Debica camp - Dec 1941 - October 1942

[Lasse]

Hello,

During my research of the Swedish SS-volunteers I’ve run into a little mystery which I would like to have your opinions on. While most of the Swedish volunteers are quite easy to connect to various units and most were interrogated by the police when they returned home this one I have not been able to solve. In other cases, they ran into other volunteers who could tell the police about them.

However; there is one individual I cannot really connect. The traces of him mainly relates to letters he sent home to Sweden, but he was never properly interrogated and he seems to have managed to avoid running into other Swedes. Therefore he is something of a ghost. This in itself would not be too strange, but the fact that he shows up somewhere unexpected makes me quite intrigued.

In short, what I know is that he left Sweden legally on July 24th 1941 (implying he had a passport, as it was not a criminal offence to recruit oneself to the SS – but leaving the country without a passport was criminal). This is probably why he was never interrogated. Quite exactly two years later, on July 26th 1943 he returned home to Sweden.

The question therefore remains what he did during those two years. From what I have been able to gather from the archives, he sent a few letters home. The return address was the 3rd company of a training batallion in Debica, Poland.

I have never seen a Swedish volunteer connected to Debica previously. Given the time frame, I would rather have expected him to go the normal route, i.e. Sennheim and then onto Klagenfurt before being posted with the “Wiking”-division.

What makes me more intrigued is that he seems to have remained there for a long time. He was noted as undergoing training in Poland in December 1941 at Debica. There are letters from there written in June 1942 as well. And lastly, a letter from October 1942, where it has been noted as the address “SS-Bat. 21. Komp. D., Uber-Korhall, Ost-Polen”. This is however how the Swedish police translated the address, so it is likely incorrect and I believe it may is well relate to Debica (but please correct me).

My speculations are that he may have been posted there as part of the training staff. At the time when he recruited himself he was already 36 years old and, to the best of my understanding, mostly non-germanic volunteers underwent training at Debica. At the same time, he is posted there at such an early date?

So therefore, please give me your thoughts:

- What occurred at Debica in the timeframe of 1941-42?
- Why would a “Germanic” volunteer be posted there?
- Any other speculations on how he possibly ended up there?

Please, any information would be highly appreciated!

[Wim]

Hello,

Not mentioning his name is it difficult for others who might have information on him to share the information.

The Flemish volunteers of the Freiw. Leg. Flandern were sent to Debica in 1941.

Greetings

Wim

[tigre]

Hello Lasse and all ; just two cents....................................

TrÜbPl Debica.

After the end of the September campaign in 1939 The Oberkommando der Whermacht (OKW), issued a decision to create 7 military training grounds in the General Government. Between Wisłoka and San, the following was established:

- Wehrmacht "Południe" training ground (TruppenÜbungsPlatz "Süd") mainly in the former Tarnobrzeg poviat (district), and partly in the former Mielec and Kolbuszowski poviats based in Dęba.
- Aviation training ground (TruppenÜbungsPlatz der Luftwaffe) hidden on the maps as the "Górno Commune" (Gemeine Górno) located in the former poviats of Niski and Kolbuszowski with the airport in Jasionka (Rzeszów).
- The SS training ground (SS TruppenÜbungsPlatz) marked on the map as "Dobra SS, Puszczański Camp" (SS Gutsbezirk Heidelager) with the headquarters in Pustków.

The training ground was the area of ​​operation of two SS formations: SS-Totenkopf and Waffen-SS, and the police units of Schutzmannschaft (SCHUMA). The training ground created in this way was initially named SS TruppenÜbungsPlatz "Ostpolen", and later changed its name until the fall of 1941. It was marked as: SS Tr. Üb. Pl. "Pustków" then as SS Tr. Üb. Pl. "Heidelager" and after that date was renamed SS Tr. Üb. Pl. "Debica" which owned until the end of the place's existence. However, the name Heidelager was revived.

There was in existance a SS-Rekrutendepot here.

Source: http://heidelager.pl/index.php/historia/

Cheers. Raúl M .