Foreign Volunteers during the Battle of Berlin, 1945

Discussions on the foreigners (volunteers as well as conscripts) fighting in the German Wehrmacht, those collaborating with the Axis and other period Far Right organizations. Hosted by George Lepre.
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Junker52
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#76

Post by Junker52 » 08 Apr 2005, 23:15

This is just as daft as people saying " they were Koreans captured by the Soviets who were later put on the Eastern Front and were captured by the Germans who put them on the Western Front"..... sounds something out of a Commando Comic :P

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ShinjiMimura
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#77

Post by ShinjiMimura » 17 Apr 2005, 16:14

This is just as daft as people saying " they were Koreans captured by the Soviets who were later put on the Eastern Front and were captured by the Germans who put them on the Western Front"..... sounds something out of a Commando Comic
That is so weird! Cos in a Commando Comic, Fighting For The Flag, it describes a Korean Platoon made up of men who suffered exactly what you've just talked about!

Soz for going off topic.


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Junker52
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#78

Post by Junker52 » 17 Apr 2005, 18:46

You've found out my source....... :P

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Oberst Mihael
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#79

Post by Oberst Mihael » 21 Apr 2005, 23:59

I have heard rumors of one Slovene W-SS member (officer?) dying in the battle for Berlin, however I cannot confirm it, although mr. K.Kocjancic has stated this information on this very forum, if I am not mistaken. Sadly, he doesn't post much here nowadays...

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Serbian boy
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#80

Post by Serbian boy » 04 Jul 2005, 22:26

Which Russian unit fight in Berlin?

Panzermahn
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#81

Post by Panzermahn » 05 Jul 2005, 04:44

Serbian boy wrote:Which Russian unit fight in Berlin?
I don't know but I had a testimony from a Spanish SS veteran of the Einsatzgruppe Ezquerra who participated in the Battle of Berlin that he remembers that there was a Russian/Asiatic battalion in Berlin at that time

Regards
Joachim

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Serbian boy
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#82

Post by Serbian boy » 05 Jul 2005, 16:48

I ask for slavic russian volunteers.

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kindzjal
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#83

Post by kindzjal » 28 Dec 2007, 00:17

Any Dutch volunteers seen in Berlin ?

aipaul
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#84

Post by aipaul » 28 Dec 2007, 02:16

Here is a picture of a PNG native man in IJA uniform. Yes the IJA had a few foreign volunteers so the Germans having some seems no big deal. I read that the Kempeitai had many local PNG people working for them too. They were armed and worked as henchmen. They carried out executions and other punishments. I got the picture and info from this link: http://ajrp.awm.gov.au/ajrp/remember.ns ... NT00002B0E
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png ija.gif
png ija.gif (126.49 KiB) Viewed 2062 times

Arensburger
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#85

Post by Arensburger » 28 Dec 2007, 15:50

Panzermahn wrote:
Kunnar Kesküla wrote:Estonians was in Berlin probably 30 young boys from Luftwaffen hilfsdienst.
No evidences that any of them survived.
Hello comrade Kunnar,

Brigadefuhrer Gustav Krukenberg's (commander of the 33rd Waffen Grenadier Division Charlemagne) unpublished memoirs mentioned that there were some remnants of the 20th SS estonian division in his sector
I have a post about this matter: http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... t=#1020300
About anti-tank struggle:
From Estonian boys (voluntary), a „Sturmflak” unit for defending Berlin, was formed in Greifswald (5. Flakregiment 7. Battery). Do command of this sturmflak unit was appointed Braun, German officer from 7. Battery. Boys were armed with 37mm FLAK 43 cannons, panzerfaust and they were used as Panzerjäger unit in the battles by Seelow village near Berlin. Probably being subordinated to the 9. Fallschirm-Jäger-Division, they were still wearing Luftwaffen-helpers uniforms. In Berlin they got 2 weeks infantry training and there this unit got also Estonian officer Rudolf Aru wearing Hitlerjugend uniform.
From this sturmflak unit known only one survivor - canonier Mägi. He got wounded in the first hours of battle. One source says that one boy was POW, survive Siberian camp, come back to Estonia in late 50-s or early 60-s and died in Toila north of Estonia.

RHWinter
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Slavic/Russian Volunteers

#86

Post by RHWinter » 28 Dec 2007, 23:12

Serbian boy wrote:I ask for slavic russian volunteers.
My father (born 1919, died 2005, russian mother, german father), who grew up in Berlin and served with the Wehrmacht, claimed to have been member of a slavic/russian volunteer's unit, called the "Grey Wolves", during the late war. He also claimed that this unit fought the "Endkampf" in Berlin. And as they didn't want to be captured by the Red Army and be shot immediately, they "dissappeared" westward, fighting their way to the British zone, which they reached near Goslar late in June ...
This is what my father told me (and published in the austrian "Stern" magazine in 1965). But UNFORTUNATELY I have no proof for all that! A comrade of my father's is still alive, but doesn't want to talk about these times... So may the truth rest in peace. :(
Has anyone ever heared about such a unit? Might they have been Waffen-SS "Jagdkommandos" or "Frontaufklärungs-Kommandos" (FAK/FAT)?
My father used to say, they were part of the "Brandenburg-Divison", but he once also mentioned that they were "formally" taken over by the SS (which is true for some 900 slavic/russian Brandenburgers from September '44 on, as far as I understand what I found in the very few serious literature about that topic.).

RHWinter
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#87

Post by RHWinter » 28 Dec 2007, 23:21

Panzermahn wrote:
Serbian boy wrote:Which Russian unit fight in Berlin?
I don't know but I had a testimony from a Spanish SS veteran of the Einsatzgruppe Ezquerra who participated in the Battle of Berlin that he remembers that there was a Russian/Asiatic battalion in Berlin at that time

Regards
Joachim
In my father's unit actually asiatic volunteers from the "great Soviet family" served too, as he said. He mentioned that during the last fight for Berlin many of the german soldiers were quite astonished, as they found "chinese"-looking soldiers fighting russian tanks right beside them.
Again: No proof available... :(

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KACKO
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#88

Post by KACKO » 29 Dec 2007, 00:37

Last time it was heard of Slovak volunteer SS-Rottenführer Ján Takáč was from Berlin. He was called from Slovakia (where he worked with SS-Obersturmbannführer Viktor Nageler) to Berlin on February 15th 1945. If he was killed there or around the town or he was transfered somewhere else is not clear.

Article in Slovak here: http://www.druhasvetova.sk/view.php?naz ... 2006110003 and hopefully soon in will be in English.

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Serbian boy
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#89

Post by Serbian boy » 01 Jan 2008, 20:00

What happened with the slovak embassy during the battle for Berlin?

Arensburger
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#90

Post by Arensburger » 31 Jan 2008, 17:22

In the Apr.-May 1945, also Estonian SS-Ausbildungs- und Ersatz Regiment 20 was sent do defend a capital of Germany, but those couple of thousands of men were lucky and they missed tease battles very narrowly.
For a forenamed reason in 18.Apr.1945 from Denmark, Odensee, to the direction of the Berlin, departures a troop train with SS-Ausbildungs- und Ersatz Regiment 20. Locomotive of this train was equipped with huge Estonian tricolor flag.
NB! Little before, at 3.Apr.1945, another unit from SS-Ausbildungs- und Ersatz Regiment 20 was departure from Denmark – so called “Battalion Made”. Commander of this 550 men size unit was Waffen- Hauptsturmführer Julius Made. Station of destination of this unit was Hirschberg in Silesia where they were supposed to become united with 20. Waffen-SS Division. In Neumünster they fall under the air attack (2 men killed; 11 wounded; locomotive destroyed) and after that Julius Made decides do delay and battalion march to the village of Boostedt. On this area he moves his battalion back and forward in different directions and manage do wait to the end of the war and arrival of British Army.
So, back to the mane subject. All this action was commanded by commander of SS-Ausbildungs- und Ersatz Regiment 20 SS-Obersturmbannführer Emil Rehfeldt.
Regiment on the train has strength of two battalions and there were totally about 1600 men. 1. Battalion was commanded by Waffen-Haupsturmführer Ludvig Triik and 2. Battalion by Waffen-Obersturmbannführer E. Saal. A big part of the manpower of the regiment were the young Luftfaffen Flak-helpers just incorporated to the Waffen-SS.
Regiment was unloaded 22.Apr.1945 in the station of Neuhof located 8 km from the down of Zehdenick and placed to the buildings of the brick factory. There they were until the 25. of April. For those 3 days, there was one after another organizational changes. Headquorters and 1. Battalion of SS-Ausbildungs- und Ersatz Regiment 20 was assigned to be united with just created 103. SS Brigade, which was subordinated to the headquarters of the III SS Armored Corps. At the same time 2. Battalion of the SS-Ausbildungs- und Ersatz Regiment was subordinated to one of the pioneer regiments, which one already got an order, do move to the west - direction of Ahrensburg. Also at the same time Rehfeldt themselves disappears to the unknown direction and littlebit later into the regiment arriving an announcement, that Rehfeldt is appointed to serve in the Headquarters of the III SS Armored Corps and soon same way were going all staff of the headquarters of the SS-Ausbildungs- und Ersatz Regiment 20.
New commander of the SS-Ausbildungs- und Ersatz Regiment 20 will be Ludvig Triik and new commander of the 1. Battalion is Waffen-Haupsturmführer Lembit Vaher. Also reorganizations are taking part in the 2. Battalion. Commander Saal will be changed to Waffen-Haupsturmführer Ernst Palk. But, after some day Ernst Palk will be sick (?) and commanding of the 2. Battalion coming over to the Waffen-Sturmbannführer Hendrik Sillapere. Under the commanding of Sillapere, 2. Battalion stats his march to the west (closer to the western allies!) and about a future destiny of this battalion a little is known. Anyway, they did not participate in the any battles anymore.
25. Apr.1945 Ludvig Triik got order to start moving to the front and a rest of the SS-Ausbildungs- und Ersatz Regiment 20 (1. Battalion manly) starts his march at 7.00 AM to the direction of Berlin/Wilmersdorf. Wilmersdorf is a one of the western suburb of the Berlin, and if do think – at this moment encirclement of the Berlin was still open by Oranienburg , then you do not need too much power of imagination do understand what kind of fate was waiting ot this Battalion in the nearest future. A battalion was marching into the sure death.
From station of Neuhof to the nearest suburbs of Berlin was about 30 km. Hauptsturmführer Triik was marching ahead of the battalion and was full of willingness (most of the men in the battalion was in the opposite opinion) do go to the battle.
But in the afternoon a new marsh order arrived – direction to the Templin-Lychen-Neustrelitz-Waren, this means they had to turn around. Finally in the middle of the night, battalion stopping in the village of Götzeldorf and sign in this village shows 62 km to Berlin. This was good news for totally exhausted men. In the early morning of 26. Apr. they continued the march to the direction of Templin-Lychow. In the morning of the 27. Apr. to the Lychen and at the midday they reach this down. 28.04.1945 they continue a march to the direction of the Waren. By the midday they passed Neustrelitz and for his night they stopped in the Kratzburg. 29.04.45 they reached Waren and there they getting a new marsh order to the Ludvigslust. 30.04.45 they marching Malchov-Karov-Plau. 01.05.45 Lübz-Parchim. 02.05.1945 they marching trough Neustad, where they were meeting two Americans. They were military journalists and a jeep they had was driven into the deep ditch. If they saw a march-column of SS is coming, “they had more in the pants then in the stomach” (formulation of the one of a participator). But Estonians were lifting a Jeep back to the road and some men ask them do take a battalion to the POW. Americans were refusing and prefer do drive to the own lines. Then some men of the battalion were asking them do forward “Hallo to the Eisenhower from Estonians” and after they were driving away by the smile of the battalion. 8 km from the place of this event, was a down of Ludwigslust and by arriving into this down, they found the Russians are already in the down. Hauptsturmführer Triik made a decision to go around the Ludwigslust and they went to the Lüblow, 5 km west from Ludwigslust. There they met some units from III SS Armored Corps. MG fire sounds already from the east and west at the same time. 3.05.1945 they were marching together with the units of III SS Armored Corps to the Hagenov, where they were surrounding to the western allies.
This was a long enough description of the march of a SS-Ausbildungs- und Ersatz Regiment 20 trough the Germany in the spring of 1945. But the truth is - that was an extremely exhausting march to the “freedom”. Russians were all the time some 40-50 km behind and if to count this distance to the time, its makes two hours do drive for Russian tanks. At the time of the march were lots of men and some small groups, who remind behind. They had much worse situation. Everywhere they had possibility do be stopped and forced to the alarm units. Some of them manage do go forward, but some of them had do fight. In this case, I think there is some possibility that some men as it happened were found themselves in the Berlin and they had do fight in those huge battles.
I made an illustrative map of the march of SS-Ausbildungs- und Ersatz Regiment 20 in the Germany.
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20.SSTagavararügemendi taganemine apr.-mai45 (2).JPG
20.SSTagavararügemendi taganemine apr.-mai45 (2).JPG (142 KiB) Viewed 1489 times

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