8. SS-Totenkopf-Standarte (1939–1941)

[tigre]

Hello to all ; something about it..........................................

Actions of the 8. SS-Totenkopf-Standarte in the General Government (1939-1941).

The 8. SS-Totenkopf-Standarte conformed of three battalions was established on November 11, 1939 in Krakow, under the command of SS-Brigadeführer Franz Breithaupt, who, however, a few weeks later, on December 1, 1939, was replaced by SS-Oberführer Leo von Jena. The unit's strenght in May 1940 was 2,136 men, including 48 Führer (officers), 337 Unterführer (non-commissioned officers) and 1,751 soldiers. This force increased to 2,690 at the end of July 1940 (58 officers, 391 non-commissioned officers, 2,241 soldiers).

Even if the number of civilians killed, added to the count of the 8. SS-Totenkopf-Standarte, was far behind those of the other units of the SS, as the squadrons of the SS cavalry units headed by Hermann Fegelein , which were scattered throughout the General Government in the occupied Poland between 1939 and 1941, it is worth investigating this particular unit largely unknown; this given the high proportion of Austrians, at least among the soldiers and non-commissioned officers.

Just a few weeks after the formation of the 8. SS-Totenkopf-Standarte arose from the vaguely given tasks and due to the multiple chains of existing command some conflicts of competition with the superior commanders. These ambiguities were related to supervisory issues by the Inspector General of the reinforced SS-Totenkopf units and the Senior Leader of Police and the SS (HSSPF) in the General Government.

The SS-Oberführer Jena initially refused to deliver the members of his unit to the SS-Totenkopf-Reiterstandarte. Any transfer from one SS to another unit could only be ordered by the Inspector General, himself, Jena, had no right to do so. The SS-Obergruppenführer Heißmeyer then ordered that all mounted members of the SS-Totenkopf-Standarte be transferred to the 7th Totenkopf-Reiterstandarte squadron. On the contrary, it was pointless to detach a Sturme (that is, a company) as a security guard for the Forced Labor Camp of Wisnicz-Nowy, arguing that there was little time for military training "taking into account the diversity of the corps of officers and non-commissioned officers and the untrained men can only be trained if the commander daily supervises all his strength up to the level of company. " However, this is only guaranteed if his unit stays together and is not dismembered. In addition, the Inspector General decreed: "In case 8. SS-T-Sta is required for future executions, the commander of the unit is ordered to comply with the orders of the Höheren SS-und Polizeiführers. With regards that the men can not advance very far in shooting training, for this purpose a Sonderkommando must be trained. "

Sources: Eine unbekannte NS-Tätergruppe: Biografische Skizzen zu österreichischen Angehörigen der 8. SS-Totenkopf-Standarte (1939–1941). Hans Schafranek.
http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gli ... opf8-R.htm

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more........................................

Actions of the 8. SS-Totenkopf-Standarte in the General Government (1939-1941).

At the beginning of April 1940, the first military operation took place, whose background is a little closer to being illuminated in this article. After the military defeat of Poland, some scattered remnants of the Polish army fled to Romania, others retreated to the forests to stay here and continue resistance after the creation of a corresponding logistic base. One of these groups gathered around the Major of Cavalry Henryk Dobrzánski (1897-1940), who commanded the Uhlans' 110th Regiment of Reserve during the war and built, after several adventures and odysseys, several small bases in the area around Kielce, Dobrzánski had the code name "Hubal", his supporters were called "Hubalczycy". In February 1940, uniformed and mounted Polish "volunteer" troops appeared several times in the large wooded area south of the Radom-Opozno route. Since the great snowfall and the unrecognized terrain made any movement of larger units impossible, the German side was content to initially deploy a reinforced patrol service.

In mid-March 1940, members of the 372. Infanterie Division of the Wehrmacht identified part of the "Hubalczycy" in the village of Golki, and would send an infantry regiment to attack and destroy the Polish soldiers. The HSSPF Ost, however, objected, because the deployment of troops endangered a "major action" planned shortly after March 20 against the Polish insurgency movement, whereby some 1,000 leaders of the movement would be arrested simultaneously. throughout the General Government. In fact, this claim was made only because Kruger wanted to take the laurels in the fight against "Hubal". However, the first stage of the campaign (March 29-31, 1940) proved to be a good failure, because the Dobrzánski group was superior due to their mobility and knowledge of the terrain with respect to the SS and the police, even though the Poles had to leave part of the vehicles, suffered several deaths and about 40-50 men fell into the German hands.

On April 5, 1940, HSSPF Ost (Krakow), SS-Obergruppenführer Krüger, gave Jena the telephone order to send a battalion from SS-Totenkopf Standarte to Mniow (about 20 kilometers northwest of Kielce) to continue with the "action" that had just been canceled. In the following days there were occasionally some smaller skirmishes between German reconnaissance and assault patrols, against Polish soldiers, while the bulk of the "Hubal" group succeeded again and again, in dodging the German armed forces. On April 7, 1940, the SS-Hauptsturmfuhrhrer Staufer (7th Company of the 8. SS-Totenkopf Standarte) was seriously wounded in the village of Krolowiec by shots fired by a uniformed Polish man. Jena said: "I order the immediate arrest of 10 hostages in Krolowiec and shoot them, as well as setting fire to the selected houses in Krolowiec.

He then informed his superior, the HSSPF Ost, about that incident, who in turn now ordered that every man of military age in the town of Krolowiec be shot dead and the whole village of Krolowiec set on fire. This order was executed by parts of the 7th and 8th Companies. The women and children of the village were saved and deported to a neighboring village. "From those shot, 1,476 złoty were requisitioned in cash, money that the SS-Sturmbannführer Praefke (Commander of the 2nd Battalion) suspected was coming from a war fund Polish, "that had been paid to the members of the gang"

Sources: Eine unbekannte NS-Tätergruppe: Biografische Skizzen zu österreichischen Angehörigen der 8. SS-Totenkopf-Standarte (1939–1941). Hans Schafranek.
http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gli ... opf8-R.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henryk_Do ... ldiers.jpg

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more........................................

Actions of the 8. SS-Totenkopf-Standarte in the General Government (1939-1941).

Also in numerous other villages in the vicinity were - before and after the withdrawal of the 8. SS-Totenkopf-Standarte (April 9, 1940) - killed numerous civilians, for example in Adamow, Malachow, Midezierza (April 7, 1940 ) and Huciesko (April 11, 1940). Several members of the Standarte (regiment) were proposed to be awarded with the War Merit Cross with Swords (Kriegsverdienstkreuzes mit Schwertern) due to these crimes. In particular, several cavalry squadrons emerged from this massacre, and their commander Fegelein commented on the result with almost insurmountable cynicism: "The established tasks of burning the guilty villages in retaliation and the handling of evil elements were as clear and decent in a SS-like manner that any doubt about the character's strength of the troops had to be eliminated. " Presumably, this meant that the shooters' hands did not shake as they executed the kill.

Between March 30 and April 9, 1940 the Germans were concentrated against the unit of Maj. Dobrzánski, of about 150 man, against which they were several times superior in terms of numbers, equipment and armament. During this period, two police battalions (51 and 111), also motorized, gendarmerie units, several battalions of the SS-Totenkopf-Standarten 8 and 11 and six squadrons of the 1. SS-Totenkopf-Reiterstandarte were employed. However according to Fegelein's statement the "total annihilation of the irregulars" was not complete, "Hubal" along with between 40 and 50 men, including a large part of his staff, breaking the encirclement of his pursuers and escaping for the time being .

Even before the completion of the operation, the Commander in Chief East - Oberbefehlshaber Ost (General Blaskowitz) wrote a detailed record in which the responsible leadership of the SS received harsh criticism. Blaskowitz was particularly angry that the Wehrmacht units stationed nearby were deceived, that is, they were informed only one day after the beginning of the "action", while the participating SS units were marching from a much greater distance. The deliberately omitted coordination had led to a variety of serious accidents, which the Wehrmacht general reported to the Commander in Chief of the Army (OKH). The following statement is also noteworthy: "The behavior of the police force involved in the reconnaissance, security and employment on the battlefield was not in any way in line with the most primitive requirements. it was shown it was to shoot women and crows, apparently the weapons must be tested. "

The 372nd Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht, previously dismissed by the SS as part of the "Action", now independently continued with the subsequent pursuit. Surrounded by Anielin on April 30, 1940, Dobrzánski fell in this fight and the rest of his unit dispersed or was annihilated. The German soldiers desecrated his corpse and brought his body to Tomaszów Maziecki, where either he was burned or he was buried unknown place.

Sources: Eine unbekannte NS-Tätergruppe: Biografische Skizzen zu österreichischen Angehörigen der 8. SS-Totenkopf-Standarte (1939–1941). Hans Schafranek.
http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gli ... opf8-R.htm
http://odkrywca.pl/hubal-zdjecie,545273.html

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more........................................

Actions of the 8. SS-Totenkopf-Standarte in the General Government (1939-1941).

In the summer of 1940, a conflict arose between Odilo Globocnik (SS-und Polizeiführer Lublin) and Jena, because the latter refused, to provide his Standarte, to participate in a large action planned by Globocnik in the forests around Bilgoraj in the District of Radom. Jena made clear the point of view, that such action could only be ordered by the HSSPF. Actually in this sense, the question of an unclear jurisdiction or a contradictory chain of command was presented.

For example, in a letter from the Waffen-SS Command (SS-Brigadeführer Jüttner) to 8. SS-Totenkopf-Standarte says: "The Reichsführer SS Command grants the Höheren SS-und Polizeiführer in the General Government the right to order at any time the use of Standarten or parts of them. The Höhere SS-und Polizeiführer transferred this right to the SS-und Polizeiführer under his supervision, and the Waffen-SS Command agrees that, in the case of a Suddenly necessary deployment, the SS-und Polizeiführer may request the deployment of the troops. These requests are considered a requirement of the Höheren SS-und Polizeiführers, and must be fulfilled immediately.

A directive issued a few days later by the Chief of the SS-Hauptamtes-Main Department (SS-Obergruppenführer Heißmeyer) showed a much more restrictive trend, in quantitative and especially territorial terms. Because the SSPFs of the districts of Warsaw, Radom and Lublin were granted the right to, "in case of urgent need and danger they may employ a company [...] in this, by directly requesting the Batl to direct the commander in his district ", from which the commander in charge of the regiment must be informed immediately.

There was no doubt about the possibility of an order from the SSPF of another district. Ultimately, Himmler personally decided in favor of Globocnik: "I ordered that the SS-Totenkopf-Standarten in the General Government, be available for a period of two months without any restriction [...] for the SS- und Polizeiführern to combat gang violence. "

Sources: Eine unbekannte NS-Tätergruppe: Biografische Skizzen zu österreichischen Angehörigen der 8. SS-Totenkopf-Standarte (1939–1941). Hans Schafranek.
http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gli ... opf8-R.htm
http://memoiresdeguerre.com/article-jen ... 97251.html

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more........................................

Actions of the 8. SS-Totenkopf-Standarte in the General Government (1939-1941).

At the beginning of June 1940, by order of Himmler, the 8. SS-Totenkopf-Standarte moved his location from Krakow to Radom, where it occupied the lodgings left by the 11. SS-Totenkopf-Standarte, which went to the Netherlands before being incorporated in the SS-Verfügungsdivision in November 1940. On the occasion of this transfer, the Chief of the SS-Hauptamt made an energetic proclamation to the 8th Standarte. In the foreground the fact of the different conditions of the occupation regime in Western and Northern Europe and in the General Government was highlighted: "In the East, however, the situation is different from that of southern Norway, Denmark, Holland, Belgium and Bohemia and Moravia, where our other SS-Totenkopf-Standarten are deployed, where peace and tranquility reign.In the General Government, men know from their own experience, there is no peace, they must be alert and on guard , here the resistance flashes, here there are gangs and thieves, here below the surface the desire for revenge burns.The Poles are not Norwegians, nor Dutch nor Flemings.Soldiers of the 8. Standarte! The lost space of our people is in the East [...] to the arms, look for the enemy on the ground while they are standing [sic] and destroy them! "

On September 12, 1940, the SS-Führungshauptamt (SS Central HQ) ordered that the SS SS Totenkopf-Standarte should be reclassified as part of the uniform alignment of all the Waffen-SS units in a regiment, in accordance with the rules applicable to an infantry regiment (mot.). However, this was accompanied by a decentralization of the subunits; the I. Battalion was now in Lublin, II. Battalion in Warsaw and the III. Battalion remained in Radom, as well as Regimental HQ or Standarte. On November 26, 1940, the HQ was ordered to move to Warsaw.

In the second half of 1940, the 8. SS-Totenkopf-Standarte also suffered a certain turnover of personnel. Of the SS-Totenkopf-Standarten 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 the oldest reservists were licensed (batches of 1910 and earlier) unless they wanted to continue serving voluntarily. This did not mean, however, a loss of personnel, since subsequently the SS-Totenkopf-Standarten 12 (Poznan-Treskau), 13 (Vienna) and 16 (Prague) were disbanded and the younger soldiers were distributed among the remaining units such as the SS-Totenkopf-Standarten 4, 5, 6, 7 , 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15. For example, the 8. SS-Totenkopf-Standarte received an increase of 17 non-commissioned officers and 243 soldiers from 16. Standarte.

Sources: Eine unbekannte NS-Tätergruppe: Biografische Skizzen zu österreichischen Angehörigen der 8. SS-Totenkopf-Standarte (1939–1941). Hans Schafranek.
http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gli ... opf8-R.htm

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more........................................

Actions of the 8. SS-Totenkopf-Standarte in the General Government (1939-1941).

On February 25, 1941, the Standarte was "officially" renamed by the RFSS as SS-Infanterie-Regiment 8 (mot.), But the term "regiment" had previously been used partially. The soldiers now had the Sigrunen (from the old Norse: rune of victory) of the SS instead of the Totenkopfs (skull) of the T-Verbände (units of the skull) in the collar of the uniform.

The following developments in his organization and revisions regarding the personnel, took place in the framework of the preparations of the war actions against the Soviet Union. On March 26, 1941, the entire SS-Regiment 8 was relocated to the Debica training area (about 90 kilometers east of Krakow), as the commander of this camp later acted the Austrian SS-Standartenführer Hanns von Feil. With effect from May 1, 1941, two SS motorized infantry brigades were established. The 1. Brigade, commanded by SS-Brigadeführer Karl-Maria Demelhuber, included the SS Infantry Regiments 8 and 10.

Commanders during this period.

SS-Brigadeführer Franz Breithaupt kdt.v.SS-HA (11.11.39) - 01.12.39

SS-Oberführer Leo von Jena 01.12.39 - 28.06.40

SS-Oberführer Julius Scherner 28.06.40 - (18.12.40)

SS-Oberführer Günther Claassen i.V. 28.06.40 -

SS-Obersturmbannführer Heino Hierthes 10.01.41 - 10.04.41

SS-Standartenführer Hans-Wilhelm Sacks 00.04.41 - 19.08.41 seriously wounded.

Sources: Eine unbekannte NS-Tätergruppe: Biografische Skizzen zu österreichischen Angehörigen der 8. SS-Totenkopf-Standarte (1939–1941). Hans Schafranek.
http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gli ... opf8-R.htm
http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gli ... deSS-R.htm

Cheers. Raúl M .

[Ignacio]

SS-Oberführer Leo von Jena 01.12.39 - 28.06.40

SS-Oberführer Julius Scherner 28.06.40 - (18.12.40)

SS-Oberführer Günther Claassen i.V. 28.06.40 -

The Commander of the 8.SS-Totenkopf-Inf.Rgt. was Oberf. Franz Claassen, not Günther Claassen.

Franz Claassen served as deputy regimental commander in July 1940 while Oberf. von Jena was on leave.

Oberf. von Jena still signed as Regimentskommandeur on 31.07.1940, so he left command in August 1940. I don´t know if Claassen then resumed command, or if Julian Scherner arrived in August to take over as new permanent commander (formally appointed on 11.07.40).

On 6.09.1940 Oberf. Claassen, bisher stellv. Kommandeur 8.SS-Totenkopf-Inf.Rgt., was transferred with inmediate effect as Commander of the 7.SS-Totenkopfstandarte.

Regards from Madrid

Ignacio

[Georg_S]

Here is a photo of the entrance for the 8.SS-T.-Sta in Krakau

//Georg

[Georg_S]

More about the 8.SS-T.-Sta but this time the I btl.

I hope you all find it interessting.

//Georg

[Georg_S]

A small addition to the 8.SS-T.-Sta

//Georg