Hello does anyone have pictures of albanians in ss prinz eugen(14th regiment) or in the 5th ss mountain division

[Tradicionalist]

Hello I have been looking around and have heard that the remnants of ss skanderbeg have been everywhere.The veterans of it after skanderbeg dissbanded they where incorpirated into the 14th regiment of ss prinz eugen or in the 5th ss mountain corps. If anyone has pictures and photos of it please send them under here.I would appreciate it

[Ivan Ž.]

Hello, Tradicionalist, and

The "Skanderbeg" Division was disbanded due to the unreliability and poor performance of its Albanian troops. The Albanian personnel was therefore disarmed, while the German personnel (reinforced by German sailors) formed the Regimental Group "Skanderbeg". And it was the German regimental group that was later incorporated into the "Prinz Eugen" Division, not the Albanians. Read more on the subject here.

Cheers,
Ivan

[Tradicionalist]

Hello ivan thanks for welcoming me.Oh wow I didnt know that that happened.Ivan I have a question do you have any pics of ss skanderbeg officers and commanders or where I can find photos of it.I would also appreciate it if you could explain what this nara thing is

[George Lepre]

Hi Tradicionalist -

Welcome to the AHF.

Since you live in Albania, you have access to two potentially excellent sources of information regarding Albanians in the Skanderbeg Division:

- After the Second World War, did the Albanian court system try any Albanian citizens for collaborating with the Germans? If the trial transcripts survive, these might be great sources for your research.

- Throughout Eastern Europe, the Soviet-style intelligence agencies that were established in the new people's democracies gathered evidence against native collaborators. Are the Sigurimi's files open? If so, they might have files on former Skanderbeg soldiers.

Good luck with your research!

Best regards,

George

[Tradicionalist]

Hey george thanks for welcoming me in but yeah I dont believe that any trials where held I coulf prob find sigurimi documents tho do you mind explaining to me what this nara exchane thing is?They have some random numbers and they mention ss skanderbeg.What is it and where can I acces it

[George Lepre]

Hello -

"NARA" is a reference to the National Archives and Records Administration, the U.S. government agency that oversees its archives.

After the Second World War, NARA undertook a massive program to microfilm all of the military documents that had been captured from the Axis armed forces. After this effort was completed, the German files were returned to Germany and are now maintained by its Bundesarchiv system.

The random numbers you referred to might be microfilm roll and/or frame numbers of microfilmed documents pertaining to the Skanderbeg Division.

You can study the original documents in Germany or the microfilm rolls in the United States or (possibly) through inter-library loan.

Best regards,

George

[Tradicionalist]

Hello george thanky for your responce god bless

[Tradicionalist]

Hey george when I try to search in the bundersarchiv for these film numbers nothing comes up and in nara I have no idea how to see it do you got any videos that can help me

[George Lepre]

Hi -

What are the numbers you have? Perhaps I can decipher them.

George

[Tradicionalist]

Hello george
The numbers that I have are T354 160, T354 and BA-MA N-756
Cheers from tradicionalist

[George Lepre]

Hi -

The first number is a NARA microfilm reference. Here is how it looks in full:

National Archives and Records Administration, Records Group 242 (Seized enemy records), Microcopy T-354 (Records of the Waffen-SS), Roll 160, film frames 3805937-3805951. (The Skanderbeg documents here consist of a report written by the division commander regarding the division's status in late 1944.)

The second number is a German reference. "BA-MA" is the Bundesarchiv-Militaerarchiv in Freiburg i.B. N 756 is a reference to the Vopersal Papers (Nachlass Vopersal). Wolfgang Vopersal was a former Waffen-SS soldier who assembled an enormous personal archive of documentation on the Waffen-SS. After his death, the collection was donated to the BA-MA.

Good luck with your research project.

George

[Tradicionalist]

Ah george do you got any link on where I can watch the nara microfilm?

[George Lepre]

Hi -

Unfortunately, most of these rolls have not been digitalized.

George

[Tradicionalist]

Ah thats very sad to hear george none the less thanky for the help I appreciate it if you ever find any footage of ss skanderbeg I would appreciate it if you replied under here

[George Lepre]

Hi -

All is not lost! You can obtain this material!

You can e-mail BA-MA and request copies of the Skanderbeg material in the Nachlass Vopersal. You will have to pay for the scans but the material might be valuable.

I will visit NARA II before the end of the year and can copy the report from T-354, Roll 160. If you're in Tirane, you can check the Sigurimi files to see if there is Skanderbeg material there.

George