WWII they felt they were treated as second class citizens in terms of professional/social promotion because they used to be German soldiers. Partly they really were but partly they were handicapped by injures and illness they had suffered while serving in the German army but were not compensated for it .

KarlAlbert
Member
Posts: 9
Joined: 08 Feb 2014, 23:53

Re: Slovenians serving in German uniform in Norway

#9

Post by KarlAlbert » 31 Mar 2014, 12:01

It seems to me that the population of Slovenia was the true victim of the stronger countries around them like Germany, Italy and NDH. I also found a list that included Slovenes, serving in Norway in legion Speer. It seems to me that it was not very systematically the way they handled the "Yugoslavians" that served for the Germans after the war. For instance I found a Croat that was a sergeant in the SD in Oslo, later he became a sergeant in Titos army.

trekker
Member
Posts: 311
Joined: 16 Mar 2011, 08:55

Re: Slovenians serving in German uniform in Norway

#10

Post by trekker » 31 Mar 2014, 14:52

KarlAlbert wrote:It seems to me that the population of Slovenia was the true victim of the stronger countries around them like Germany, Italy and NDH.
Slovenia was not an NDH victim. It was occupied by and divided among Germany, Italy and Hungary.
KarlAlbert wrote:I also found a list that included Slovenes, serving in Norway in legion Speer.
Slovenes serving in German army were scattered around many different units serving in many countries. As I know, Slovenes were not put into particular German units as groups but as individuals. Even if they were several in one unit it was not a result of a recruitment policy. On the contrary, scattering them was a way of speeding the process of germanization.
KarlAlbert wrote:It seems to me that it was not very systematically the way they handled the "Yugoslavians" that served for the Germans after the war. For instance I found a Croat that was a sergeant in the SD in Oslo, later he became a sergeant in Titos army.
I agree. All institutions of the state were still in the process of establishing although they had formally already exist. They lacked of professional civil servants. Individuals with poor or none professional knowlegde and with low moral standards had a lot of opportunity to act at their will - especially in the army and security forces which played the main role as the regime felt unsecure because of tensions with the Allies at the Italian and Austrian borders, with chetniks, ustasha, domobranci... across these borders, political opposition within the country etc.

KarlAlbert
Member
Posts: 9
Joined: 08 Feb 2014, 23:53

Re: Slovenians serving in German uniform in Norway

#11

Post by KarlAlbert » 31 Mar 2014, 20:52

Thank you Trekker, my mistake, I meant Hungary not NDH.
Talking about Slovenians in Norway, a prominent communist party member named Valentin Kozomarnik was executed in Norway 1942.

frcoplan
Member
Posts: 168
Joined: 26 Jul 2005, 18:54
Location: Slovenia

Re: Slovenians serving in German uniform in Norway

#12

Post by frcoplan » 25 Dec 2014, 18:50

KarlAlbert wrote:Thanks, do you know what happend With them after the war?, many of the ones i have on my list were quite Young, some might still be alive, i have some documentation that they were sent back to Yugoslavia. I can understand why slovenians were part of the 6. gebirgsdivision since this had quaters in Kantern, but what about the Bosnian muslims?
Parts of Slovenia were incorporated in the third reich so they mobilised slovenes into german armed forces and it was done on a large scale and they served on all fronts where german army was fighting. In Kranj there is a small monument built in the memory of those with names of places where they died. There are also books available with their memories and here is one of those soldiers, still alive. This show is called Pričevalci, it has a lot of information, but unfortunatelly it is only available in slovene, you could say it was the last effor to record history from those, who lived through it.

http://4d.rtvslo.si/arhiv/pricevalci/174307572

Post Reply

Return to “Foreign Volunteers & Collaboration”