During the 1930’s the SS (Schutz Staffel or Protection Squad) became the main paramilitary arm of the German Nazi Party. As time went on, the Waffen-… - Waffen-SS

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During the 1930’s the SS (Schutz Staffel or Protection Squad) became the main paramilitary arm of the German Nazi Party. As time went on, the Waffen-SS (Armed SS) was formed as the combat arm of the SS. The Waffen-SS effectively formed a fourth arm of the military alongside the Heer (Army), Luftwaffe (Air Force) and Kriegsmarine (Navy). This article looks at the SS-Panzergrenadier divisions operating in Russia in 1942 and 1943.
At the outbreak of war in 1939, the Waffen-SS fought alongside the regular army, much to the distrust of many military officers who did not feel that a political organisation had a role in battlefield operations. However, as the combat experience of Waffen-SS units grew, acceptance of their role as battle-proven units increased.
By 1943 eight Waffen-SS divisions formed an experienced and battle-hardened spearhead for Germany’s armies, particularly on the Eastern Front.

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About Waffen-SS

The Waffen-SS (transl. Armed SS) was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's Schutzstaffel (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with volunteers and conscripts from both occupied and unoccupied lands. Members of the Waffen-SS were involved in numerous atrocities. At the post-war Nuremberg Trials, the Waffen-SS was judged to be a criminal organisation due to its connection to the Nazi Party and direct involvement in numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity. Former members, with the exception of conscripts, who comprised about one third of the membership, were denied many of the rights afforded to military veterans.

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The Waffen-SS was the military branch of the SS. Units of the Waffen-SS took part in most of the major military campaigns of World War II. They were heavily involved in the commission of the Holocaust through their participation in mass shootings, anti-partisan warfare, and in supplying guards for Nazi concentration camps They were also responsible for many other war crimes.

The SS increased its power over the Army dramatically in July 1944, as individual members of the Waffen-SS were attached to regular Army units to improve their reliability. Waffen-SS units were used to prevent mass desertions or unauthorized withdrawals. Waffen-SS personnel formed the nucleus of the Volksgrenadier and in some instances of Volkssturm units. Large contingents of the Luftwaffe and Kriegesmarine were pressed into the service of the Waffen-SS when it became urgent to reform badly mauled Waffen-SS units.
At the end of 1940, the Waffen-SS numbered slightly more than 150,000 men. By June 1944, it had grown to 594,000. Intended as an elite force, the Waffen-SS evolved due to the exigencies of war from the original SS concept of a military organization imbued with Nazi ideology and loyalty to Hitler into a polyglot force of decreasing combat effectiveness.

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