The 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician) (german: 14. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS alizische Nr. 1}; uk, 14а Гренадерська Дивізія СС (1а галицька)), known as the 14th SS-Volunteer Division "Galicia" (german: 14. SS-Freiwilligen Division "Galizien", uk, 14а Добровільна Дивізія СС "Галичина") prior to 1944, was a World War II German military formation made up predominantly of military volunteers with a Ukrainian ethnic background from the area of

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

,Williamson Gordon, SS Hitler's Instrument of Terror, Amber books 1994, pp.123–4 later also with some

Slovaks The Slovaks ( sk, Slováci, singular: ''Slovák'', feminine: ''Slovenka'', plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovak. In Slovakia, 4.4 mi ...

. Formed in 1943, it was largely destroyed in the battle of Brody, reformed, and saw action in Slovakia, Yugoslavia, and Austria before being renamed the first division of the Ukrainian National Army and surrendering to the Western Allies by 10 May 1945.

Background

After World War I and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, the territory of Eastern Galicia (

Halychyna Galicia ()"Galicia"
'' Polish–Ukrainian War. Between the wars, the political allegiances of Ukrainians in eastern Galicia were divided between moderate national democrats and the more radical Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. The latter group itself splintered into two factions, the more moderate OUN-M led by Andriy Melnyk with close ties to German intelligence (

Abwehr The ''Abwehr'' (German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', but the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context; ) was the German military-intelligence service for the ''Reichswehr'' and the ''Wehrmacht'' from 1920 to 1944. A ...

), and the more radical OUN-B led by Stepan Bandera. When Poland was divided between Germany and the Soviet Union under the terms of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact in 1939, the territory of eastern Galicia was annexed to Soviet Ukraine. In 1941 it was occupied by Germany. Ukrainian leaders of various political persuasions recognised the need for a trained armed force. The Germans had earlier considered the formation of an armed force made up of Slavic people, but they decided this to be unacceptable as they regarded Slavs as sub-humans ('' untermenschen'') compared to the Germanic Übermenschen master race. At the beginning of 1943, growing losses inclined Nazi leaders to alter their initial opinions.

Organizing the division

The idea to organize a division of volunteers from Galicia was proposed by the German Governor of

District Galicia The District of Galicia (german: Distrikt Galizien, pl, Dystrykt Galicja, ua, Дистрикт Галичина) was a World War II administrative unit of the General Government created by Nazi Germany on 1 August 1941 after the start of O ...

, Dr. Otto von Wächter. He suggested creation of a Waffen-SS division composed of Galician volunteers and designed for regular combat on the Eastern Front. The creation of 14th Voluntary Division SS ''Galizien'' was announced in April 1943 at ceremonies throughout Galicia. At least 50 documents including contemporary newspaper clippings, radio broadcasts and speeches etc. record the date of 28 April. By June 1943 the first phase of recruitment had taken place. Initially Wächter's proposal (which he was certain would be supported by Ukrainian circles) was rejected. In Berlin Wächter was able to get support from Heinrich Himmler who made the stipulation that the division would only made up of Galicians, who Himmler considered "more Aryan-like".Hajke Wolf-Dietrich The Ukrainian Division "Galicia" Toronto, 1970 p. 17 The terms "Ukrainian", "Ukraine", could not be used when addressing the division, stressing the Imperial Austro-Hungarian heritage of the term "Galizien". David Marples suggests that the division was titled "Galicia" to avoid using the politically contentious term "Ukrainian," while historian Samuel W. Mitcham Jr. claims the term was chosen at the insistence of Hitler, which irritated many of the Slavic recruits." Wächter approached the Ukrainian Central Committee, a nonpolitical social welfare organization headed by Volodymyr Kubiyovych which supported the idea of the formation of the division. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church demanded the presence of its chaplains in the division, which was usually not permitted by the SS. Thus the Ukrainian division along with the Bosnian one became notable exceptions. Germans made three political concessions: It was stipulated that the division shall not be used to fight Western Allies, and would be used exclusively to "fight Bolsheviks". The other concession was in that its oath of allegiance to Hitler was conditional on the fight against Bolshevism and in the fact that Christian (mostly Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church) chaplains were integrated into the units and allowed to function (in the Waffen-SS, only the Bosnian division and

Sturmbrigade Wallonien The Walloon Legion (french: Légion Wallonie, "Wallonia Legion") was a unit of the German Army (''Wehrmacht'') and later of the Waffen-SS recruited among French-speaking collaborationists in German-occupied Belgium during World War II. It wa ...

had a clerical presence). The latter condition was instituted at the insistence of the division's organizers in order to minimize the risk of Nazi demoralization amongst the soldiers. Indeed, Nazi indoctrination was absent within the division. The creation of foreign SS units had been carried out previously in the name of fighting against communism; with

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, Flemish, Walloon, Dutch, Latvian,

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

, Croatian, and

Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...

units, among others, had been created. The creation of a Ukrainian SS division was perceived by many in Ukraine as a step towards the attainment of Ukrainian independence and attracted many volunteers.

The Division's support

The division enjoyed support from multiple political and religious groups within the western Ukrainian community. The division's prime organizer and highest ranking Ukrainian officer,

Dmytro Paliiv Dmytro ( uk, Дмитро́, Dmytró, ) is a Ukrainian name, derived from the Greek Demetrios. Nicknames of the name Dmytro include: Dima, Dimochka, Dimula, Dimusha, Dimusya, Metro (particularly in Canada), Mitya, Mitenka, Mityai, Mityaychik, Mityu ...

, who although he was a SS-Freiw. Haupsturmfuhrer was actually higher in rank than Yevhen Pobihushchyi, the division's commander, who held a higher rank of SS-Freiw. Sturmbannführer had been the leader of a small legal political party in the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

. Many of his colleagues had been members of the pre-war moderate, left-leaning democratic UNDO movement that before the war had also been opposed to the authoritarian OUN. The division also obtained moral support from officers of the exiled Polish-allied Ukrainian People's Republic such as General Mykhailo Omelianovych-Pavlenko.John A. Armstrong. (1963). ''Ukrainian Nationalism''. New York: Columbia University Press, pp. 170–175 The division was also strongly supported by Andriy Melnyk's moderate faction of the OUN, who saw it as a counterweight to the extremist Banderite-dominated UPA. The Bandera faction of the OUN-B opposed the idea of creating the division, in part because it was an organization outside its control, and had claimed in its propaganda that the division was to be used by the Germans as cannon fodder. Nevertheless, it did not interfere in its formation and once the division was formed it sent some of its members, a number of whom would obtain prominent positions, into the division in order for them to gain military training and to prevent it from completely getting out of their hands. Despite this infiltration, Bandera's OUN failed to gain control over the division. It also had the support of both the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. Among its members was a son of Mstyslav Skrypnyk, the Orthodox Bishop of Kyiv.

Commanders and personnel

The Division SS "Galizien" was commanded by German, Austrian and Ukrainian officers.Mitcham, p162 Training for the recruits began within the SS-Special Purpose Training Battalion (''SS-Ausbildungs-Battalion'' z.b.V), commanded by ''SS Sturmbannführer'' Bernard Bartlet while the man appointed to oversee the forming of the division was General Walter Schimana (until October 1943). Schimana never commanded the actual division, as up until the point of his departure it was still a training battalion, staffed mostly by temporary training personnel. According to his SS officer file from 20 October 1944 and NOT From 20 November 1943 it was led by SS- Brigadier General Fritz Freitag.

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Wolf Dietrich Heike (temporarily seconded from the Wehrmacht) was the chief of staff from January 1944. Among the staff of the division Yevhen Pobihushchyi, a Ukrainian Wehrmacht officer who had been arrested following the dissolution of

Schutzmannschaft Battalion 201 The ''Schutzmannschaft'' Battalion 201 was a World War II Ukrainian ''Schutzmannschaft'' auxiliary police battalion formed by Nazi Germany on 21 October 1941, predominantly from the soldiers of Ukrainian Nachtigall Battalion dissolved two mont ...

and previously commanded both Schutzmannschaft Battalion 201 and the

Roland Battalion The Roland Battalion (german: Battalion Ukrainische Gruppe Roland), officially known as Special Group Roland,Abbot, Peter. ''Ukrainian Armies 1914-55'', p.47. Osprey Publishing, 2004. was a subunit under the command of the German military intel ...

. In total an estimated c. 53,000 men enlisted for service in the division. Of these, 42,000 were called up during the first 'recruitment phase' which took place in May and June 1943 from which only 27,000 were deemed fit for military service and 13,000 were enlisted. To boost the recruitment figures the height minimum requirement was lowered from 1.65m to 1.61m. The most highly decorated officer of the division was Captain Volodymyr Kozak. 1943 hofscheller

Stanowisko armaty przeciwpancernej Pak 38 kal

Deployment

Anti-partisans actions with ''Kampfgruppe Beyersdorff''

In mid-February 1944, the division received an order to form a battle group known as SS

Kampfgruppe In military history, the German term (pl. ; abbrev. KG, or KGr in usage during World War II, literally "fighting group" or "battle group") can refer to a combat formation of any kind, but most usually to that employed by the of Nazi Germa ...

Beyersdorff for action against Soviet and Polish partisans. It operated in the Zamość area together with elements of the 5th Regiment, while elements of the 4th Regiment were sent to the Brody area. The SS Kampfgruppe performed its duty well enough that it earned the rare praise of German Field Marshal Walter Model.*

Brody

In July the division was sent to the area of Brody, where heavy combat was under way, and was attached to the 13th Army Corps. Together with six under-strength German infantry divisions, the Galicia Division was responsible for holding a frontage of approximately . On 8 July, the 13th Corps was transferred to the 1st Panzer Army. The Galician Division was placed in reserve. Deployed at Brody were the division's 29th, 30th, 31st regiments, a fusilier and engineering battalion, and its artillery regiment. The 14th SS Field Replacement Battalion was deployed behind the other units. On 13 July, Soviet forces under the command of Marshal Ivan Konev launched their attack. By the next day, they routed a German division to the north of the 13th Corps and swept back an attempted German counterattack. On 15 July, the

1st First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and 8th Panzer Divisions along with a single regiment from the Galicia Division (WGR 30) were deployed in a counterattack against the Soviet penetration in the Koltiv area by the Soviet Second Air Army, who in only a five-hour period flew 3,288 aircraft sorties and dropped 102 tons of bombs on them as they attempted a counterattack. On 18 July, the division's Field Replacement Battalion largely escaped the encirclement so that 11 officers 54 NCOs and 954 were reported by the battalion commander as having escaped on 21 July 1944 and fled west, whilst the remainder of 13th Corps, consisting of over 30,000 German and Ukrainian soldiers, was surrounded by the Soviets within the Brody pocket. Within the pocket, the Galician troops were tasked with defending the eastern perimeter near the castle and town of Pidhirtsy and Olesko. The Soviets sought to collapse the Brody pocket by focusing their attack of what they perceived to be its weakest point, this was not the relatively inexperienced Galician Division, it was in fact the 349 Infantry division which its own War Diary and the War Diary of 4 Panzer Army reveal unequivocally suffered devastating losses in the initial Soviet offensive which is why the 14 Galician Division was committed piece-meal to reinforce the 349 I.D's sector of the front. The 29th and 30th regiments of the division, supported by the division's artillery regiment, put up unexpectedly fierce resistance. Pidhirtsy changed hands several times before the Galicians were finally overwhelmed by the late afternoon, and at Olesko a major Soviet attack using T-34 tanks was repulsed by the division's Fusilier and Engineer battalions. On 20 July, the German divisions within the pocket attempted a breakout which failed partly because the rain in the previous day had made the roads impassable for the armour of III Panzer Corps which was striking north to relieve the entrapped forces despite early successes. By this point the Division's 30 and 31st regiments were destroyed in fighting. A second German breakout attempt that began at 1:00 am on 21 July ended in failure. to the west of the pocket, however, a German Panzergrenadier regiment actually called the '8 Panzer Division' broke through Soviet lines and briefly established contact with the Brody pocket, resulting in a message sent at 19.07 hrs on 21 July from XXXXVIII.Pz.Kps to 1 Panzer Army reporting "5,000 men from XIII.AK. having been rescued" – followed by a second message sent on 23 July reporting 8–10,000 men and finally on 26 July 8. Panzer Division reported it had "picked up approximately 15,000 soldiers", including approximately 400 Galicians, before being repulsed. By the end of that day, in the face of overwhelming Soviet attacks, the 14th Division as a whole disintegrated. Late on 19 July its German commander, Fritz Freitag, resigned his command and was called in for service with XIII.A.K. staff. Command of the division was then given to General Lindemann the commander of the 361.Inf.div. Freitag remained with the Corps staff and did not form a battle group and head south Some Ukrainian assault groups remained intact, others joined German units, and others fled or melted away. The Ukrainian 14th SS Fusilier battalion, which at this point had also largely disintegrated, came to form the rearguard of what was left of the entire 13th Corps. Holding the town of Bilyi Kamin, it enabled units or stragglers to escape to the south and was able to withstand several Soviet attempts to overwhelm it. By the evening of 21 July, it remained the only intact unit north of the Bug River even though several of its former members for example Mykola Fylypovych recorded that 'by 19 July there was chaos in the fusilier battalion no command, no orders, no ammunition'. In the early morning of 22 July, the 14th Fusilier battalion abandoned Bilye Kamin. The Brody pocket was now only long and wide. The German and Galician soldiers were instructed to attack with everything they had by moving forward until they broke through or were destroyed. Fighting was fierce and desperate. The German and Ukrainian soldiers surging south were able to overwhelm the Soviet and its infantry support, and to escape by the thousands. The remaining pocket collapsed by the evening of 22 July. Despite the severity of the fighting, the division disintegrated having sustained enormous losses and having lost one regimental commander killed (Paul Herms Kdr WGR 31) and one wounded (Friedrich Dern kdr WHR 29) on 19 July causing Freitag to resign his command. Of the approximately 11,000 Galician soldiers deployed at Brody, about 3,000 were able to almost immediately re-enter the division. Approx 7,400 were posted as "Missing in combat". It has been mistakenly suggested that the losses for the 14th SS Division in Brody, which ran at 73%, were higher than the rest of the Corps. The other battle-hardened German units which had formed XIII.A.K. produced similar casualty reports. About 5,000 men of Korpsabteilung 'C' which formed the spearhead of the breakout forces escaped the encirclement with sidearms but without vehicles, horses, and other weapons, supplies, and equipment. A total of 73 officers and 4,059 NCOs and men were listed as killed or missing. By comparison, the 361st Infantry Division which deployed fewer troops at the beginning of the battle than the Galician Division and together with it formed the rearguard, suffered equal losses. Between 16 and 22 July, it sustained almost as many casualties with total losses amounting to 6,310 officers and men (dead, missing or wounded). The necessary manpower required to rebuild this and the other German formations was not available and they were subsequently disbanded and the survivors incorporated into other divisions. Although 73% of its personnel did not return to the division, the most recent research suggests that upward of 2,000 Ukrainian men survived but chose to join the Ukrainian partisans. Others deserted and returned to civilian whilst a relatively small number joined other units and remained with them until the end of the war. Some were also taken prisoner. On this basis the number of Ukrainians who were neither killed nor taken prisoner was in actuality closer to 6,000 men – meaning its actual loss ratio was not as high as any of the German units involved whose personnel were either killed, or captured. As for XIII.A.K., the final report of the Corps's liquidation commission (applicable to its regular army units only) recorded 21,766 killed or missing in action, which together with the 7,000 killed or missing men from the Galician Division brings to the total lost to about 29,000. This figure corresponds with General Lange's own estimate of a total of 25–30,000 killed in the encirclement. On the other hand, the recently declassified secret Soviet General Staff report states that during the course of the battle their forces destroyed more than 30,000 soldiers and officers, 85 tanks and self-propelled guns, over 500 guns of various calibres, 476 mortars, 705 machine guns, 12,000 rifles and submachine guns, 5,843 vehicles, 183 tractors and trailers and 2,430 motorcycles and bicycles. It also claims that over 17,000 soldiers and officers were taken prisoner, 28 tanks and self-propelled guns were captured, as were over 500 guns of various calibres, more than 600 mortars, 483 machine guns, 11,000 rifles and sub-machine guns, over 1,500 vehicles, 98 tractors and trailers, 376 motorcycles and bicycles, in excess of 3,000 horses and 28 warehouses full of military goods. Such reports often included grossly inaccurate estimations and were even regarded by Soviet leaders as suspect. An estimated total number of survivors of all XIII.A.K. units has been given by the adjutant of the 349th Infantry Division as 15,000 officers and men, while a slightly lower figure of 12,000 was subsequently given by Oberst Wilck.

The division in Slovakia

The Germans rebuilt the division over two months using primarily forced conscripts. From the end of September 1944, the division was used against the Slovak National Uprising. Units of the 14th SS Division Galizien were sent to help quash the Slovakian rebellion. Various divisional battle groups (Kampfgruppen) were formed to actively search out and destroy Slovak partisans. In the German Federal Archives in Koblenz, there are numerous police and SS intelligence reports which consistently reported serious problems between the Ukrainian SS men and the local Slovak population. According to one such report of December 1944, “In general much is currently being said amongst the Slovak population about the Ukrainian soldiers now stationed in Slovakia. It can be taken from these discussions that these soldiers in general are not much liked. In Slovak circles, hostile to Germany, they are considered mercenaries, who are not fighting for the ideals of a new Europe, rather simply for personal enrichment through robbery and plunder. Even circles friendly to Germany complain passionately about this formation”. Another Germans Sicherheitdienst report said, “The Slovaks in general complain about the Ukrainians, that they are a bunch of crooks who are responsible for numerous misdeeds. According to reports from many Slovaks we have learned that the Ukrainians complain about the Bolsheviks and always say that they are much more trouble than the Germans. Some of the Ukrainians, according to the Slovak statements, are particularly unreliable and it's said that they are even doing deals with the Partisans. Slovak circles, particularly amongst farmers have reacted with great relief to the news that all of the Ukrainian military forces will be withdrawn from Slovakia and replaced with Hungarian soldiers. The population in the countryside would be very pleased, as they say that the Hungarians are much more reasonable, that is more humane, than the Ukrainians.” There is plenty of evidence of considerable problems with the divisions ill discipline and misconduct from other sources. The divisional commander even requested powers to shoot Ukrainian SS members without trial because he considered their conduct to be so bad in particular they had a tendency to desert and actively assist the Slovak partisans. Dr Jan Korcek, the Slovak Military Historical Institute in Bratislava's special authority on Nazi forces active during the Slovak National Uprising, details nine separate incidents where Slovak researchers held the 14th SS Division Galizien responsible for crimes against the Slovak population. The Slovak State Archives in Bratislava also have lots of useful background material that prove the war crimes of the SS Galicia in Slovakia. The

Museum of the Slovak National Uprising Museum of the Slovak National Uprising ( sk, Múzeum Slovenského národného povstania) is a museum in Banská Bystrica that commemorates the Slovak National Uprising, an antifascist revolt during World War II World War II or the ...

in Banska Bystrica contains further proof of these events. Members of the Ukrainian SS division, particularly those of the

Kampfgruppe Wittenmayer of the Galician Division In military history, the German term (pl. ; abbrev. KG, or KGr in usage during World War II, literally "fighting group" or "battle group") can refer to a combat formation of any kind, but most usually to that employed by the of Nazi Germa ...

, were certainly involved in killings and reprisals against the civilian population. The Wittenmayer unit was involved in an attack on the village of Smrecany, burning down the village as a reprisal for allegedly helping the partisans. There was an attack by the same unit on the village of Nizna Boca, where the Ukrainian SS men stormed into the pub, interrogated the men folk and then executed 5 villagers as alleged partisans. One of them,

Cyril Zahradnik Cyril (also Cyrillus or Cyryl) is a masculine given name. It is derived from the Greek name Κύριλλος (''Kýrillos''), meaning 'lordly, masterful', which in turn derives from Greek κυριος (''kýrios'') 'lord'. There are various varia ...

, was just 15 years old and died calling out for his mummy. He was arrested for having a Russian coin in his pocket and shot in the spot. Of course no one was allowed to be a partisan until they reached the age of 18. The men responsible were SS troops along with

Hlinka Guardists Hlinka (feminine Hlinková) is a Czech and Slovak surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Andrej Hlinka, Slovak politician and Catholic priest *Ivan Hlinka, Czech ice hockey player and coach *Jaroslav Hlinka, Czech ice hockey player *Ji ...

that is to say Slovaks wo served with the Germans although the report does not identify anyone by name even though some of the Hlinka Guards were local men. The Kampfgruppe Wittenmayer was an SS unit of the 14th SS Division and wore SS uniform. More evidence for the Wittenmayer unit's involvement in the massacre at Nizna Boca is contained in documents now held in the

Czech State Archives Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

in Prague. There are extremely detailed German military situation intelligence reports sent daily from Bratislava to the German military command in Prague during the course of the Slovak uprising and its aftermath. These daily reports give exceptional accuracy as to the precise movements of the Wittenmayer unit throughout their anti- partisan campaign and are unequivocal.Michaelis, Rolf "Esten, Russen und Ukrainer in der Waffen-SS" Winkelried-Verlag 2006 The only Nazi unit in Nizna Boca on the day of the massacre was the Wittenmayer unit. On the very day the civilians were massacred the report stated, “Kampfgruppe Wittenmayer in process of occupying Nizna Boca (10 km S of Krl. Lehota). Road between Rosenberg and Poprad therefore now free of the enemy. The Ukrainian volunteers of the 14 Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS used in the operation fought excellently.” Боляновський А.В. Дивізія «Галичина»: історія — Львів, 2000. -page 234 There is unequivocal evidence that some units of the Galician Division in Slovakia did commit war crimes during their service for the Nazis and that there were serious problems with their discipline and conduct during their suppression of the Slovak National Uprising. Some of the Galician units were involved in terrible atrocities throughout their existence, in Brody district, in Poland and in Slovakia. This is why neither the post war Ukrainian, Polish or Slovak governments all of which were controlled directly by the Soviets ever filed a formal accusation of war crimes against the division or any or its personnel. Many of the personnel volunteered to serve in Slovakia, hoping to find friends and relatives among a large group of refugees from Galicia that had been admitted to Slovakia shortly before the uprising. The first unit, a battlegroup formed from one battalion of the 29th regiment with auxiliary units, arrived 28 September 1944. Eventually all divisional units were transferred to Slovakia. From 15 October 1944 they formed two Kampfgruppe, Wittenmayer and Wildner. (Both of approx reinforced battalion strength)The division operated in coordination with a kampfgruppe from the

SS Division Horst Wessel The 18th SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division "Horst Wessel" (german: 18. SS-Freiwilligen Panzergrenadier-Division "Horst Wessel")Official designation in German language as to „Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv“ in Freiburg im Breisgau, stores o ...

, whilst on paper the SS-Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger was subordinated directly to it but its commander ignored all instructions he received and continued to act independently, the Vlasov detachment and other SS and SD formations until 5 February 1945. According to Slovak historian K. Fremal, the division's "members were helping in anti-partisan, repressive, and terrorist actions and committed murders and other excesses" The overall degree of criminality was less than that of

Einsatzgruppe H Einsatzgruppe H was one of the ''Einsatzgruppen'', the paramilitary death squads of Nazi Germany. A special task force of more than 700 soldiers, it was created at the end of August 1944 to deport or murder the remaining Jews in Slovakia followi ...

or the Slovak collaborationist Hlinka Guard Emergency Divisions. About 200 soldiers deserted from the division while it was in Slovakia; many joined the Slovak partisans who clearly hated them as they had just spent months terrorising them and committing wanton crimes against the local civilians but remarkably still allowed them to join their ranks.

Anti-partisans actions on the Slovenian-Austrian border

In the end of January 1945, it was moved to Slovenia, where from the end of February until the end of March 1945, it together with other Army, SS and Polizei formations fought Yugoslav Partisans in the

Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...

and Carinthia (province) areas near the Austrian-Slovenian border. During this time, the division absorbed the 31 SD Schutzmannschafts Battalion, also known as the Ukrainian Self Defense legion.WOLF-DIETRICH HEIKE.UKRAINISCHE DIVISION "GALIZIEN". Geschichte der Aufstellung und des Einsatzes (1943–1945) 1970 When on 31 March Soviet forces commenced an attack from Hungary into Austria that ruptured the German front, the division was ordered to advance northward to Gleichenberg in a desperate attempt to halt the Soviet advance.

Graz

From 1 April until the end of the war, with a strength of 14,000 combat troops and 8,000 soldiers in a Training and Replacement Regiment, the division fought against the Red Army in the region of

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

in Austria where in early April it seized the castle and village of Gleichenberg from Soviet forces (including elite Soviet airborne troops from the 3rd Guards Airborne Division) during a counterattack and on 15 April repulsed a Soviet counterattack. The division at this time maintained a 13-km front. During one critical situation, Freitag became so alarmed by the developments at the front, that in the presence of the commander of the 1st Cavalry Corps General der Kavallerie Harteneck, he reacted instinctively and announced his abdication as Divisional commander and responsibility for its performance in action – as he had done at Brody. General Harteneck refused Freitag's resignation and ordered him to remain at his post. Due to his performance during the battles surrounding Gleichenberg, Waffen- Obersturmführer Ostap Czuczkewycz was awarded the Iron Cross, 1st class. The division suffered casualties while in Austria, with an estimated 1,600 killed or wounded.

1st Ukrainian Division UNA

On 17 March 1945, Ukrainian émigrés established the Ukrainian National Committee to represent the interests of Ukrainians to the Third Reich. Simultaneously, the Ukrainian National Army, commanded by general Pavlo Shandruk, was created. The Galician Division nominally became the 1st Division of the Ukrainian National Army, although the German Army's High command continued to list it as the Ukrainian 14th SS Grenadier Division in its order of battle. The division surrendered to British and US forces by 10 May 1945.

Rimini

Most of the Ukrainian soldiers were interned in Rimini, Italy, in the area controlled by the II Polish Corps. The UNA commander Pavlo Shandruk requested a meeting with Polish general Władysław Anders a prewar Polish Army colleague, asking him to protect the army against the deportation to Soviet Union. There is credible evidence that despite Soviet pressure, Anders managed to protect the Ukrainian troops, as former citizens of the Second Republic of Poland. This, together with the intervention of the Vatican prevented its members from being deported to the USSR. Bishop Buchko of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church had appealed to

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

to intervene on behalf of the division, whom he described as "good Catholics and fervent anti-Communists". Due to Vatican intervention, the British authorities changed the status of the division members from POW to surrendered enemy personnel. 176 soldiers of the division, mainly prewar Polish Army officers followed their commander in joining Władysław Anders's Polish army. Former soldiers of SS "Galizien" were allowed to immigrate to Canada and the United Kingdom in 1947. The names of about 8,000 men from the division who were admitted to the UK have been stored in the so-called "Rimini List". Despite several requests of various lobby groups, the details of the list have never been publicly released, however the list is available on line and the original List is available for public inspection at the Schevchenko Archive in Linden Gardens London. In 2003 the anti-terrorist branch of

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

launched an investigation into people from the list by cross-referencing NHS patient, social security and pensions records; however, the order to release confidential medical records was met with outcry from

civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may ...

groups.

Atrocities

Although the Waffen-SS as a whole was declared to be a criminal organization at the Nuremberg Trials, the Galizien Division has not specifically been found guilty of any war crimes by any war tribunal or commission. However, numerous accusations of impropriety have been leveled at the division, and at particular members of the division, from a variety of sources. It is difficult to determine the extent of war criminality among members of the division.Howard Margolian. (2000). ''Unauthorized Entry: The Truth about Nazi War Criminals in Canada, 1946–1956.'' Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2000. . pp. 132–145 If prior service in Nazi police units is a measure of criminality, only a small number were recruited from established police detachments. Among those who had transferred from police detachments, some had been members of a coastal defence unit that had been stationed in France, while others came from two police battalions that had been formed in the spring of 1943, too late to have participated in the murder of Ukraine's Jews. According to Howard Margolian, there is no evidence that these units participated in anti-partisan operations or reprisals prior to their inclusion into the division. However, before their service within the police battalions, a number of recruits are alleged to have been in Ukrainian irregular formations that are alleged to have committed atrocities against Jews and Communists. Nevertheless, in their investigations of the division, both the Canadian government and the Canadian Jewish Congress failed to find hard evidence to support the notion that it was rife with criminal elements. The division did destroy several Polish communities in western Ukraine during the winter and spring of 1944. Timothy Snyder. (2004) ''The Reconstruction of Nations.'' New Haven: Yale University Press: pp. 165–166 Specifically, the 4th and 5th SS Police Regiments have been accused of murdering Polish civilians in the course of anti-guerilla activity. At the time of their actions, those units were not yet under Divisional command, but were under German police command.Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
''Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army'', Chapter 5, p. 284
Accessed 9 September 2009
Archived
11 September 2009. Yale historian Timothy Snyder noted that the division's role in the Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia was limited, because the murders were primarily carried out by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. In a speech to the soldiers of the 1st Galician division, Heinrich Himmler stated: In June 2013, Associated Press published an article stating that an American, Michael Karkoc, who was alleged to be a former "deputy company commander" in the division, was implicated in war crimes committed before he joined the division in 1945. According to Associated Press, before joining the Division Karkoc had served as a "lieutenant" of the 2nd Company of the German SS Police-led Ukrainian Self Defense Legion (USDL). The USDL was a paramilitary police organization in the Schutzmannschaft. Karkoc was found living in Lauderdale, Minnesota. He had arrived in the United States in 1949 and became a naturalized citizen in 1959.

Huta Pieniacka

The Polish historian Grzegorz Motyka has stated that the Germans formed several SS police regiments (numbered from 4 to 8) which included "Galizien" in their name. Those police regiments joined the division in Spring 1944. On 23 February 1944, before being incorporated into the division, the 4th and 5th police regiments had participated in anti-guerrilla action at

Huta Pieniacka Huta Pieniacka ( uk, Гута Пеняцька, ) – was an ethnic Polish village of about 1,000 inhabitants until 1939, located in Tarnopol Voivodeship, Poland (modern-day Zolochiv Raion, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine). The site of what was once the vil ...

, against Soviet and Polish

Armia Krajowa The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...

partisans in the village of Huta Pieniacka, which had also served as a shelter for Jews and as a fortified centre for Polish and Soviet guerrillas. Huta Pieniacka was a Polish self-defence outpost, organized by inhabitants of the village and sheltering civilian refugees from Volhynia. On 23 February 1944, two members of a detachment of the division were shot by the self-defense forces.Michael James Melnyk. (2007). ''To Battle: The Formation and History of the 14th Waffen-SS Grenadier Division''. Helion and Company. Chapter 5. Five days later, a mixed force of Ukrainian police and German soldiers shelled the village before entering it and ordering all the civilians to gather together. In the ensuing massacre, the village of Huta Pienacka was destroyed, and between 500 and 1,000 of the inhabitants were killed. According to Polish accounts, civilians were locked in barns that were set on fire, while those attempting to flee were killed.http://www.ipn.gov.pl/portal/en/19/188/Investigation_of_the_Crime_Committed_at_the_Village_of_Huta_Pieniacka.html. Accessed 3 September 2009
Archived
3 September 2009. Polish witness accounts state that the soldiers were accompanied by Ukrainian nationalists (paramilitary unit under Włodzimierz Czerniawski's command), which included members of the UPA, as well as inhabitants of nearby villages who took property from households. The

NASU Institute of History of Ukraine Institute of History of Ukraine is a research institute in Ukraine that is part of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine department of history, philosophy and law and studies a wide spectrum of problems in history of Ukraine. The institute i ...

of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine concluded that the 4th and 5th SS Galizien Police regiments did kill the civilians within the village, but added that the grisly reports by eyewitnesses in the Polish accounts were "hard to come up with" and that the likelihood was "difficult to believe". The institute also noted that, at the time of the massacre, the police regiments were not under 14th division command, but rather under German police command (specifically, under German Sicherheitsdienst and SS command of the

General Government The General Government (german: Generalgouvernement, pl, Generalne Gubernatorstwo, uk, Генеральна губернія), also referred to as the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (german: Generalgouvernement für die be ...

Institute of Ukrainian History Institute of History of Ukraine is a research institute in Ukraine that is part of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine department of history, philosophy and law and studies a wide spectrum of problems in history of Ukraine. The institute i ...

, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
''Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army''
Chapter 5, pp. 284 . Accessed 3 September 2009
Archived
4 September 2009. The Polish Institute of National Remembrance stated: "According to the witness' testimonies, and in the light of the collected documentation, there is no doubt that the 4th battalion 'Galizien' of the 14th division of SS committed the crime"

Pidkamin and Palikrowy

The village of

Pidkamin Pidkamin ( uk, Підкамінь, pl, Podkamień) is an urban-type settlement in Zolochiv Raion (district), Lviv oblast in Ukraine. It is located near the administrative border of three oblasts, Lviv, Rivne, and Ternopil. Pidkamin hosts the ad ...

was the site of a monastery where Poles sought shelter from the encroaching front. On 11 March 1944, around 2,000 people, the majority of whom were women and children, were seeking refuge there when the monastery was attacked by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (unit under

Maksym Skorupsky Maksym Skorupsky ( uk, Максим Скорупський; also known by his pseudonym Maks) (November 12, 1912 – December 11, 1985) was a Ukrainian military leader of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. Biography Born in the village of Anto ...

command), allegedly cooperating with an SS-Galizien unit. The next day, 12 March, the monastery was captured and civilians were murdered (at night part of the population managed to escape). From 12 to 16 March, other civilians were also killed in the town of Pidkamin. Estimates of victims range from 150, by Polish historian Grzegorz Motyka, Grzegorz Motyka, Ukraińska Partyzantka 1942–1960, Warszawa 2006, p. str. 181, 385 to 250, according to the researchers of the Institute of History of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. Members of another SS-Galizien sub-unit also participated in the execution of Polish civilians in Palykorovy, located in the Lwów area ( Lviv oblast) near

(former

Tarnopol Voivodeship Tarnopol Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo tarnopolskie) was an administrative region of interwar Poland (1918–1939), created on 23 December 1920, with an area of 16,500 km² and provincial capital in Tarnopol (now ''Ternopil'', Ukraine). The voi ...

). It is estimated that 365 ethnic Poles were murdered, including women and children.

The Canadian Deschênes Commission

The Canadian " Commission of Inquiry on War Crimes" of October 1986, by the Honourable Justice

Jules Deschênes Jules Deschênes, (June 7, 1923 – May 10, 2000) was a Canadian Quebec Superior Court judge. Born in Montreal, to Wilfrid Deschênes and Berthe Bérard, he completed grade school under the supervision of les Clercs de Saint-Viateur and class ...

concluded that in relation to membership in the Galicia Division: The commission considered the International Military Tribunal's verdict at the Nuremberg Trials, at which the entire Waffen-SS organisation was declared a "criminal organization" guilty of war crimes. Also, in its conclusion, the Deschênes Commission only referred to the division as ''14. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (Galizische Nr.1)'' but rejected such a principle.

Division's names

The division during its short history changed its name a number of times, being known as: * SS Schützen Division "Galizien" or Galizien Division – from 30 July 1943 to August 1943 (during recruitment) * SS Freiwilligen Division "Galizien" – from August 1943 to 27 July 1944 (during training) * 14. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (Galizische Nr.1) – from August 1944 to the Winter of 1944 * 14. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (ukrainische Nr.1) – from the Winter of 1944 to Spring 1945 * 1st Ukrainian Division of the Ukrainian National Army – from Spring 1945.

Formation

* Waffen

Grenadier A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word '' grenade'') was originally a specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in battle. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when grenadiers were recruited fr ...

Regiment der SS 29 * Waffen-Grenadier Regiment der SS 30 * Waffen-Grenadier Regiment der SS 31 * Waffen-Artillery Regiment der SS 14 * SS-Waffen-Füsilier-Battalion 14 * SS-Waffen- Panzerjäger Company 14 * SS-Volunteer- Flak Battalion 14 * Waffen Signals Battalion der SS 14 * SS-Radfahr-Battalion 14 * Waffen-Pionier-Battalion der SS 14 * SS-Versorgungs-Company 14 * SS-Division-Signals Troop 14 * SS Medical Battalion 14 * SS-Veterinary Company 14 * SS-Field post department 14 * SS-War Reporter platoon 14 * SS

Feldgendarmerie The ''Feldgendarmerie'' (, "field gendarmerie") were a type of military police units of the armies of the Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony (german: Königreich Sachsen), lasting from 1806 to 1918, was an independent member of a number o ...

troop 14

Legacy

The 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician) is today honored by many Ukrainian nationalists. Since 2010 every year on 28 April a march is held to celebrate the foundation of the division. In addition streets were named after the division in

Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk ( uk, Іва́но-Франкі́вськ, translit=Iváno-Frankívśk ), formerly Stanyslaviv ( pl, Stanisławów ; german: Stanislau), is a city located in Western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk O ...

(Ukrains`koi Dyvizii Street) and Ternopil (Soldiers Division "Galicia" Street).

In Canada

The granite memorial ''Pam”iatnyk Slavy UPA'' ( English: ''Monument to the Glory of the UPA'') was inaugurated on 26 May 1988 in

St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Cemetery St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Cemetery, marketed as West Oak Memorial Gardens, is a cemetery in Oakville, Ontario, established in 1984. According to the cemetery's website, it is operated by St. Volodymyr Cathedral. The cemetery offers both in ground b ...

in the Canadian city of Oakville. The emblem of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician) was added to the memorial soon after. On 22 June 2020 the monument was vandalized when someone painted "Nazi war monument" on it. On 17 July of that year, it was announced by the Halton Regional Police that this was being investigated as a

hate crime A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...

before being walked back soon after.There is also a monument to the division in St. Michael's Cemetery in Edmonton. In 2021 it was vandalized with "nazi monument" painted on one side and "14th Waffen SS" on the other.

References

Notes

Footnotes

Bibliography

* Wolf-Dietrich Heike. The Ukrainian Division 'Galicia', 1943–45, A Memoir. (audiobook) Shevchenko Scientific Society. (1988) * Jurij Kyryczuk, "" in "Polska-Ukraina" vol 6., Karta, Warszawa 2002, , pp. 244–266 * Caballero Jurado, Carlos. Breaking the Chains: 14 Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS and Other Ukrainian Volunteer Formations, Eastern Front, 1941–45. Halifax, West Yorkshire: Shelf Books, 1998 * * * * * * * Melnyk, Michael James, The History of the Galician Division of the Waffen SS: On the Eastern Front: April 1943 to July 1944, Fonthill Media, 2016, * Melnyk, Michael James, The History of the Galician Division of the Waffen SS: Stalin's Nemesis, Fonthill Media, 2016. * * * Per Anders Rudling, ''They Defended Ukraine': The 14. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (Galizische Nr. 1) Revisited'', The Journal of Slavic Military Studies, 25:3, 329–36
online version
* * * The Ukrainian Division Halychyna by Dr. Roman Serbyn {{DEFAULTSORT:14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Ukrainian) #14 Military history of Ukraine during World War II * Military units and formations established in 1943 Foreign volunteer units of the Waffen-SS Infantry divisions of the Waffen-SS Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 District of Galicia Collaboration with the Axis Powers