The history of World War II has many pages that many historians in the West prefer not to read. It is worth mentioning only the national divisions of the Reich. The topic is very sensitive, and in the light of recent events in the south-east of Ukraine, it also becomes painful.
It is worth mentioning the history of the SS division "Galicia"! These "brave fighters" are now glorified in the Ukrainian state, but only their "exploits" were sometimes struck by Gestapo veterans. And this already says a lot.
How it all began
From the very first days of the war, the leadership of Ukrainian nationalists bombarded the German government with “demands” for the urgent creation of nationalist combat units that could “contribute to the victory over Bolshevism”. Just at first all their efforts were in vain. At that time, their German masters paid absolutely no attention to this fuss. Their military successes were such that they were only amused at the thought that they could accept the help of these political moseks.
In 1943, circumstances changed somewhat. There was Stalingrad, under which the ridge of the Paulus army was broken, there were other battles that convincingly debunked the myth of the invincibility of the German army. Already in February of that year, the Germans began to think about how to use the “Ukrainian resource” more politically, plugging holes at the front with nationalists.
Creation of a "glorious division"
The Governor of the Galicia District, O. Wechter, warmly supported this initiative. Most likely, he received the final permission directly from his former boss Himmler. Some historical documents have survived, which indicate the fact that the creation of the SS Galichina SS division was first discussed by them on March 1, 1943.
Already on March 28, 1943, Wechter informed his boss that the nationalist leaders were happy to seize on the opportunity to "serve Germany." In mid-April of the same year, Wechter convened a party meeting, at which there were senior SS officials.
They did not pull, and therefore almost immediately decided to create a SS division “Galicia”. The participants in this meeting agreed ahead of time that they would avoid using the word "police" in the name of the newly created unit. Simply put, they agreed in advance on the formation of a police punitive body. It is not surprising that selected nationalists were outfitted similarly to their “colleagues” from other punitive units of the SS, being dressed in gray uniforms. They differed from others only in a special shield on their sleeves.
The official order to form the SS Galicia division was issued on April 28. Soon the first recruits began to enter the division.
About recruitment features
It must be emphasized that the recruitment of new human material was “generous”. This wording meant that racial prejudice did not prevent the Germans from recruiting troops from the "Slavic rabble." The entrance to this “elite division” was strictly forbidden only to absolutely non-European types, whose appearance unequivocally spoke of far from Aryan origin.
Advocacy work
On the day the order to form the division is issued, Wechter issues a secret directive. She explicitly says that the authorities responsible for calling on the nationalists should by no means even hint at the fact of their help to the Germans. The commissions were obliged to focus solely on the "struggle against Bolshevism." They even decoded the acronym SS as “Sich Riflemen,” which was a great success in an uneducated, unicultural environment.
The hymn of the SS division "Galicia" hints at the same thing, which contains many words about the "greatness of the nation", but does not speak of service to the Reich.
The size of the human resource
At the beginning of June, 81,999 people were registered. Officially, 52,875 of them were officially accepted, 29,124 were refused admission to the service. But it should not be considered that the call was immediately terminated, since replenishment was required constantly. The draft commission was headed by K. Schulze, who carried out a set of recruits until August 1944, and the “cosmetic repair” of the battered battalion was carried out almost until the end of 1945.
Since the mobilization was at an unprecedented pace, the Germans formed several parts at once. This explains the fact that the SS division “Galichina”, the photo of the members of which are in the article, was an extremely heterogeneous mix. In addition to the 11,578 people who officially went through special training courses, the Germans equipped at once five additional regiments and one battalion of "surplus". These regiments and the battalion immediately passed the classic police drill, to which all other punitive units were subjected.
Recruitment Methods Used
It soon turned out that the recruited “material” was clearly not enough due to constant losses in the battles, and therefore not only the official draft commissions for volunteers began to operate, but also special units that were involved in the forcible mobilization of youth. This became apparent by mid-June 1944, when the Ukrainians themselves began to fully feel the full extent of their "devotion to the Reich." Captured youths were immediately sent to serve in the SS
Panzer Division Hohenshtaufen and Frundsberg, which were located not far from Lviv that summer.
Also, the source of cheap Ukrainian “material” was used by other German divisions that were in those parts of the passage. They regularly recruited several dozen “patriots of Ukraine” caught in the service. In the villages near Lviv, the German administration did not at all reckon with its nationalist slanderers, completely rewriting all the men without their knowledge. It was an excellent storehouse of human resources, which Germany at that time began to desperately miss. People began to be taken not only from the streets, but also directly from public institutions.
Even in the churches, the "patriots of Ukraine" could no longer feel safe, since they went to give "duty to the Fuhrer" directly from the services. At that time, even the most selective nationalists could not help but notice the plight of their masters on the fronts, and therefore they were somehow not in a hurry. It is believed that the SS division "Galicia" (a photo of its standards is in this material) passed through at least 32 thousand warriors.
Command and posts
First, the responsibility for the operation of the new police unit was assigned to the SS Brigadeführer Shiman. But in this post he stayed only until mid-November 1943. Soon Oberfuhrer SS Fritz Freitag became the commander of the Galicians, who at the end of April was solemnly awarded the honorary title of Brigadenfuhrer (an analogue of our major general in the SS troops).
This arrangement of the command to him was due to the fact that this man had rich experience in commanding police units and was well aware of the specifics of working with them. German combat officers treated him with extreme contempt: Freitag had not been in any battle, had no idea about tactics and army life.
In general, the Ukrainian SS division “Galicia” became a kind of “scarecrow” among the Nazis, because of the Germans they were sent there exclusively worthless, mediocre, or simply cowardly officers. Of course, the fighting qualities of the compound were appropriate.
At first, the main part of the personnel was located in Heidelager, and since the beginning of 1944 the division has lodged in the city of Neuhamer (Silesia, Germany). However, on July 18, 1943, when the first batch of recruits arrived from Lviv, they were first placed in the Heidelager camp (near Debica), and then they were officially formed into police regiments.
First combat use
At the very beginning of 1944, an urgent directive came from Berlin on the need for the earliest possible formation of a "battle group" to fight the partisans of Poland and the USSR. A battalion was quickly formed, a battery of light guns was handed over to him, after which this company was scattered on the outskirts of Poland. So the grenadier 14th division of the SS "Galicia" began its truly inglorious path.
Just a day later, the formation of a similar group was completed, which was intended for a counter-guerrilla war in the vicinity of Lviv. Subsequently, the Nazi leadership noted that both of these units "acted quite successfully." But the Germans are strikingly unanimous, not trying to elaborate on these very “successes”.
However, it is quite clear that the division “fought bravely” with exceptionally superior forces, preferring to attack unarmed civilians first. If only there was no choice, the “brave warriors” came into fire contact with the partisans, for the fight against which the SS Galicia division was actually formed.
The first "exploits" of the Galicians
Soviet troops were fortunate enough to seize the archive of this glorious union, which still serves as irrefutable evidence of the combat "achievements" of Ukrainian nationalists. There is a record that the fourth regiment was the first to fight the partisans ... In total, about 12 people were injured. As a result of the operation, the villages of Guta-Penyatskaya and Benyaki were erased from the face of the earth. The brave nationalists burned at home. Together with their inhabitants, of course. In total, they killed at least 800 peaceful peasants, among whom there were many women and children. However, the flag of the SS division "Galicia" was never considered truly a military banner, since exclusively "rejected" German officers and selected nationalists, whom their masters did not consider people, fought under its canopy.
In Ternopol, Ukrainian Wehrmacht henchmen dispersed even more. When the Germans managed to recapture part of the city as a result of the counterattack, the animals simply drove the surviving people to one of the churches, after which they burned everyone. In their native Lviv, they destroyed about one and a half thousand people, in Zolochev they were engaged in mass shootings of captured soldiers of the Red Army. In fact, they completely destroyed the small town of Olesko, but killed “only” 300 people.
Such "generosity" is due to the fact that the rest of the residents were driven to forced labor in Germany. If the Germans did not need slaves, more blood would have been shed. Nationalists were very fond of killing those who could no longer resist them. Actually, the SS division “Galicia” was forever marked by this particular feature in history.
Brody disaster
But it was the turn of these "brave warriors" to meet in real battle with the military personnel, and not with unarmed civilians. The SS division "Galicia" near Brody had "full ammunition", being manned from soldiers of the 29th, 30th and 31st regiments. In addition, many warriors from some other compounds were attributed to it.
At that time, in its "glorious ranks" there were 346 officers, 1,131 non-commissioned officers and 13,822 soldiers. Thus, its total strength was 15,299 warriors. Only 1000 people and 1200 soldiers of the reserve battalion, who were fortunate enough to be outside the circle of encirclement, escaped from the Brody Cauldron relatively unscathed.
Several hundred nationalists managed to seep out of the encirclement as part of small groups that avoided open confrontation with Soviet troops. In total, out of 15 thousand, no more than 1/5 of the personnel survived. This fact once again confirmed that simple circumstance that police units in open battle cost absolutely nothing. All their “valor” consists only in atrocities against the civilian population and captured, unarmed soldiers.
However, the complete defeat of the SS Galicia division was close. After the battle of Brody, it was just a matter of time.
Further combat path
In February 1944, the fourth regiment was transferred to Ternopol, where its members participated in the suppression of the partisan movement. Subsequently, they participated in episodic cases of resistance to the advancing Soviet troops.
The rest of the division was transferred to France, where further military training took place. In the spring, almost all nationalists were sent to Neugamer. From time to time they continued to be used in the struggle against the French resistance.
Thus, the history of the SS division “Galicia” in a truly military sense was absolutely inglorious: in real battles, Ukrainians participated only from March to July. After she was completely defeated at Brody, her miserable remnants are finally reorganized into a police unit, after which they are used exclusively in this field.
Slovakia and Yugoslavia
In early October 1944, rested nationalists, into whose ranks at that time many "volunteers" had recruited directly from the streets, were sent to Slovakia. There, the "brave Aryans" were engaged in the usual and extremely pleasant thing for themselves, suppressing the partisan movement. Subordinate to the Ukrainians was known for its atrocities "Dirlivanger Brigade." Its members are still well remembered in Belarus, because on their conscience a huge number of lives of brutally tortured people.
Where did the SS Galicia division then go? Brody showed perfectly that it was useless to use nationalists against the regular units of the Soviet troops, and therefore they were sent to Carinthia, where they persecuted the partisans of Yugoslavia. Here the Galicians spent all the last months of the war.
In 1945, her soldiers were thrown into German territory, trying to force at least once to "courageously repel the blow of the Soviet troops." Vain hopes. As soon as the banners of the British troops wandered in the distance, the “courageous patriots of Ukraine” hastened to captivity with incredible speed. This was the last march of the SS division "Galicia" in that war.
In the town of Tamsweg, through which the captives passed, the British established a filtration point, where at first the SS soldiers were relatively successfully captured . Commander Fritz Freitag from this news fell into black melancholy and committed suicide. His place was taken by the Polish colonel Pavel Shandruk. However, time clearly showed the wrongness of Freitag. Thousands of Galicians, who settled perfectly in England, leaked through the liquid English post.
"Purely English betrayal"
What happened to the "valiant fighters" of this division, who so bravely hastened to surrender to English captivity? Alas, their fate was the best. There is a lot of historical evidence that in 1945 there were about eight thousand troops on the territory of Great Britain who served in the Galicia.
As of 1999, at least 1,500 people lived in England, both direct participants in those events and their descendants. The UK government is extremely reluctant to delve into these issues. Of the eight thousand war criminals, the British condemned ... one man. This "lucky" was Anton Sevenyuk.
What was the reason for such a loyal attitude? The fact is that during the surrender of the "brave patriots" they all called themselves as one ... the Poles, who were brutally murdered just a couple of years ago. They did not really check them, and the British did not have a vested interest in this. After all, it was not their villages and cities that burned these animals.
In the mid-90s, a separate bureau, which seemed to be engaged in the “capture of Nazi criminals,” completely ceased to exist. Hitler's henchmen, who successfully surrendered to the British, finally ceased to be afraid of at least some threat of exposure and punishment. Almost all documents on this case are still classified.
In general, the inhabitants of Misty Albion are well aware of the SS division "Galicia". The film about her, which was shot in England, seems to condemn the atrocities of the nationalists, but at the same time emphasizes that many soldiers were either recruited by force or succumbed to the "romantic impulse of the revival of Ukraine." But none of these facts justifies their heinous crimes.
Modern realities
Such an epic story today has its echoes. Thus, the flag of the SS division “Galicia” can now be seen at some events held by informal associations that have forgotten how much grief these nonhumans brought.