SS Heimwehr "Danzig" was an SS unit established in the

Free City of Danzig The Free City of Danzig (german: Freie Stadt Danzig; pl, Wolne Miasto Gdańsk; csb, Wòlny Gard Gduńsk) was a city-state under the protection of the League of Nations between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig (now Gda ...

(today Gdańsk and environs,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

) before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It fought with the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

against the Polish Army during the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

, and some of its members committed a massacre of Polish civilians. After this it became part of the 3rd SS ''Totenkopf'' Division and ceased to exist as an independent unit. Also known as Heimwehr Danzig (Danzig Home Defense), it was officially established on 20 June 1939, when the Danzig senate under Albert Forster decided to set up its own armed force; a cadre of this new unit primarily formed the Danzig SS Wachsturmbann "Eimann".

History

Reichsführer-SS (, ) was a special title and rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945 for the commander of the (SS). ''Reichsführer-SS'' was a title from 1925 to 1933, and from 1934 to 1945 it was the highest rank of the SS. The longest-servi ...

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

supported this project and sent SS-''

Obersturmbannführer __NOTOC__ ''Obersturmbannführer'' (Senior Assault-unit Leader; ; short: ''Ostubaf'') was a paramilitary rank in the German Nazi Party (NSDAP) which was used by the SA (''Sturmabteilung'') and the SS (''Schutzstaffel''). The rank of ''Obersturm ...

'' Hans Friedemann Götze to Danzig. Goetze was the commander of the III. Sturmbann (Battalion) of the 4th ''SS-Totenkopfstandarte'' "Ostmark," established in October 1938 in Berlin-Adlersheim. The III. Sturmbann was strengthened with the help of anti-tank defense forces (the Panzerabwehr-Lehrsturm of the ''SS- Totenkopfstandarten'') as well as about 500 additional volunteers from Danzig who named their new unit SS Sturmbann "Goetze". It was formed to conduct police actions in and around Danzig. The Danzig SS-men had been members a special SS troop established in July 1939 - the Wachsturmbann "Eimann" - and at the beginning of August this self-named Sturmbann "Goetze" reached the peninsula at the mouth of the Vistula called the Danzig Westerplatte. There it hid on German ships, including the naval training ship . The

Volksdeutsche In Nazi German terminology, ''Volksdeutsche'' () were "people whose language and culture had German origins but who did not hold German citizenship". The term is the nominalised plural of '' volksdeutsch'', with ''Volksdeutsche'' denoting a sin ...

(ethnic Germans) in Danzig founded the 1,550-man strong Heimwehr Danzig (Danzig Militia). On 1 September 1939, German troops attacked Poland. The Heimwehr Danzig took part under German Army commandStein (1984), p. 28 and in the process captured the Polish post office after fifteen hours; an event which

Günter Grass Günter Wilhelm Grass (born Graß; ; 16 October 1927 – 13 April 2015) was a German novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor, and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was born in the Free City of Da ...

dedicated a chapter of his novel ''

The Tin Drum ''The Tin Drum'' (german: Die Blechtrommel, ) is a 1959 novel by Günter Grass. The novel is the first book of Grass's ' ('' Danzig Trilogy''). It was adapted into a 1979 film, which won both the 1979 Palme d'Or and the Academy Award for Bes ...

'' to. During the attacks, the German forces used

ADGZ The Steyr ADGZ was an Austrian-German heavy armored car used during World War II. It was originally designed for the Austrian Army (its designation was "M35 Mittlerer Panzerwagen") from 1934, and delivered in 1935–1937. History The Austrian a ...

armoured cars, 75mm and 105mm artillery and flamethrowers against Polish forces armed with pistols, rifles, light machine guns and grenades. The SS-Heimwehr Danzig participated in the attack on the Danzig Westerplatte, and already was considered a part of the 3rd SS ''Totenkopf'' Division then forming under

Theodor Eicke Theodor Eicke (17 October 1892 – 26 February 1943) was a senior SS functionary and Waffen SS divisional commander during the Nazi era. He was one of the key figures in the development of Nazi concentration camps. Eicke served as the seco ...

. Later, it provided coast guard services in Danzig. On 8 September members of the SS Heimwehr Danzig killed 33 Polish civilians in the village of Książki.Sydnor (1990), p. 44 Other such militias were also involved in war crimes perpetrated on Polish civilians. On 30 September 1939, the Heimwehr became part of the

3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf The 3rd SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf" (german: 3. SS-Panzerdivision "Totenkopf") was an elite division of the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II, formed from the Standarten of the SS-TV. Its name, ''Totenkopf'', is German for "de ...

, forming the cadre of its artillery regiment.

Commanders

* SS-''Obersturmbannführer'' Hans Friedemann Götze

Battle formation

* Military staff (SS-''Obersturmbannführer'' Hans Friedemann Goetze; III./4. SS-Totenkopfstandarte "Ostmark") * I. Rifle company (SS-''

Hauptsturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Hstuf'') was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organizations such as the SS, NSKK and the NSFK. The rank of ''Hauptsturmführer'' was a mid-level commander and had equivalent seniority to a ...

'' Karl Thier; 2. SS-Totenkopfstandarte "Brandenburg") * II. Rifle company (SS-''

Obersturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Ostuf'') was a Nazi Germany paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organisations, such as the SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK. The rank of ''Obersturmführer'' was first created in 1932 as the result of an expa ...

'' Willy Bredemeier; 2. SS-Totenkopfstandarte "Brandenburg") * III. Rifle company (SS-''Hauptsturmführer'' George Braun; 2. SS-Totenkopfstandarte "Brandenburg") * IV. Rifle company (SS-''Hauptsturmführer'' Erich Urbanietz; 3. Totenkopfstandarte "Thüringen") * V. Rifle company (SS-''Hauptsturmführer'' Otto Baier, 6. SS-Standarte of the

Allgemeine SS The ''Allgemeine SS'' (; "General SS") was a major branch of the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany; it was managed by the SS Main Office (''SS-Hauptamt''). The ''Allgemeine SS'' was officially established in the autum ...

) * 13. Infantry company (SS-''Hauptsturmführer'' Walter Schulz; Stammabteilung 6 from the

) * 14. Antitank defense company (SS-''Hauptsturmführer'' Josef Steiner; SD Main office) * 15. Antitank defense company (SS-''Obersturmführer'' Otto Leiner; 10. Standarte of the Allgemeine SS)

The SS Wachsturmbann "Eimann"

The SS Wachsturmbann "Eimann" was set up in early June 1939 in Danzig by then SS-''Sturmbannführer'' Kurt Eimann and was considered as an armed reserve of the Danzig SS-Standarte 36. It was used also in the

(ethnic Germans) areas of the pre-war Polish

Pomeranian Voivodeship Pomeranian Voivodeship, Pomorskie Region, or Pomerania Province (Polish: ''Województwo pomorskie'' ; ( Kashubian: ''Pòmòrsczé wòjewództwò'' ), is a voivodeship, or province, in northwestern Poland. The provincial capital is Gdańsk. The ...

, in order to induce ethnic Germans to join the SS, particularly the ''Totenkopfverbände''. The SS Wachsturmbann Eimann committed a number of

massacres A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

in the region between

Kartuzy Kartuzy () ( Kashubian ''Kartuzë'', ''Kartëzë'', or ''Kartuzé''; formerly german: Karthaus) is a town in northern Poland, located in the historic Eastern Pomerania ( Pomerelia) region. It is the capital of Kartuzy County in Pomeranian Voivode ...

and

Wejherowo Wejherowo ( csb, Wejrowò; german: Neustadt in Westpreußen, formerly Weyhersfrey) is a city in Gdańsk Pomerania, northern Poland, with 48,735 inhabitants (2021). It has been the capital of Wejherowo County in Pomeranian Voivodeship since 19 ...

from 13 September 1939. Most of the people murdered were Jews. The SS Wachsturmbann Eimann was disbanded in January 1940, with its members being transferred to the ''Totenkopf'' division.

Commanders

* SS-''

Sturmbannführer __NOTOC__ ''Sturmbannführer'' (; ) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank equivalent to major that was used in several Nazi organizations, such as the SA, SS, and the NSFK. The rank originated from German shock troop units of the First World War ...

Kurt Eimann Kurt is a male given name of Germanic or Turkish origin. ''Kurt'' or ''Curt'' originated as short forms of the Germanic Conrad, depending on geographical usage, with meanings including counselor or advisor. In Turkish, Kurt means "Wolf" and i ...

Battle formation

* Command * I. Squadron (one hundred men) * II. Squadron * III. Squadron * IV. Squadron * Truck squadron After the "reunification of Danzig with the German Reich," the Wachsturmbann "Eimann" provided the staff for the newly established concentration camp

Stutthof Stutthof was a Nazi concentration camp established by Nazi Germany in a secluded, marshy, and wooded area near the village of Stutthof (now Sztutowo) 34 km (21 mi) east of the city of Danzig ( Gdańsk) in the territory of the Germ ...

near Danzig. The Nazi government also employed it for "special police tasks" in the new Reichsgau Danzig-Westpreussen, which means it was used to persecute and imprison Polish Jews.

References

Bibliography

* * {{Authority control Military history of Germany during World War II Military units and formations of the Waffen-SS Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations disestablished in 1939