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Structure of my presentation

MILITARY CULTURE IN THE WAFFEN-SS: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE ON CONTEMPORARY MILITARY CULTURES Prof. Niels Bo Poulsen, Royal Danish Defense College. Structure of my presentation. What was the Waffen -SS (W-SS)? Military culture in the W-SS Factors structuring the military culture of the W-SS

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Structure of my presentation

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  1. MILITARY CULTURE IN THE WAFFEN-SS: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE ON CONTEMPORARY MILITARY CULTURESProf. Niels Bo Poulsen, Royal Danish Defense College

  2. Structure of my presentation What was the Waffen-SS (W-SS)? Military culture in the W-SS Factors structuring the military culture of the W-SS The erosion of military culture in the W-SS Concluding remarks Danish SS-soldiers passing though a burning village in Russia.

  3. The Waffen-SS – a multinational army Out of app. 900.000 soldiers: 400.000 Germans from Germany 150.000 Volksdeutsche (ethnic Germans) 60.000+ Latvians 40.000 Dutch 25.000 Yugoslav Moslems 22.000 Flemish 20.000+ Ukrainians 20.000 Estonians 16.000 Wallonians French, Danes, Norwegians, Italians, etc…

  4. What was the Waffen-SS? • An integral part of Himmler’s SS- and police empire • A self proclaimed racial and political elite within the Nazi movement • A volunteer force to be used against domestic unrest in war • The W-SS grew from a few thousand men in 1934 to 36 divisions in 1945 Norwegian Waffen-SS recruitment poster, 1942. The poster refers both to the “Aryan” ideal and to Norway’s Viking past.

  5. Military culture in the Waffen-SS • Based on Nazi norms, values and assumptions = political soldiers • Aggressive style of warfare • High losses (?) • Formal military education less emphasized • High degree of unit cohesion, low desertion rate • No quarter to POWs or civilians The French village Oradour in which SS-soldiers killed around 650 unarmed civilians in June 1944 .

  6. 6th South African Armoured Division • Fights 16 SS Panzergrenadier division “Reichsführer-SS” in Northern Italy fall 1944 • The 6th SAAD on the fighting qualities of the SS troops:- “The morale very high”- “Strong and fanatical band”- “Fanatical disregard of [our] defensive fire” • In two large massacres the 16 SS div. kills around 1.000 civilians 6th SAAD Victory Parade at Monza, Italy. 14 July 1945. Ruins of Marzabotto where the W-SS killed 770 civilians.

  7. Structuring factors • Age • Political indoctrination/totalitarian framework • Hard discipline and SS jurisdiction • Generous allotment of equipment and manpower • Reputation as a modern force with careers open to all • Fear of capture SS-tank commander Michael Wittmann and his crew in front of a Tiger tank.

  8. Challenges to the mil. cult. of the Waffen-SS Enormous expansion during the war Volunteering is partly replaced by draft Recruitment of “non-aryan” nationalities SönkeNeitzel (2002):“The Waffen-SS never existed: instead there was a hotchpotch of 36 divisions…” Above: The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem al-Husseini in 1943 inspecting Bosnian Moslem troops under SS command.

  9. Contact details Email: cfm-11@fak.dkPhone: +45 39 15 12 70webpage: www.fak.dk

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