'Allies' fighting for Axis

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Not correct, General der Artillerie Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach did not command any fighting force against the regular German forces, his organization was just a propaganda unit.

/Marcus
 
Some Russians that opposed stalin flew Me-262's for the germans that were painted in the colors of Imperial Russia.
 
Much surprised by the lack of mention to the 5th SS "Wiking" Division, which enjoyed a large number of Nordic troops, i.e. Norwegian, Danes, volunteer Swede and Finns. The Blues from Spain in the Eastern Front, as well
 
Foreign Waffen-SS units recruited by Nazi Germany
(note: many of the recruits into the SS, particularly those from the east were not volunteers. They were often forcibly and brutally conscripted

Albania
Total: 6,500 to 7,000
21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg

Belgium

Total: 40,000 (about "evenly divided between Flemings and Walloons")
SS-Freiwilligen Legion Flandern (1941)

Bulgaria]


Croatia


Denmark

Total: 6,000


Estonia

Total: 20,000


Finland

Total: 1,180 to 3,000


France

Total: 20,000


Hungary

Total: 20,000


India

Total: 2,000

  • Indisches Freiwilligen Legion der Waffen-SS (Tiger Legion)
Italy

Total: 15,000


Latvia

Total: 80,000

Netherlands

Total: 50,000 to 55,000


Norway

Total: 6,000


Romania

Total: 50,000


Spain

  • Spanische-Freiwilligen-Kompanie der SS 101
  • Spanische-Freiwilligen-Kompanie der SS 102

Soviet Union]


United Kingdom

Total: 54


Yugoslavia


Fates
During the Nuremberg Trials, the Waffen-SS was declared a criminal organization for its major involvement in war crimes and for being an "integral part" of the SS. Conscript units, however, were not deemed to be criminal as these individuals had no choice in becoming members. A number of volunteers were executed, while others were tried and imprisoned by their countries. Still others either lived in exile or returned to their homeland. The majority escaped any punishment from the Nuremberg trials.

However after the German Instrument of Surrender, many volunteers were tried and imprisoned by their countries. In several cases, volunteers were executed. Henri Joseph Fenet, one of the last recipients of the Knight's Cross was sentenced to 20 years of forced labour and released from prison in 1959. Some were far less lucky and were shot upon capture by the French authorities. General Leclerc was famously presented with a defiant group of 11 or 12 captured 33rd SS Charlemagne men. The Free French General immediately asked them why they wore a German uniform, to which one of them replied by asking the General why he wore an American one; the Free French wore modified US Army uniforms. The group of French Waffen-SS men was then promptly executed without any form of military tribunal procedure.

Walloon leader Leon Degrelle escaped to Spain, where, despite being sentenced to death in absentia by the Belgian authorities, he lived in exile until his death in 1994.

Some 146 Baltic soldiers from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia who fought against Soviets and escaped to Sweden were extradited to Soviet Union in 1946.

The men of the XV SS Cossack Corps found themselves in Austria at the end of the war and surrendered to Britishtroops. Even though they were given assurances that they would not be turned over to the Soviets, they nevertheless were forcibly removed from the compound and transferred to the USSR. This event became known as the Betrayal of the Cossacks. Most of the Cossacks were executed for treason. Stalin it should be noted ordered the execution of all Red army PoWs because they were deemed traitors to the USSR.

After the war members of Baltic Waffen-Grenadier Units were considered separate and distinct in purpose, ideology and activities from the German SS by the Western Allies. Subsequently in the spring of 1946, out of the ranks of Baltic conscripts who had surrendered to the Western allies in the previous year, a total of nine companies were formed with a mission to guard the external perimeter of the 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.

Of the 54 known members of the British Free Corps, I am aware of only one that was actually executed during his post war trial and only 15 or 16 sent to trial at all. John Amery had mounted an initial defence of insanity but on the very first day of the trial abandoned this defence to plead guilty. In making that change of plea, Justice Humphreys made certain that Amery be made aware that he would be executed as with no mitigation the law prescribed this penalty. Amery did not deviate, I suspect he felt enormous personal guilt for his actions though this is not evident from the trial transcripts.

Justice Humphreys was true to his word, delivering the following comments in his judgement

John Amery ... I am satisfied that you knew what you did and that you did it intentionally and deliberately after you had received warning from ... your fellow countrymen that the course you were pursuing amounted to high treason. They called you a traitor and you heard them; but in spite of that you continued in that course. You now stand a self-confessed traitor to your King and country, and you have forfeited your right to live

Other members of the corps were spared the death penalty but of the 15 sent to trial, all were found guilty and received lengthy gaol terms
 
One thing which should give people pause: in all these countries, the resistance required the sorts of skills law-abiding citizens don't normally have, such as hiding from police, evading capture, functioning in an underground economy, and forging papers,

I'm also going to hunt up some population statistics for those countries.
 
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