The Finnish Volunteer Battalion of the Waffen SS

The Finnish Volunteer Battalion of the Waffen SS
Author: Wilhelm Tieke
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
Total Pages: 364
Release: 2025-01-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 1399002996

The Finnish Volunteer Battalion of the Waffen-SS was a formation with a very unique history. Its members volunteered and were spirited out of Finland to Germany under watchful Russian eyes. Unlike other legions from various countries, the battalion did not fight until the end of the war. In fact, upon its return home, its soldiers were immediately drafted into the Finnish army and fought against the Soviets. When Finland sued for peace, former Finnish SS-men fought against German troops as they retreated from Finland. The Battalion joined the SS-Wiking Division in January 1942 and fought in southern Russia and the Caucasus until its mission ended in April 1943. With its soldiers badly needed on the home front, it was recalled due to intense pressure from the Finnish government. The battalion served with great sacrifice and proved itself worthy of being a part of one of Germany’s elite divisions.

The Finnish Volunteer Battalion of the Waffen SS

The Finnish Volunteer Battalion of the Waffen SS
Author: Wilhelm Tieke
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2025-01-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 1399003011

The Finnish Volunteer Battalion of the Waffen-SS was a formation with a very unique history. Its members volunteered and were spirited out of Finland to Germany under watchful Russian eyes. Unlike other legions from various countries, the battalion did not fight until the end of the war. In fact, upon its return home, its soldiers were immediately drafted into the Finnish army and fought against the Soviets. When Finland sued for peace, former Finnish SS-men fought against German troops as they retreated from Finland. The Battalion joined the SS-Wiking Division in January 1942 and fought in southern Russia and the Caucasus until its mission ended in April 1943. With its soldiers badly needed on the home front, it was recalled due to intense pressure from the Finnish government. The battalion served with great sacrifice and proved itself worthy of being a part of one of Germany’s elite divisions.

Joining Hitler's Crusade

Joining Hitler's Crusade
Author: David Stahel
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 457
Release: 2018
Genre: History
ISBN: 1316510344

A ground-breaking study that looks at why European nations sent troops to take part in Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union.

Finland's Holocaust

Finland's Holocaust
Author: S. Muir
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 279
Release: 2013-06-13
Genre: History
ISBN: 1137302658

Finland's Holocaust considers antisemitism and the figure of the Holocaust in today's Finland. Taking up a range of issues - from cultural history, folklore, and sports, to the interpretation of military and national history - this collection examines how the writing of history has engaged and evaded the figure of the Holocaust.

Hitler's Vikings

Hitler's Vikings
Author: Jonathan Trigg
Publisher: The History Press
Total Pages: 457
Release: 2011-11-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 0752479091

The Nazis' dream of a world dominated by legions of Aryan 'supermen', forged in battle and absolutely loyal to Hitler, was epitomised by the Waffen-SS. Created as a supreme military élite, it grew to become Nazi Germany's 'second army', an immense force totalling almost one million men by the end of the War. An astonishing fact about the SS is that thousands of its members were not German. Men stepped forward from almost every nation in Europe — for many, sometimes complex reasons — that included hatred of Bolshevism and nationalist sentiment or even straightforward anti-Semitism. Foremost amongst them were Scandinavians from Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. Thousands were recruited from 1940 onwards and fought with distinction on the Russian Front. They served at first in national legions but were then brought together in the Wiking Panzer Division and the Nordland Panzer-grenadier Division. In Hitler's Vikings, Jonathan Trigg details the battles these men fought and what inspired them to join the Waffen-SS, based wherever possible on interviews with surviving veterans. Many of the photographs reproduced here have never before been published. Hitler's 'Vikings' were amongst the last men still fighting in the ruins of Berlin in 1945 — their story is truly remarkable. Jonathan Trigg served in the 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, reaching the rank of Captain and completing tours in Northern Ireland, Bosnia and the Middle East. He is an established writer on military history, with a particular interest in foreign volunteer formations in the Second World War. Hitler's Vikings is his fourth volume in Spellmount's Hitler's Legions series.

Finland in World War II

Finland in World War II
Author: Tiina Kinnunen
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 597
Release: 2011-11-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 9004208941

Drawing on innovative scholarship on Finland in World War II, this volume offers a comprehensive narrative of politics and combat, well-argued analyses of the ideological, social and cultural aspects of a society at war, and novel interpretations of the memory of war.

Finnish-German Yearbook of Political Economy, Volume 2

Finnish-German Yearbook of Political Economy, Volume 2
Author: Mandred J. Holler
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
Total Pages: 206
Release: 2020-03-16
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3882783060

The volume has two main issues. One focuses on Mikael Agricola and his contribution to reformation in Finland and the Finnish language. The corresponding articles are Heidi Salmi, German Influence on the Finnish in Mikael Agricola, Jyrki Knuutila, The Impact of the Reformation on Finland from the Perspective of Finnish Students at Wittenberg University (1531–1633), and Andreas Pawlas, Mikael Agricola and the Finnish Identity. Is Mikael Agricola the root for the special link between Finland and Germany when it comes to culture and language? Kirsti Siitonen and Katri Annika Wessel contribute a report on the teaching and research of Finnish language and culture in German universities. The first university to offer modules in Finnish was the University of Greifswald, where teaching began in 1921. The second focus is on voting. The article by J. Antonio Seijas-Macias, Power Index of Finnish Parties: Evolution of the Parliament System, resumes methods and results presented in Manfred J. Holler’s A Priori Party Party Power and Government Formation: Esimerkkinä Suomi published in Volume 1 of FGY-PE. Holler’s analysis ended in 1978 when his article was first published. Seijas-Macias’ article is accompanied by two studies of recent elections in Finland and Germany: Lasse Nurmi and Hannu Nurmi, From Center-Right to Center-Left: The 2019 Parliamentary Election in Finland, and Christoph Dörffel, Andreas Freytag, and Miriam Kautz, The 2019 State Election in Thuringia and the Populist Threat. There are ob-vious differences but also simularities. – Back to the beginning of this volume. Jussi Pajunen and Mikko Karjalainen’s article analyzes a rather dark chapter of Finnish-German cooperation, the Finnish volunteer battalion of the Waffen SS in 1941-1943.

Voices of the Waffen SS - The Assault Generation

Voices of the Waffen SS - The Assault Generation
Author: Gerry Villani
Publisher: Lulu.com
Total Pages: 230
Release: 2018-04-16
Genre: History
ISBN: 1387748831

They called themselves Legionnaires of the Waffen SS, the new European Army. They came from all nations of Europe, and they were wearing the same uniform to fight for the same cause: fighting the strong Russian Armed Forces. Almost one million of these young men fought next to the Wehrmacht during WWII. It was during this era that the ideal of a united Europe was born. There is no other period in history that has been documented like the 6 years that ranged from the invasion of Poland in 1939 to the capitulation in Berlin in 1945. They left their homes, families, and friends with their heart full of joy and pride. They had to endure extreme weather from +40 to -50 while fighting on several fronts. They were battle hardened because of this. They became good soldiers because they knew how to survive in any situation. These young men were prepared to give their lives for Germany and, in their eyes, for a better Europe.