Prinz Eugen atrocity photo

[Rob - wssob2]

[Split from Waffen-SS Units Implicated in War Crimes]

'Prinz Eugen mow down escapers in Serbia

Hi Ninoo - I've seen that "execution.jpg" picture before. I've always though it rather ironic, since the Wehrmacht/SS issued strict regulations against photographing reprisal executions on the Eastern front - and yet this photo shows that the prohibitions probably had little effect.

BTW how do you know that other photo is definitely troops from the 7th SS? It could just as well be a SD or Einsatzgruppen unit. I'm curious about your sources - thanks - Rob

[ninoo]

Hi Rob,

I scan the Prinz Eugen photo from Time-Life WW II series. In the book, the caption only said the SS. But I once saw the same photo before from an old book about Partisan that said in it caption that the executioners as Yugoslavian Volksdeutsche hitlerite. [Unfortunately, I forget the title because I borrowed and read it 6 or 7 years ago during my student days (maybe the title "Partisan Guerilla Warfare" or "Partisan Struggle", just like that. The book itself written and published by Yugoslavian)] So, my guess that it maybe 'Prinz Eugen' because the unit mainly contained VD. About the possibility that they were SD or EG members, maybe you right. But, I myself never see photos that depict SD or EG men in tarnjacket in Yugoslavia.
Maybe there are peoples in this forum that could help to solve the photo identification...

Best Regards

Bless the people who like to help others.

[Rob - wssob2]

Hi Ninoo - thanks for your reply. It's certainly possible the troops are from the 7th SS. They could also be from one of the 4 battalions of Einsatzstaffeln (protection units) - Prinz Eugen, Ludwig von Baden, General Laudon and Emanuel von Bayern that the SS formed from Yugoslavian volksdeutsche in the fall of 1941 which were incorporated into the division during the summer of 1942. Hard to tell, since we don't know the date or place of the execution.

Sadly, much of our research is "forensic history" - trying to dig up the sordid details of past crimes. I suppose we shouldn't forget them, but researching them all the same is tragic and painful.

[ninoo]

Thanks for your commentary, Rob.
BTW, I forget to say that in the Time-Life WW II series book, the caption read that this photo taken in 1942.

Best Regards

Bless the people who like to help others

[Marcus]

Does anyone have more information about the above photo?

/Marcus

[hofner]

hi
the smg seems to be a french MAC 1924/29. Does the regulars ss units used theses captured weapons, usually ?

[Rob - wssob2]

Does the regulars ss units used theses captured weapons, usually ?

I'm not sure on this specific weapon, but yes, the 7th SS did use a lot of captured equipment, from small arms to tanks. And some of it (for example the tanks) were definitely of French manufacture.

[Sid Guttridge]

Hi Hoffner,

Rob is right. In particular its tank company had French vehicles.

However, I think your identification of the weapon may be wrong. It looks to me like a Czech ZB30 LMG (the straight-magazined ancestor of the British Bren gun). The bulk of the 7th SS Division's initial equipment was Czech, as the W-SS could more easily contract equipment in the Protectorate than in the Alt Reich, where the Army had a clear priority and the W-SS allocation was initially restricted to a particular percentage of production.

Cheers,

Sid.

[T.K.]

SD\Einsatzkommando units were issued with Tarnjacken, at least in the northern Balkans (Slovenia or Croatia).
This photo evidence was published by Nava\Corbatti in the book "Karstjaeger!".

[Oberfeld_Steiner]

Hi TK,

Reviving an old post, but on the picture you added, the two men on the left do no wear runes on their collar tabs. Was it a common thing for SD/Einsatzkommando, or is it an "editing censorship" of some kind?

Thx.

[David Thompson]

Oberfeld_Steiner -- You asked:

Reviving an old post, but on the picture you added, the two men on the left do no wear runes on their collar tabs. Was it a common thing for SD/Einsatzkommando, or is it an "editing censorship" of some kind?

It's not censorship; that's the way the SD uniform looked. See the illustration for item (3) at http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 6#p1497786