14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Galicia (1st Ukrainian)

14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Galicia
Symbol of the 14. Waffen-Grenadier-Division
Active	28 April 1943 - April 1945
Country	Nazi Germany
Branch	Waffen SS
Type	Grenadier
Size	Division
Engagements	World War II Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive Slovak National Uprising Vienna Offensive
Commanders
Notable commanders	Walther Schimana Fritz Freitag

The SS Division Galicia or 14th Grenadier Division of the Waffen SS 'Galicia' (1st Ukrainian) was a military formation in the Waffen-SS and SS, during World War II. Formed in 1943 of volunteers from Galicia in western Ukraine, 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 May 10, 1945.

Background

After World War I and the dissolution of Austria–Hungary, the territory of eastern Galicia, populated by a Ukrainian majority but with a large Polish minority, was incorporated into Poland following a war between Galician Ukrainians and the Polish state. During this conflict the Polish advantage in trained soldiers, particularly officers, played a significant role. Between the wars, the political allegiances of Ukrainians in eastern Galicia were divided between moderate national democrats and the more extreme Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. The latter group itself splintered into two factions, the less extreme OUN-M led by Andriy Melnyk with close ties to German intelligence (Abwehr) and the more extreme OUN-B led by Stepan Bandera. When Poland was divided between Germany and the Soviet Union in 1939, the territory of eastern Galicia was annexed to Soviet Ukraine. In 1941 it would be conquered by Germany.

Ukrainian leaders of various political persuasions desired an armed force to fight the Soviets early in the war. Initially the Nazi authorities considered an armed force of Slavs, whom they considered subhumans^{[citation needed]}, to be unacceptable. In the beginning of 1943, growing losses inclined German leaders to alter their opinions. The decision was made by the German Governor of District Galicia, Dr. Otto von Wächter to create a Galician Waffen-SS division designed for regular combat on the Eastern Front, the 14th Voluntary Division SS Galizien, and its formation was announced on 28 April, 1943.^{[citation needed]}

Organizing the Division

Poster calling for volunteers to the Galizien Division The poster reads, "Stand up and fight against Bolshevism in the ranks of the Galician Division"

The division was organized by the Ukrainian Central Committee, a nonpolitical social welfare organization headed by Volodymyr Kubiyovych ^[1] with the support of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.

Although the Germans made no political concessions, the division was unique among SS divisions 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 Orthodox) chaplains were integrated into the units and allowed to function (in the German Army, only the Sturmbrigade Wallonien had a minimal 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.^[2] Indeed, Nazi indoctrination was absent within the Division. ^[3]

The creation of foreign SS units had been carried out previously in the name of fighting against communism; with French, Dutch, Latvian, Estonian, Croatian, and Belarusian units, among others, had been created. The creation of a Ukrainian SS division was perceived by many as a step towards an independent Ukrainian state, and finding volunteers was not a problem. The formation of the division was announced on 28 April, 1943 from 80,000 Ukrainian who were registered from Galicia. The division was operational by December 1943 but continued to be trained until May 1944.

The Division's Support

The division often included volunteers wanting to fight for Ukraine who were averse to the extreme fascist ideology underpinning Bandera's OUN and therefore reluctant to join the ranks of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). The Division's prime organizer and highest ranking Ukrainian officer, Dmytro Paliiv, had been a leader of a small legal political party in the Second Polish Republic and many of his colleagues had been members of the pre-war moderate, left-leaning democratic UNDO movement. ^[4][5] that before the war had been opposed to the authoritarian Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. The Division was also strongly supported by Andriy Melnyk's moderate faction of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, who saw it as a counterweight to the extremist Banderist-dominated UPA. The Division also obtained moral support from officers of the exiled Polish-allied Ukrainian National Republic such as General Mykhailo Omelianovych-Pavlenko. ^[3] 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 Kiev. ^[3]

Initially, the Bandera faction of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN-B) strongly opposed the idea of creating the division, in part because it was an organization outside of its control, and claimed in its propaganda that the division was to be used by the Germans as cannon fodder. ^[6] Nevertheless, it did not interfere in its formation and once the Division was formed it sent many of its members, some 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. ^[3]

Divisonal Chaplain

The Division

Command

The Division SS "Galizien" was commanded by German and Ukrainian officers with all senior posts reserved for Germans. 600 German officers were released by Berlin for the formation of the division. 300 were Dutch officers and 300 officers from Eastern Prussia. There were also 300 officers of Ukrainian ethnicity who had previously served in the Austria-Hungarian Army, 100 officers who had served in the Polish army and 100 officers from the army of the Ukrainian National Republic^[7].

The commander-in-chief was SS Oberführer Fritz Freitag, while Sturmbannführer (Major) Wolf Heike was the chief of staff. All regimental commanders were Germans. Standartenführer, Rudolf Pannier commanded the 31st Waffen-Grenadier Regiment der SS , Sturmbannführer (Major) Binz and Obersturmbannführer (Lieutenant-Colonel) Franz Lechthaler were commanders of police regiments.

The soldiers

SS Galizien (1st Ukrainian) shields 1943-1945

SS Galizien Recruitment Poster in German and Ukrainian, General Government, (Distrikt Krakau, Kreishauptmannschaften Sanok), May 1943.

Soldiers were selected who were no shorter than 1.65 metres in height and between the ages of 18 and 35. Members of the OUN Bandera faction were prohibited from joining but infiltrated the division in significant numbers nonetheless. The uniform was a standard German Wehrmacht uniform. On the right shoulder was a depiction of the Galician Lion and three crowns. The inclusion of the Ukrainian Trident was not allowed. The Galician Lion was a regional symbol rather than a national one. Blue and Yellow Ukrainian national colours were incorporated into the design.^{[citation needed]}

As of July 23, 1943 the Recruiting Commission had checked 26,436 inductees. Of these only 3,281 were found physically fit for duty in the division.^{[citation needed]}

Hauptfuhrer K. Schultz reported to Berlin the following:

1. 80,000 volunteers had enlisted
2. 53,000 had been accepted
3. 42,000 had been added from the lists of conscripts.
4. 27,000 had been accepted
5. 1,400 had inquired about joining if they could be released form other duties.
6. 25,600 had received draft documents.
7. 19,047 of the conscripted from work.
8. 13,245 - actual number of new recruits
9. 1,487 - released because of health
10. 11,578 - are incarcerated in camps^[8].

Hans Frank and Dr. Hofstetter of SS Galizien enter a Ukrainian Greek Catholic church prior to the installation of volunteers in Sanok, 1943.

SS Galizien volunteers march on Kosciuszko Street in Sanok, 1943 May

In Action

The division was sent to the front at the beginning of 1944. Although it lacked combat experience, it was well-equipped and most of its members had undergone more rigorous training than the average German drafted into the Wehrmacht in 1943–44.^[2]

Anti-partisans actions with Kampfgruppe Beyersdorff

In early February 1944 the Division received an order to form 2 battle groups which were used together with the SS Kampfgruppe Beyersdorff (a German combat formation) in actions against Soviet and Polish partisans. The first group operated in the Zamosc area together with the 5th Regiment while the second group operated in the Brody area with the 4th regiment. ^[9] The SS Kampsgruppe performed its duty well enough that it earned the rare praise of German Field Marshal Walter Model. ^[10]

Brody

The division was sent to the area of Brody, where heavy combat was underway, and 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 80 kilometers. On July 8, the 13th Corps was transferred to the 1st Panzer Army.^[2] 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 fifteen miles behind the other units. ^[11]

On July 13, 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 July 15, two panzer divisions along with the Galicia Division bore the brunt of a fierce assault 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.^[12]. On July 18, the Division's Field Replacement Battalion was destroyed by Soviet forces (its remnants fled west) and the entire 13th Corps, consisting of 30,000 German and Ukrainian soldiers, was surrounded by the Soviets within the Brody pocket.^[11]

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, the relatively inexperienced Galician Division, and on July 19 attacked. 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. ^[11]

On July 20, the German divisions within the pocket attempted a breakout which failed despite early successes. The Division's 31st regiment was destroyed in fighting. A second German breakout attempt that began at 1:00 A.M. on July 21 ended in failure. Ten miles to the west of the pocket, however, a German Panzergrenadier Regiment broke through Soviet lines and briefly established contact with the Brody pocket, resulting in the rescue of approximately 3,400 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. Its German commander, Fritz Freitag, acknowledged that the Division was no longer intact and decreed that everyone would be on their own during the breakout. He and his staff formed their own battle group and headed south, abandoning the Division. Some Ukrainian assault groups remained intact, others joined German units, and others fled or melted away. The Ukrainian 14th SS Fusilier battalion, still intact, 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 July 21, it remained the only intact unit north of the Bug river. ^[11]

In the early morning of July 22, the 14th Fusilier battalion abandoned Bilye Kamin. The Brody pocket was now only 4-5 miles 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 91st independent tank brigade "Proskurov" and its infantry support, and to escape by the hundreds. The remaining pocket collapsed by the evening of July 22.^[11]

Despite the severity of the fighting, the division maintained its discipline and most of its members were ultimately able to break out of the encirclement. Of the approximately 10,400 Galician soldiers deployed at Brody, about 3,000 were able to almost immediately re-enter the division. Another 2,300 resurfaced over a period of several months, having hidden in the forests or in local villages, and a similar number joined the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. Approximately 2,000 were killed and 900 captured.^[2]

The Division in Slovakia

The Germans rebuilt the division over several months using reserve units. From the end of September 1944, the division was used against the Slovak National Uprising.

The first unit, the 29th regiment with auxiliary units, arrived September 28 1944, in order to reinforce Kampfgruppe Beyersdorff. Eventually all Divisional units was transferred to Slovakia. From October 15 1944 they formed two Kampfgruppe, Wittenmayer (which included 3 battalions) and Wildner. The Division acted against rebels together with the 18th SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division Horst Wessel, the SS-SturmbrigadeDirlewanger SS, the Vlasov detachment and other SS and SD formations until February 5 1945 . ^[9] Jan Stanislav, the director of the National Uprising Museum in Slovakia, denied that the Division or that Ukrainians took part in any brutalities committed against the Slovak people at this time. ^[13]

Anti-partisans actions on the Slovenia-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 SS and SD formations fought Yugoslav Partisans in the Styria and Carinthia (province) areas near the Austrian-Slovenian border. ^[14] While fighting the Communist partisans, the Division maintained friendly relations with Serbia's anti-communist Chetnik guerrillas. During this time, the Division absorbed the 31 SD Schutzmannschafts Battalion, also known as the Ukrainian Self Defense legion. ^[15] When on March 31 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. ^[2]

Graz

From April 1 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 in Austria ^[16] where in early April it successfully 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 April 15 repulsed a Soviet counterattack. The division at this time successfully maintained a 13-km front. ^[2][17] Due to his performance during the battles surrounding Gleichenberg, the Division's Waffen-Obersturmführer (Lieutenant) Ostap Czuczkewycz was awarded the Iron Cross, 1st class. ^[18] The Division suffered heavy casualties while in Austria, with an estimated 1,600 killed or wounded. ^[19]

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. ^[20] The Division surrendered to British and US forces by May 10, 1945. ^[15]

Rimini

The Ukrainian soldiers were imprisoned in Rimini, Italy. The renaming of the division, the fact that its soldiers were, until 1939, citizens of Poland, and the intervention of the Vatican saved its members from deportation to the USSR. Bishop Buchko of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church had appealed to Pope Pius XII 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 Division members from POW to surrendered enemy personnel. ^[21] According to some sources^[22][23], 176 soldiers of the division, following the division's surrender, allegedly joined Władysław Anders's Polish army. In 1947, former soldiers of SS “Galizien” were allowed to emigrate to Canada and to the United Kingdom. ^[24][25]

Alleged war atrocities

It is difficult to determine the extent of war criminality among members of the Division. 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. There is no evidence that these units participated in anti-partisan operations or reprisals prior to their inclusion into the Division. However, a significant number of recruits, particularly within the former police battalions, prior to their service within the police battalions appear to have been in Ukrainian irregular formations that committed atrocities against Jews and Communists. However, both the Canadian government and the Canadian Jewish Congress in their investigations of the Division failed to find hard evidence to support the notion that it was rife with criminal elements. ^[26]

Two areas of particular controversy involve allegations that the SS “Galizien” units participated in the Huta Pieniacka massacre and in the suppression of the Warsaw Uprising in 1944.

Huta Pieniacka

For more information about the subject, see: Huta Pieniacka massacre

The Division destroyed several Polish communities in western Ukraine during the winter and spring of 1944. ^[27] On February 23, 1944 it is alleged that two of the Division's units (the 4th and 5th regiments) - the Division was in training until May, 1944 - took part in a police action against Soviet and Polish Armia Krajowa partisans in the village of Huta Pieniacka, which had served as a shelter for Jews ^[28] as well as a fortified center for Polish and Communist guerrillas ^[28][29] following the shooting of two members of the small detachment by armed forces within the village. In the ensuing Huta Pieniacka massacre, the village was destroyed and between 500 ^[30] and 1,200 ^[31] Poles were murdered. Descriptions about what happened vary, depending on the source. According to Polish accounts, Polish civilians were locked in barns that were set on fire while those attempting to flee were brutally killed. ^[32] The Institute of History of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences concluded that the Division's 4th and 5th regiments did indeed kill the civilians within the village, but added that the grisly reports by alleged eyewitnesses in the Polish accounts were "difficult to believe." ^[33] (Follow the link above for more details.)

The weekly publication of the Polish Home Army – the Biuletyn Ziemi Czerwienskiej (Land of Czerwien Bulletin) for 26 March 1944 (№ 12) stated that during the Battle at Pidkamene and Brody, Soviet forces took a couple of hundred soldiers of the SS Galizien division prisoner. All were immediately shot in the Zbarazh castle on the basis that two weeks earlier they had apparently taken part in the killing of the Polish inhabitants of Huta Pienacka, and as a result could not be categorized as POW’s [216, p. 8].

Despite the actions of the 4th and 5th regiments in Huta Pienacka, the Division's role in the ethnic cleansing of Poles from western Ukraine was marginal. ^[27]

On March 2, 1944, in the newspaper of the Division appeared an article directed to the Ukrainian youth, written by military commanders. They blamed all the murders of Poles and Ukrainians on Soviet partisans, and stated that "God forbid if among those who committed such inhuman acts, a Ukrainian hand was found, it will be forever excluded from the Ukrainian national community. ^[28]

Warsaw uprising

Much more controversial is the allegation that SS “Galizien” units played a role in suppressing the Warsaw Uprising. The investigation made by Polish historians Ryszard Torzecki and Andrzej A. Zięba concluded that there were no uniformed units of SS “Galizien” in Warsaw during the Warsaw Uprising.

The Deschênes Commission

Former UPA and SS-Galizien members with children from the Ukrainian scout organization Plast pose for photos shortly after the Anniversary of the UPA ceremony in Berezhany, western Ukraine.

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

While in [POW camps in] Italy these men were screened by Soviet and British missions and neither then nor subsequently has any evidence brought to light which would suggest that any of them fought against the Western Allies or engaged in crimes against humanity. Their behaviour since they came to this country has been good and they have never indicated in any way that they are infected with any trace of Nazi ideology... From the reports of the special mission set up by the War Office to screen these men it seems clear that they volunteered to fight against the Red Army from nationalistic motives which were given greater impetus by the behaviour of the Soviet authorities during their earlier occupation of the Western Ukraine after the Nazi-Soviet Pact. Although Communist propaganda has constantly attempted to depict these, like so many other refugees, as "quislings" and "war criminals" it is interesting to note that no specific charges of war crimes have been made by the Soviet or any other Government against any member of this group.

The Deschênes Commission went on to explain that:

56- The Galicia Division (14. Waffengrenadierdivision der SS [gal. #1]) should not be indicted as a group. 57- The members of Galicia Division were individually screened for security purposes before admission to Canada. 58- Charges of war crimes of Galicia Division have never been substantiated, either in 1950 when they were first preferred, or in 1984 when they were renewed, or before this Commission. 59- Further, in the absence of evidence of participation or knowledge of specific war crimes, mere membership in the Galicia Division is insufficient to justify prosecution. 60- No case can be made against members of Galicia Division for revocation of citizenship or deportation since the Canadian authorities were fully aware of the relevant facts in 1950 and admission to Canada was not granted them because of any false representation, or fraud, or concealment of material circumstances. 61- In any event, of the 217 officers of the Galicia Division denounced by Mr. Simon Wiesenthal to the Canadian government, 187 (i.e., 86 percent never set foot in Canada, 11 have died in Canada, 2 have left for another country, no prima facie case has been established against 16 and the last one could not be located.

^[34]

The Division's Names

The division during its short history changed its name a number of times, being known as:

• SS Schuetzen Division "Galizien" or Galizien Division - from July 30 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 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-Battlion 14
• SS-Waffen-Panzerjäger Company 14
• SS-VolunteerFlak Battalion 14
• Waffen Signals Battalion der SS 14
• SS-Radfahr-Bataillon 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 troop 14 ^[35]

Notes

The Ukrainian State Commission on OUN/UPA Activities in its summary report highlighted that the issue of the SS-Galizien Division was not included in their work framework. Nevertheless, they concluded that "the SS-Galizien Division...had nothing in common with the elite SS divisions formed with fanatic Nazi doctrine and which stained themselves with war crimes...the Galician Division is mentioned in many books, but little is known about 2 Russian SS Divisions (29 and 30)." ^[36]

In discussing the question of collaborating with Germany, Prof. Norman Davies noted: "A large number of the volunteers for the Waffen SS came from Western Europe. The nation which supplied it the largest number of divisions was the Netherlands [four]. There were two Belgian divisions, there was a French Waffen SS. To my mind, it's rather surprising that Ukraine, which is a much larger country [than the Netherlands or Belgium] supplied only one Waffen SS Division.... It's surprising that there were so few Ukrainians [in the German Army]. Many people don't know, for example, that there were far more Russians fighting alongside the Wehrmacht or in the various German armies than there were Ukrainians.... Thanks to Soviet propaganda, the Russian contribution to the Nazi war effort has been forgotten, whereas the Ukrainian contribution has been remembered, I think, too strongly.^[37]"

See also

• List of German divisions in WWII (with links to articles on individual units)
• The Deschênes Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals in Canada

Footnotes

Sources

• (Polish) Jurij Kyryczuk, "Problem ukraińskiej kolaboracji w czasie II wojny światowej" in "Polska-Ukraina" vol 6. , Karta, Warszawa 2002, ISBN 8391511154, 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 ISBN 1-899765-02-6
• Davies, W.J.K. (1981). German Army Handbook 1939-1945 (Second U.S. Edition ed.). New York: Arco Publishing. ISBN 0-668-04291-5. 
• Hieke, Wolf-Dietrich (1988). The Ukrainian Division 'Galicia', 1943-45, A Memoir. Shevchenko Scientific Society. ISBN 0-9690239-4-4. 
• Landwehr, Richard. Fighting for Freedom: The Ukrainian Volunteer Division of the Waffen-SS. 2nd edition. Silver Spring, Maryland: Bibliophile Legion Books, 1985 ISBN 0-918184-05-3
• Logusz, Michael O. (1997). Galicia Division: The Waffen-SS 14th Grenadier Division 1943-1945. Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 0-7643-0081-4. 
• Melnyk, Michal James (2002). To Battle, The History and Formation of the 14th Waffen SS Grenadier Division (second updated edition 2007 ed.). Helion and Co. ISBN 978-1-874622-19-2. 
• Munoz, Antonio J. (1991). Forgotten Legions: Obscure Combat Formations of the Waffen-SS. Axis Europa. ISBN 0-7394-0817-8. 
• Quarrie, Bruce (1983). Hitler's Samurai: The Waffen-SS in Action. Arco Pub. 161 pp.. ISBN 0-668-05805-6. 
• Williamson, Gordon (1995). Loyalty is my Honor. Motorbooks International. 192 pp.. ISBN 0-7603-0012-7. 
• Wiktor Poliszczuk Bitter Truth, 403 pages, ISBN 0-9699444-9-7

External links

• 14. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (1943-1944) in: Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe.
• (Ukrainian) Web page of Division veterans
• Axis History Factbook; Waffen-SS part - By Marcus Wendel and contributors; the site also contains an apolitical forum about the Axis nations
• (Ukrainian) Chicago Trial
• (English) Warsaw Trial
• (Ukrainian) Українська Дивізія "Галичина"
• (Polish) Information about SS Division "Galizien" - Institute of National Remembrance
• (English)SS Division
  • Feldgrau.com [4] and [5] - By Jason Pipes, Stanford University/University of California, Berkeley; research on the German armed forces 1918–1945
• Waffen-SS.com - By Thomas Wilhelm (webmaster) et al.; a site exploring the combat role of the Waffen-SS in WWII; also includes forum
• Germanic Volunteers of the Waffen-SS (excerpt) - Translated from the German WWII-era original (Germanische Freiwillige im Osten)
• Camouflage uniforms of the Waffen-SS - From Brad Turner's website kamouflage.net; also includes similar information for Heer, Luftwaffe
• Waffen-SS from TM-E 30-451 Handbook on German Military Forces (U.S. WWII manual, March 1945)
• (Russian) Shimon Briman, The Golden Lion with the Swastika

v • d • e — The divisions of the Waffen-SS — Panzer 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler · 2nd SS Division Das Reich · 3rd SS Division Totenkopf · 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking · 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen · 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg · 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend · SS Heavy Panzer Battalions Panzergrenadier 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland · 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division Reichsführer-SS · 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division Götz von Berlichingen · 18th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Horst Wessel · 23rd SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nederland Mountain 6th SS Mountain Division Nord · 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen · 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian) · 21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skandberg · 23rd Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Kama · 24th Waffen Mountain (Karstjäger) Division Cavalry 8th SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer · 22nd SS Volunteer Cavalry Division Division Maria Theresia · 33rd Waffen Cavalry Division of the SS (3rd Hungarian) · 37th SS Volunteer Cavalry Division Lützow · 1st Cossack Division Infantry 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Galizien (1st Ukrainian) · 15th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Latvian) · 19th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (2nd Latvian) · 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian) · 25th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Hunyadi (1st Hungarian) · 26th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (2nd Hungarian) · 27th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division Langemarck (1st Flemish) · 28th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division Wallonien · 29th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS RONA (1st Russian) · 29th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Italian) · 30th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (2nd Russian) · 30th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Belarussian) · 31st SS Volunteer Grenadier Division · 32nd SS Volunteer Grenadier Division 30 Januar · 33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne (1st French) · 34th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division Landstorm Nederland · 36th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS 38th SS Division Grenadier Nibelungen Police 4th SS Polizei Division · 35th SS and Police Grenadier Division Deception Divisions 26th SS Panzer Division · 27th SS Panzer Division

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