Volunteers - Berlin - 1945

[Sturmkreuz]

Dear members,

For my research project to the Schlacht um Berlin, I am searching for the names of fallen (Waffen-SS)volunteers in Berlin. This may be in Berlin itself or from the Oder.

These units where (directly) involved in the Battle of Berlin:

11th SS ‘Nordland’ Panzergrenadier Division (SS Maj Gen Jurgen Ziegler / SS Maj Gen Dr Gustav Krukenburg)
23rd ‘Norge’ Panzergrenadier Regt
24th ‘Danmark’ Panzergrenadier Regt
11th SS ‘Hermann von Salza’ Panzer Btn
503rd SS Heavy Tank Btn
11th SS ‘Nordland’ Armoured Reconnaissance Btn
23rd SS ‘Nederland’ Panzergrenadier Division (SS Maj Gen Wagner)
(divisions later allocated to the 3rd Panzer Army)
27th SS ‘Langemarck’ Grenadier Division
28th SS ‘Wallonien’ Grenadier Division

Other units with volunteers in it are still possible, please everything you know about fallen volunteers in Berlin, please post.

Thanks
Bart

[Igor Karpov]

Dear members,

For my research project to the Schlacht um Berlin, I am searching for the names of fallen (Waffen-SS)volunteers in Berlin. This may be in Berlin itself or from the Oder.

These units where (directly) involved in the Battle of Berlin:

11th SS ‘Nordland’ Panzergrenadier Division (SS Maj Gen Jurgen Ziegler / SS Maj Gen Dr Gustav Krukenburg)
23rd ‘Norge’ Panzergrenadier Regt
24th ‘Danmark’ Panzergrenadier Regt
11th SS ‘Hermann von Salza’ Panzer Btn
503rd SS Heavy Tank Btn
11th SS ‘Nordland’ Armoured Reconnaissance Btn
23rd SS ‘Nederland’ Panzergrenadier Division (SS Maj Gen Wagner)
(divisions later allocated to the 3rd Panzer Army)
27th SS ‘Langemarck’ Grenadier Division
28th SS ‘Wallonien’ Grenadier Division

Other units with volunteers in it are still possible, please everything you know about fallen volunteers in Berlin, please post.

Thanks
Bart

Hi, Bart!

Latvians also participated in fight for Berlin. Namely - SS-Aufklärungs(Fusilier)-Abteilung 15. They defended the RSHA building and the Waffen-Obersturmführer Neilands headquarter was in Himmler's bunker. When general Krebs requested the armistice, Neilands was with him as translator. On the night of May, 2nd the battalion rests have received the order to occupy and defend a building of the Ministry of Aviation. But it has appeared empty, nearby there were no other divisions, therefore Neilands has made decision to retreat. The bataillon remnants reached the Pankow suburb and have joined to others 10 000 war prisoners, which already were there.

[Phil Don]

Hi

A Marchbataillon from french 33th SS division Charlemagne was present. Chief: Hstuf Henri FENET.

Phil D.

[warriorx]

hail...
one anti-tank caucasian unit and one arab airborn company form wehrmacht also participated in battle for berlin.

[Rob - wssob2]

hail...
one anti-tank caucasian unit and one arab airborn company form wehrmacht also participated in battle for berlin.

Source, please?

BTW a question to all members - why is it important that a few "foregin volunteers" fought during the Battle of Berlin? Why not ask how many "foreign volunteers" fought at Dien Bien Phu or the 1781 capture of Yorktown?

Their presence is a mere footnote WRT military or historical significance...

[Lasse]

If you are just trying to research fallen volounteers, theres always the Swede Ragnar Johansson who has been discussed several times. He was KIA during the breakout attempt at the 2nd of may when he acted as driver in the swedish company commander Hans-Gösta Pehrssons SdKfz. They got hit in Freidrichstrasse (spelling?) and managed to bail, but Johansson was KIA the moments after he bailed from his veichle. Pehrsson survived, and upon returning to Sweden he was questioned quite a lot about Johanssons death by the swedish security police. Of bigger intresst is ofcourse the dane Per Sörenssen, who if Im not wrong, acted as commander of Rgt. "Danmark" and got killed by a sniper in Berlin.

[Rob - wssob2]

April 28, 1945:

SS execution squads patrol around the Kurfustendamm and Potzdammerplatz, executing “defeatist” civilians displaying white flags from their buildings. The commander of the Muncheberg Panzer Division orders the SS death squads out of his sector or he will have them shot on sight.

Maybe some "foreign volunteers" served in these death squads as well.

[Rob - wssob2]

When general Krebs requested the armistice, Neilands was with him as translator.

I'm interested in your source. BTW Krebs spoke Russian.

[Igor Karpov]

When general Krebs requested the armistice, Neilands was with him as translator.

I'm interested in your source. BTW Krebs spoke Russian.

Yes, I know, he even talkeded with soviet general Tchuikov about 1st May. The source is A. Silgailis book about Latvian Legion.

[Alanmccoubrey]

Krebs spoke Russian but didn't want the Russian s to know that he did, hence his taking Neilands. Alan

[T.K.]

Hello,

This and the last year I've seen on Ebay.de at least 3 Death Card named to WSS guys fallen during the Battle of Berlin.
You should check time by time.
I have a picture of grave of a WSS guy dead in Berlin, may 45; if interested send me your email adress via PM.

Best Regards

[warriorx]

hail...
one anti-tank caucasian unit and one arab airborn company form wehrmacht also participated in battle for berlin.

Source, please?

the east came west

one arab parachute company from 845.german-arab battalion defected form this battalion for join their former commander unit. so they joined a parachute regiment and participated in battle for berlin.

one caucasian unit also formed as an anti-tank unit (company size). soldiers from this unit were remaining of some caucasian battaltions of west front.

[Rob - wssob2]

Thanks warriorx,

The zweiter-weltkrieg-lexikon.de site'a page on arab units (see
http://www.zweiter-weltkrieg-lexikon.de ... ander.html) mentions that the Deutsch-Arabische Bataillon Nr 845 ended the war subordinate to the 104th Jäger Divsio, stationed near Zagreb, Croatia.

I believe the accounts of numbers "foreign warriors fighting for Berlin" in April 1945 trend to be grossly exaggerated. I'd like to see additional source citations about the Deutsch-Arabische Bataillon Nr 845, for example, before I'd agree that it fought in the Battle of Berlin.

[T.K.]

Hello,

If he was a Volunteer we will never know, a WSS guy dead during the Battle of Berlin anyway.

Best Regards

[warriorx]

an iranian ss volunteer (dr. davud monshizade) participated in battle for berlin too. an iranian abwehr officer namly dr. mirzaian in his diary said that dr. monshizade in 1944 was 1st littuant Leutnant but i dont know what was his rank in the battle for berlin. he (monshizade) just said "i was the only iranian SS guard officer in battle for berlin".