Hello,
while skipping through a book with historical documents from 1945 I found a Freikorps Widukind from Bielefeld
(Bergmann & Schneider, 1985, p.44). I'm from that area myself but this Volkssturm unit seems to have gone completely unnoticed till now. No info on it in Google or Google Books either. Anyone here who has come across this name?
Generally there were no 'named' units in the Volkssturm with the exception of the Freikorps Sauerland from neighbouring Gau Westfalen-Süd. That unit had been initiated already in summer 1944 before the Volkssturm plans started. It continued its practice despite the official ban on names. This document seems to indicate that there was a similar development in Gau Westfalen-Nord not yet researched.
Widukind (or Wittekind) was a Saxon chieftain in Eastern Westfalia around 780 A.C. who offered resistance to the Franconian conquest and christianization under Charlemagne. War raged in the region for several decades before he finally surrendered and became a christian. He was quite a popular figure early on in the Third Reich (at least locally) but later official approval moved more and more towards Charlemagne as he was the founding father of the Reich.
References:
Bergmann, Klaus; Schneider, Gerhard (Eds.)
1945. Ein Lesebuch
Fackelträger Verlag; Hannover; 1985
Best regards
Torsten
Volkssturm - Freikorps Widukind
- Heimatschuss
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- Joined: 22 May 2006, 23:50
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- Heimatschuss
- Member
- Posts: 2597
- Joined: 22 May 2006, 23:50
- Location: Deutschland
Re: Volkssturm - Freikorps Widukind
Hello,
I've come across another mystery unit that seems to be connected or even identical with Freikorps Widukind since
this outfit operated in Gau Westfalen-Nord too.
There was a Volkssturm unit called Freiwilligen-Regiment 'Widukind' [Volunteer Regiment 'Widukind']. At least one batallion, consisting of 400 Hitler Youth boys was set up in Borken (Westphalia) in mid-February 1945. Since late February the batallion was garrisoned in a camp near Haltern. After the Allies had crossed the Lower Rhine at Wesel the batallion was alarmed on Mar 29th, 1945 [1] and shipped by truck to Albachten, SW of Münster. Münster was the capital of Gau Westfalen-Nord. In Albachten the batallion was split up. Only the fate of one of its companies is known. This company marched from Albachten via Hiltrup and Albersloh to Sendenhorst-Ringhöfen (SW of Münster) on the next day. On Saturday noon they were attacked by an US tank unit in Ringhöfen and surrendered after several of the boys had been KIA.
Source:
http://www.heimatverein-sendenhorst.de/ ... fecht.html
[1] The article above erroneously gives the date as Mar 26th, 1945 but Gründonnerstag [Maundy Thursday] was Mar 29th in 1945.
Best regards
Torsten
I've come across another mystery unit that seems to be connected or even identical with Freikorps Widukind since
this outfit operated in Gau Westfalen-Nord too.
There was a Volkssturm unit called Freiwilligen-Regiment 'Widukind' [Volunteer Regiment 'Widukind']. At least one batallion, consisting of 400 Hitler Youth boys was set up in Borken (Westphalia) in mid-February 1945. Since late February the batallion was garrisoned in a camp near Haltern. After the Allies had crossed the Lower Rhine at Wesel the batallion was alarmed on Mar 29th, 1945 [1] and shipped by truck to Albachten, SW of Münster. Münster was the capital of Gau Westfalen-Nord. In Albachten the batallion was split up. Only the fate of one of its companies is known. This company marched from Albachten via Hiltrup and Albersloh to Sendenhorst-Ringhöfen (SW of Münster) on the next day. On Saturday noon they were attacked by an US tank unit in Ringhöfen and surrendered after several of the boys had been KIA.
Source:
http://www.heimatverein-sendenhorst.de/ ... fecht.html
[1] The article above erroneously gives the date as Mar 26th, 1945 but Gründonnerstag [Maundy Thursday] was Mar 29th in 1945.
Best regards
Torsten