Any information regarding Abwehrgruppe 218

[Baniola]

Abwhergruppe 218, codenamed Edelweiss, was one of the most successful units in anti-partisan warfare in Slovakia. I'm conducting research, and any information about this formation is welcome. Mainly about Abwher members of the battle group. Especially one member named Captain König, commander of the unit Erwein Sigmund von Thun und Hohenstain executed in Szopron, Hungary, and others. Thank you very much.

[Tamari]

Hello Baniola,

Frontaufklärungstrupp 218 and Thun-Hohenstein were already mentioned here => viewtopic.php?f=50&t=252262&p=2339019&h ... n#p2339019

quote from my post: "Are you also interested in the partisan-warfare of Frontaufklärungskommandos or Frontaufklärungstrupps in Slovakia?
In this context it is noteworthy that in this situation, FAT 218, under the leadership of Major Graf Erwein von Thun-Hohenstein, was directly subordinate to the Leitstelle für Frontaufklärung II Südost in Vienna and was entrusted with the implementation of the so-called Trupp "Edelweiß". => source: KV-2/2138_2 Murad Ferid, page 17

TRANSLATED BY GOOGLE
In November 1944 he was commissioned to set up a special unit to fight partisans in Slovakia. The Slovak national uprising had just failed there and many members of the army had joined the partisans. The unit over which Thun-Hohenstein received command was called FAT 218 "Edelweiss". It was around 300 strong and consisted of Slovaks, Caucasians, Cossacks and Germans. Thun-Hohenstein used the code name “Benesch” because of its resemblance to the president of the Czech government in exile, Edvard Beneš.
FAT 218 was subordinate to Leitstelle für Frontaufklärung II Südost.
Abwehrgruppe 218 is believed to have been responsible for numerous crimes in the last months of the war in Slovakia. Mainly one operated against partisans, but the persecution of Jews was also part of their activity. The Thun-Hohenstein unit is said to have killed around 300 Slovak partisans and captured 600. Most were taken to concentration camps.
A member of Abwehrgruppe 218, Ladislav Nižňanský, was indicted in Munich in 2004 for the Ostry Grun massacre in Slovakia. The role of Thun-Hohenstein was also examined during the trial.
Abwehrgruppe 218 was also involved in the arrest and extradition to the Einsatzgruppen of the security service of a group of Anglo-American liaison and reconnaissance officers. They were deposed in Slovakia as part of a joint operation by the English SOE ("OPERATION WINDPROOF") and the American OSS ("MISSION DAWES") and were supposed to support the partisans. The English and American officers were later deported to Mauthausen, tortured and shot.
At the end of the war, Thun-Hohenstein, now with the rank of major, was taken prisoner by the Soviets. On January 18, 1946, he was sentenced to death by a Soviet military tribunal. The sentence was carried out on February 12, 1946 with a shot in the neck.

https://austria-forum.org/af/AustriaWik ... ite_note-3

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abwehrgruppe_218

https://ww2ondeadline.com/2021/01/24/jo ... s-mission/"


Best regards
Robert

[Tamari]

Hello,

here an interesting media report about a the trial against a former Slovakian officer of Abwehrgruppe 218 with some anecdotes about Thun-Hohenstein.

https://www.sueddeutsche.de/muenchen/de ... n-1.757518

Best regards
Robert

[Baniola]

Thank you for your reply. I have complete documentation (about 3000 pages) from the trial of Slovak members of Abwhergruppe 218, including mission descriptions. I will check your links. I also have some material about Nižňanský, the second commander in chief of "The Slovak special unit" of Edelweiss, succeeding Martin Kaniok. I aim to prepare as detailed documentation of the unit as possible. Thank you again.