| 20th Waffen-SS Grenadier Division | |
|---|---|
 Divisional insignia of 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian) |
|
| Active | February 1944 - 9 May 1945 |
| Country |  Nazi
Germany |
| Branch |  Waffen SS |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Defending territory of Estonia |
| Size | Division |
| Part of | III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps |
| Nickname | Estonian Division |
| Motto | Varemeist tõuseb kättemaks! (Vengeance Will Rise from the Ruins!) |
| Colors | Blue, Black & White |
| March | The Song of Estonian Legionaires |
| Engagements | Battle of Narva 1944 Battle of Tannenberg Line 1944 Battle of Tartu 1944 Vistula-Oder Offensive 1945 Battle of Oppeln 1945 |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Franz Augsberger |
20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st
Estonian) (German: 20.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (estnische
Nr.1), Estonian: 20. Eesti relvagrenaderide SS-diviis)
was established on 25 May. 1944 in German occupied
Estonia during WW II. Formed in Spring 1944 after the
general conscription-mobilization was announced in Estonia on 31
January 1944 by the German occupying authorities, the cadre of the 3
Estonian SS Volunteer Brigade that had been renamed the
20th Estonian SS Volunteer Division on 23 January
1944, was returned to Estonia and reformed. Additionally 38 000 men
were conscripted in Estonia and other Estonian units that had
fought on various fronts in the German Army, and the Finnish Infantry Regiment
200 were rushed to Estonia. Estonian officers and men in other
units that fell under the conscription proclamation and had
returned to Estonia had their rank prefix changed from "SS" to
"Waffen" (Hauptscharführer would be referred to
as a Waffen-Hauptscharführer rather than SS-Hauptscharführer). The
wearing of SS runes on the collar was forbidden, and these
formations began wearing a national insignia instead.
The Division fought the Red
Army on the Eastern Front and
surrendered in May 1945.
Contents |
On 16 June 1940, the Soviet Union had invaded Estonia. [1] The military occupation of the Republic of Estonia by Soviet Union was complete by the 21 June 1940 and rendered "official" by a communist coup d'état supported by the Soviet troops. [2]
After Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, the Germans were perceived by most Estonians as liberators from the USSR and its repressions, and hopes were raised for the restoration of the country's independence. The initial enthusiasm that accompanied the liberation from Soviet occupation quickly waned as Estonia became a part of the German-occupied "Reichskommissariat Ostland "
By January 1944, the front was pushed back by the Red Army almost all the way to the former Estonian border. On 31 January. 1944 general conscription-mobilization was announced in Estonia by the German authorities.[3]On 7 February Jüri Uluots, the last constitutional prime minister of the republic of Estonia [4] supported the mobilization call during a radio address in hopes for restoring the Estonian Army and independence of the country. [nb 1] 38,000 men were conscripted, the formation of the 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian) had begun. [6]
The 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS was formed in January 1944 via general conscription, from a cadre drawn on the 3. Estnische SS Freiwilligen Brigade, and further troops from the Ost Battalions and the 287th Police Fusilier Battalion and the returned Estonian volunteers of the Finnish army unit Finnish Infantry Regiment 200. [7][8][9]
On 8 February 1944, the division was attached to Gruppenführer
Felix Steiner's
III SS
(Germanic) Panzer Corps, then defending the Narva
bridgehead. The division was to replace the remnants of the 9th and 10th Luftwaffe Field Divisions,
which were struggling to hold the line against a Soviet bridgehead north of the
town of Narva. Upon arriving at the front on 20 February, the
division was ordered to eliminate the Soviet bridgehead. In nine
days of heavy fighting, the division pushed the Soviets back
across the river and restored the line. The division remained
stationed in the Siivertsi and Auvere sectors, being engaged in heavy combat. In
May, they were pulled out of the front line and reformed, with the
recently returned Narwa battalion into the division as the
reconnaissance
battalion. By that time, active conscription of Estonian men into
the German armed forces was well under way. By Spring 1944,
approximately 32,000 men were drafted into the German forces, with
the 20th Waffen Grenadier Division consisting of some 15,000
men.
When Steiner ordered a withdrawal to the Tannenberg Line on 25 July,
the division was deployed on the Lastekodumägi Hill, the first line
of defence for the new position. Over the next month, the division
was engaged in heavy defensive battles on the Sinimäed
hills. In mid-August, the division's 45th Estland and 46th
regiments were formed into the Kampfgruppe Vent and sent south to help
defend the Emajõgi
river line, seeing heavy fighting.
When Adolf Hitler
authorised the full withdrawal from Estonia in mid September, all
men who wished to stay to defend their homes were released from
service. Many chose this offer, fighting the Soviets alongside
other Estonian units and then withdrawing into the forests to
become the Forest Brothers. Severely weakened by
this, the division was withdrawn to Neuhammer to be
refitted.
Eventually, the reformed division numbered roughly 11,000
Estonian's and 2,500 Germans, returned to the front line in late
February, just in time for the Soviet Vistula-Oder Offensive. This offensive
forced the German forces back behind the Oder and Neisse rivers. The division was pushed back
to the Neisse, taking heavy casualties. The division was then
trapped with the XI. Armeekorps in the Oberglogau - Falkenberg - Friedberg area. On 17 March, the
division launched a major escape attempt, but despite making
headway, the attempt failed. On 19 March, the division tried again,
this time succeeding but leaving all heavy weapons and equipment
behind in the pocket.
In April 1945, the remnants of the division were moved south to the
area around Goldberg. After the Prague
Offensive, the division attempted to break out in the west, in
order to surrender to the western Allies.[10]
The local Czech population resumed their hostilities on the
surrendered Estonian troops regardless of their intentions. In what
the veterans of the Estonian Division who had laid their weapons
down in May 1945 recall as the 'Czech Hell', the local people
chased, humiliated and tortured the Waffen SS troopers and murdered
more than 500 Estonian POWs.[11][12][13]
Some of the Estonians who had reached the western allies were
handed back to the Soviets.[10]
In the spring of 1946, out of the ranks of those who had surrendered to the Western allies in the previous year, a total of nine companies were formed. The most notable being the "4221 Guard Company", formed from some 300 veterans with a mission to guard the external perimeter of Nuremberg International Tribunal courthouse and the various depots and residences of US officers and prosecutors connected with the trial. The men were also entrusted with guarding the accused Nazi war criminals held in prison during the trial up until the day of execution. [14][10]
Created on 26 December 1946, and led by Captain Vaido Viitre, the company consisted of 6 armed platoons and one staff platoon. Each platoon consisted of 4 squads, totalling 40 men; the staff platoon - medics, supplymen, cooks, carpenters, drivers, mechanics and secretaries, of 30 men.
The Nuremberg Trials, in declaring the Waffen SS a criminal organization, explicitly excluded conscripts in the following terms:
In 13 April, 1950, a message from the U.S. High Commission in Germany (HICOG), signed by John J. McCloy to the Secretary of State, clarified the US position on the "Baltic Legions:" they were not to be seen as "movements," "volunteer," or "SS." In short, they had not been given the training, indoctrination, and induction normally given to SS members.[16] Subsequently the US Displaced Persons Commission in September 1950 declared that:
In 2002, the Estonian government forced the removal of a monument to the division erected near the Estonian city of Pärnu. The inscription To Estonian men who fought in 1940-1945 against Bolshevism and for the restoration of Estonian independence. was the cause of the controversy. In 2004 the monument was reopened in Lihula but shortly after removed again because of the Estonian government opposed the opening. On 15 October 2005 the monument was finally opened in grounds of private museum located in Lagedi near Estonian capital Tallinn (See Monument of Lihula.)
On 22 May, 2004, the Jerusalem Post ran a story about the plans of some Estonian individuals to build a monument to the 20.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS. International outrage followed, due to the criminal status of the non-conscript Waffen-SS, after the Nuremberg Trials. One of Russia's chief Rabbis, Berl Lazar, condemned the action, stating it would breed anti-Semitism.
On 28 July, 2007, gathering of some 300 veterans of 20th Waffen-Grenadier-Division and of other units of Wehrmacht, including a few Waffen SS veterans from Austria and Norway, took place in Sinimäe, where the battle between German and Soviet armies had been particularly fierce in summer of 1944. This gathering takes place every year, and have had veterans from Estonia, Norway, Denmark, Austria and Germany visiting. [17].
According to Andrew Mollo, a British authority on the SS the Estonian SS were very different from other SS units: Estonia had been occupied by the Red Army in 1940, the Estonians fought for the independence of their country and were brought under the SS umbrella against their will. [18]
   | 20. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (estnische Nr.1) - Lexikon der Wehrmacht - 20. SS-Grenadier-Regiment |
| | 20. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (estnische Nr.1) - Axis History Factbook: 20. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (estnische Nr. 1) |
| | Volume 22, September 1946 - The Avalon Project : Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy |
| | mobilisation in Estonia - Estonica : History : Warfare in Estonia in 1944 |
| | Five Years of Dates - Foreign News: Five Years of Dates - TIME |
| | chronology at - Suomen-poikien perinneyhdistys ry |
| | Justice in The Baltic - RUSSIA: Justice in The Baltic - TIME |
| | Pavel Petrov - Puolustusvoimat: Kaleva-koneen tuhosta uutta tietoa |
| | Moscow's Week - RUSSIA: Moscow's Week - TIME |
|
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