* war and social upheaval: World War II -- Soviet Union NAZI Muslim formations








World War II: German Muslim Formations--Soviet Union


Figure 1.--

While the NAZI grand design foir the Caucasus and Middle East collapsed, the Germans still had Muslim populations in the areas they controlled which could be recrited for military service. The losses in Stalingrad creasted a desperate need for additioinal msanpower. It must have discouraged many Muslims from volunteering, but even so quite a number did join the Germans such was their hatred of Stalin and the Communists. Many Turkestanis in particular joined the Germans. The first NAZI Muslim military formations were formed by the Wehrmacht with Hitler's full approval. An imoressed Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler decided to recruit Muslims for the initiall racially pure SS. Several German Muslim units were formed as both combat and labor battalions. They saw combat on the eastern Front, the Balkans, Italy and France. They were widely employed for operations against partisans.

Wehrmacht Units


444.Sicherungs Division

Turkestanis volunteers were formed as a battalion of the 444.Sicherungs Division (November 1941). They served as an auxiliary to help fight the partisans behind the front lines.

Turkitan Legion

Hitler issued secret orders to form the Turkestanisch Legion (December 1941). The deteriorating situation on the Eastern Front must have been a factor, although we do not have complete details at this time. The unit was formed for the Turkestanis volunteering to fight with the Wehrmsacht. This was not, however, an actual combat formation. Rather it was a training center where national units, most at the battalion level were created and trained. The Legion commander learned the Turkestan language, There was only one Turestani divisions formed. Almost all of the Turestani battalions were assigned to German formations. About 70,000 Turkestanis volunteered to serve with the Germans. About 40,000 served in combat units and 30.000 in labor units. A year after the creation of the Turkestanisch Legion, there were 15 battalions (1943). This eventually grew to 26 battalions (1944). .

162.Turkestanisch Infanterie Division

The only division level formation created from the Turostani volunteers was the 162.Turkestanisch Infanterie Division. It was made up of Germans, Turkomans, and Azeris. General Oskar von Niedermayer was given command of the division. Niedermayer saw himself as akind of German Lawrence of Arabia. Before the War he was posted to Persia (Iran) as the military attaché. The Division trained at Kruszyna, Poland. It did not see action on the Eastern Front. Rather it was deployed in the Balkans to fight the growing partisan movement. After the fall of Mussolini and Italy's surrender to the Allies, the Gemans occupied their former ally. The Division was shifted to Italy to participate in that undertaking (1943). While their they engaged an American-Japanese regiment, one of the more unusual actions of the War. Niedermayer was reportedly impressed with his Division's fighting capability, judgeing comparable to a normal Wehrmacht division.

Tartar Khimi Punitive Batalion

The Tartars are a collective terms sometimes applied to the people who under Mongol leadership conquered much of Asia and Eastern Europe (13th century). The origins of the Tartars is uncertain, probably eastern central Asia or Siberia. Thgey speak a Turkic language. After the Mongol conquests passed, the Taratars were left in control of most of Russia and Siberia and converted to Islam. The Empire of the Golden Horde persisted until dividing into separate khanates (15th century). These were cinquered bt the Ottoman Turks and Tsar Ivan IV. Siberia continued to be called Tartary and the Crimea also populated bt Tartarsas little Tartary. The Tartars under Russian and Ottoman rule for the most part gave up their nomadic lifestyle (16th century). At the time of World War II, there were about 5 million Tartars in the Soviet Union. The Crimean Tartats had ample reasons to hate Stalin and the Communists. The Soviert athiest program for 20 years cloesed and destroted mosques throughoyt the Crimea. [Solzhenitsyn, p. 254] They were targeted in the Gold Wave of persecutions. [Solzhenitsyn, pp. 52-53]. They were also were caught up in Stalin's Great Terror and large numbers sent to the Gulag (1937). [Solzhenitsyn, p. 25] Some Crimean Tartars were thus desposed to seeing the Germans as liberators and willing to fight the Soviets with them. About 20,000 soldiers volunteered to fight with the Germans. Yalta mayor V.I. Maltzev formed a Tartars punitive battalion in Yevpatoria referred to as Khimi (July-August 1943). One has to question his timing. The Tartars were committed to anti-partisan operations. The Khimi battalion was deployed in the Yaila Mountains where they exhibited great brutality, killing many civilians along with partisans. The Germans took note of their performance abd decided to deploy them to northwestern France to combat the French partisans. They conntinued their brutality there striking fear into the French civilians in the area where they were deployed. One of the most infamous actions occured at Dortan in Ain (July 21, 1944). Convinced that the village was supporting the Resistance, the Batallion burned it, rapeing many women.

SS Units

A notable figure involved with the NAZI recruit of Muslims was Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler . Himmler was a major force in NAZI Germany's persuit of racial purity. The SS was conceived as a racially pure order of NAZI knights. SS recruits had to sunmit geneology studies demonstrating their Aryan ancestry dating back centuries. Two things drew him to Muslims as the War unfolded. One was the military situation. German military reverses on the Eastern Front created a need for manpower that could not be met by the Reich. Two was Himmler's fascination with Islam. The NAZIs were involved in a process of de-Christenizing Germany. The process was only at its beginning phase when the NAZIs lost the War. Himmler was one of the leading NAZIs who saw Christianity as an inappropriate religion for the new NAZI Order. He saw Christianity too soft, feminine, and compasionate for the NAZI martial state. Himmler in contrast saw Islam as much more appealing to the SS philosophy. He saw Islam as more of a masuline, militant, and uncompromising religion whose followers were taught to give blind obedience. He of course was not planning to make Germany an Islamic state, but he found the relgion fascinating. I do not yet have details on when Himmler became interested in forming Muslim SS formations, but it appears to have been after the reverses on the Eastern Front and after learning about Wehrmacht Muslim formations.

Osttürkischen Waffen-Verbände der SS

I am not sure just when Reichsführer Himmler first began thinking about Muslim SS units. Apparent he began acting on the project when an Wehrmacht officer, Major Andreas Meyer-Mader met him (November 1943). Meyer-Mader offered to assist in the organization and training of a Turkic SS unit. Himmler was convinced and endorsed the formation of a Turkic-Muslim SS division. He gave Meyer-Mader a commission in the Waffen SS and promoted him to the rank of SS-Obersturmbannführer. Meyer-Mader and Himmler met again in Berlin (December 14, 1943). This time Hajj Amin el-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of the Jerusalem, joined them. El-Husseini gave the Division's formation his spiritual apprival and oiffered to help in the recruitment of volunteers. The unit was formed at the regiment level as 1.Ostmuslemanische SS-Regiment (January 1944). Reichsführer Himmler envisioned expanding the unitto a full division--Muselmanischen SS-Division Neu-Turkestan, but these plans did not come to fruition. The Regiment wasformed from existing Turkic units in the Wehrmacht that were then disbanded. They were: the 450th, 480th, and I/94 Turkic battalions. Some new recruits were obtained from POW camps. The recruits had varied origins. The principal recruits were the Turkestanis, but there were also Azeris, Kirghiz, Uzbek, and Tadjiks volunteers. The unit was organized in Trawniki, Poland. They were then shifted to Belorussia for additional training. Himmler appointed SS-Obersturmbannführer Meyer-Mader to command the Regiment. Meyer-Mader proved popular with his Muslim soldiers. The tranining and discpline of the unit, however, does not seem to have net SS standards. Meyer-Mader was killed in action against the partisans at Yuratishki near Minsk (March 28, 1944). The Regiment apparently was poorly disciplined and suffered from low morale. The new commander SS-Hauptsturmführer Billig was not at all popular and the situation deteriorated. He ordered the execution of 78 of his Muslim soldiers for insubordination. Himmler was upset and ordered Billig relieved. The Soviet Bragrationn Offensive smashed Army Group Central (June-July 1944). The Regiment was redeployed to Poland (July 1944). The SS was ordered to supress the Warsaw Uprising of the Polish Home Army (August 1944). The Regiment was assigned to the SS Dirlewanger Brigade and participated in the brutal SS action in Warsaw. About 200,000 Poles, mostly civilians, were killed. Himmler appointment of SS-Standartenführer Harun-el-Raschid-Bey provedcto be another mistake. Raschid-Bey was an Austrian Army officer who converted to Islam. This did not solve the Regiment's morale problem. In facr the situation worsened. There was even a mutiny (December 24, 1944). Waffen-Obersturmführer Gulam Alimov and Waffen-Untersturmführer Asatpalvan led 450 members of the 1st Battalion. They killed several NCOs and joined up with the partisans. Himmler dismissed Raschid-Bey and ordered that the Regiment be reorganized. The Azerbaijan members were reassigned to the Kaukasicher Waffen-Verbande der-SS. The Regiment moved south toward Yugoslavia. Theyvseemed to have been nvolved uin operations against the partisans along the Slovenian-Italian borders. They moved into Italy, presumbly so they could siurrender to the Western Allies (April 1945). The end of the War found them in Lombardy (May 1945).

Waffen-Gebirgs-Brigade der-SS (Tatarische Nr.1)

Himmler attempted to form another SS Muslim unit (Summer 1944). By this time the military situation was desperate. Allied armies were approaching the borders of the Reich from the East, South, and West. The SS united all of the Crimean Tartar Schuma battalions and formed a new unit, the Waffen-Gebirgs-Brigade der-SS (Tatarische Nr.1). At this point in the War the military situation was situation was deteriorating rapidly for the Germans. Even the SS could not come up with the needed weapons and equipment. TheSS was forced to disbanded the unit (December 1944). The men were trasferred to the existing Muslim Osttürkischen Waffen-Verbände der SS.

Sources

Solzhenitsyn, Alexsanddr I. Trans, Thomas P. Wjitney. The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-56: An Experiment in Literary Investigation (Harper & Row: New York, 1973), 660p.







CIH







Navigate the CIH World War II Pages:
[Return to Main Soviet World War II Muslim page]
[Return to Main German non-German military formations]
[Return to Main World War II Religion--Islam page]
[Return to Main Great Patriotic War page]
[Return to Main NAZI Muslim formations page]
[Allies] [Biographies] [Children] [Concentration camps] [Countries] [Decision] [Denyers/Apologists] [Displaced persons]
[Economics] [Eisatzgruppen] [Eugenics] [German Jews] [Ghettoes] [Impact] [Justice] [Literature]
[Movies] [NAZIs] [Occupied Poland] [Process] [Propagada] [Resistance] [Restitution] [Questions] [SA] [SS] [Special situations] [Targets] [Wansee Conference]
[Return to the World War II]
[Return to Main Holocaust page]
[Return to the Main mass killing page]
[Return to CIH Home page]





Created: 8:56 PM 5/10/2007
Last updated: 8:56 PM 5/10/2007