IB History Former Forces Under German Command Notes

Four Groups Who Fought or Served Under German Command

1. Not everyone who served alongside Nazi Germany did so willingly.
   1. During the war, the German military recruited, conscripted, and coerced soldiers from across occupied Europe.
2. After the war, these people occupied an uncomfortable position: they had fought for the losing side, but their motivations and circumstances varied enormously.
3. This category included several distinct groups.
   1. Volksdeutsche. Ethnic Germans who had lived for generations in Eastern Europe (Romania, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia). Many were conscripted into the Wehrmacht or Waffen-SS.
   2. Collaborationist military units. Soldiers from occupied countries who joined German-led formations. Examples include the Latvian Legion, Estonian conscripts in the Waffen-SS, Ukrainian units like the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division, and Cossack units.
   3. Auxiliary forces. Non-combatants who served in support roles for the German military, including the Hiwis (Hilfswillige, or volunteer helpers) drawn from Soviet POW camps.
   4. Conscripts from annexed territories. People from Alsace-Lorraine, Luxembourg, and other annexed regions who were drafted into the German military against their will. The French called them the malgre-nous ("against our will").

Volksdeutsche: Expelled and Displaced

1. The Volksdeutsche were ethnic German communities that had lived in Eastern Europe for centuries.
   1. During the war, the Nazi regime used them as a tool of occupation policy, resettling some in conquered territories and conscripting others into military service.
2. After Germany's defeat, the Volksdeutsche faced collective punishment.
3. The Potsdam Conference (July-August 1945) authorized the "orderly and humane" transfer of German populations from Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary.
   1. In practice, the expulsions were often violent and chaotic.
4. Between 12 and 14 million ethnic Germans were expelled from Eastern Europe between 1944 and 1950.
   1. An estimated 500,000 to 2 million died during the process from violence, starvation, disease, and exposure.
5. Most Volksdeutsche ended up in the Western occupation zones of Germany and Austria, where they were classified as Heimatvertriebene (expellees).
   1. They competed for housing, jobs, and food with the existing population.
6. West Germany eventually absorbed millions of expellees through the Equalization of Burdens Act (1952), which taxed property owners to fund compensation for those who had lost everything.

Collaborationist Units: The Question of Complicity

1. Across occupied Europe, men served in military units organized or controlled by Germany.
   1. Their reasons varied.
   2. Some volunteered out of ideological alignment with Nazism or antisemitism.
   3. Some joined to fight against Soviet communism, which they saw as a greater threat to their countries.
   4. Others were conscripted under threat of punishment.

The Baltic States

1. Latvia and Estonia had been occupied first by the Soviet Union (1940-1941) and then by Nazi Germany (1941-1944).
   1. Many Latvians and Estonians who joined German military units did so because they viewed the Soviets as the primary enemy.
2. The Latvian Legion and Estonian units within the Waffen-SS were largely composed of conscripts.
3. After the war, Baltic former soldiers who ended up in the Western zones faced a difficult situation.
   1. The Soviet Union demanded their repatriation as war criminals.
   2. The Western Allies generally did not hand them over, recognizing that many had been conscripted.
4. But they remained in DP camps for years, unable to return home (now under Soviet control) and struggling to emigrate because of their association with the Waffen-SS.

Ukrainian and Cossack Units

1. The 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (also known as the Galicia Division) was composed of Ukrainian volunteers.
   1. After surrendering to the British in Austria in 1945, the division's members were held as POWs.
   2. The Soviet Union demanded their repatriation, but the British classified them as Polish citizens (Galicia had been part of pre-war Poland) and refused to hand them over.
2. Cossack units that had fought alongside Germany were not as fortunate.
3. At Lienz in Austria (May 1945), British forces handed over approximately 50,000 Cossacks and their families to the Soviet Union, in accordance with the Yalta Agreement.
   1. Many were executed or sent to the Gulag upon arrival.

Conscripts From Annexed Territories

1. When Germany annexed Alsace-Lorraine, Luxembourg, and parts of Belgium and Slovenia, it imposed conscription on the male population.
   1. These men had no choice.
   2. They were drafted into the Wehrmacht and sent to fight, often on the Eastern Front.
2. The French called these conscripts the malgre-nous ("against our will").
   1. Approximately 130,000 Alsatians and Lorrainers were conscripted.
   2. Many were captured by the Soviet Union and held in POW camps for years.
3. When they returned to France, they faced suspicion from fellow citizens who questioned whether they had truly been unwilling.
   1. Some were accused of collaboration.
4. The Oradour-sur-Glane massacre (June 1944), in which 642 French civilians were killed by an SS unit, became a source of lasting tension.
   1. Thirteen of the soldiers involved were malgre-nous from Alsace.
5. When they were tried in 1953, the French National Assembly passed an amnesty law to protect them, arguing they had been forced to serve.
   1. This outraged the people of Oradour and created a rift between Alsace and the rest of France.

Post-War Treatment: Perpetrators, Victims, or Both?

1. The central challenge in dealing with former forces under German command was classification.
   1. Were they perpetrators or victims?
   2. The answer depended on who was asking.
2. The Soviet Union treated anyone who had served alongside Germany as a traitor and war criminal, regardless of the circumstances.
3. Western Allies were more nuanced but inconsistent.
   1. They generally distinguished between voluntary and involuntary service, but the lines were often blurred.
4. The denazification process in the Western zones attempted to categorize individuals by their level of involvement with the Nazi regime.
   1. People were classified as major offenders, offenders, lesser offenders, followers, or exonerated persons.
5. In practice, the process was overwhelmed by the sheer number of cases and became increasingly lenient as the Cold War shifted Western priorities toward rebuilding Germany as an anti-Soviet ally.
6. For DPs who had served in German units, emigration was often the only option.
   1. Countries like Canada, Australia, and Argentina accepted some former soldiers, particularly those with useful skills.
   2. But immigration authorities in the US and UK screened for war criminals, and some former collaborators lied about their wartime service to gain entry.