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

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SS Galizien (1st Ukrainian) shields 1943-1945
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SS Galizien (1st Ukrainian) shields 1943-1945

SS Division "Galizien" (Ukrainian: 14-та Стрілецька Дивізія Зброї СС), 14.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (ukrainische Nr.1) , later the 1st Ukrainian Division of the Ukrainian National Army (1 Division der Ukrainischen National-Armee) was an Ukrainian military formation in the German armed forces during World War II.

Contents

History

Before WWII, some Ukrainians, mainly in Galicia, saw the Third Reich as the sole force that might ensure establishment of an independent Ukraine, and proposed to the Germans the idea of forming Ukrainian military units. In the beginning of 1943, growing losses inclined German leaders to accept the proposition. The decision was made to create a Galician Waffen SS division designed for regular combat on the Eastern Front, the 14th Voluntary Division SS Galizien. It was organized by the non-political Ukrainian Central Committee, headed by Volodymyr Kubiyovych with the active involvement of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. The OUN-B opposed the idea of creating the division, in part because it was an organization outside of its control. Paradoxically, the Division therefore included volunteers wanting to fight for Ukraine who were averse to the fascist ideology underpinning the OUN and therefore reluctant to join the ranks of the UPA. The creation of foreign SS units had been carried out previously - in the name of fighting against communism, French, Dutch, Latvian, Estonian, Croatian, and Belarusian units, among others, had been created. The formation of the division was announced on 28 April 1943, from 80 000 Ukrainian-rusyns volunteers from Galicia. 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 chaplains were integrated into the units. The latter condition was instituted at the insistance of the Division's organizers in order to minimize the risk of Nazi demoralization amongst the soldiers. The creation of a Ukrainian SS division was perceived by many as the first step towards an independent Ukrainian state, and finding volunteers was not a problem. They were incorporated into the division in spring 1944. Prior to that date, two units – the 4th and 5th – had participated in actions against Polish partisans.

Division SS "Galizien" was commanded by German and Ukrainian officers. The Commander-in-Chief was General Major Fritz Freitag, while Major Wolf Heike was the chief of headquarters and Major SS Binz and Lieutenant-Colonel SS Franz Lechthaler were commanders of police regiments. The division was sent to the front in the beginning of 1944. Despite its lack of combat experience and insufficent military training, the division was not deployed in a calm section of the front, as planned initially, but based instead in the area of Brody, where heavy combat was underway. In July, after fierce battles, the division, together with several German units, was surrounded and defeated by the Red Army. About 7,000 soldiers of the division were captured and taken as POWs, while about 3000 escaped the encirclement and crossed the front to the German controlled territory. A large number of division soldiers also mixed with the civilians or joined the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. The Germans rebuilt the division over several months using reserve units. At the beginning of October 1944, the division was sent to put down the uprising in Slovakia. In the end of January 1945, it was moved to Slovenia, where it fought Tito's partisans while maintaining friendly relations with Serbia's anti-communist Chetnik guerrillas . From 1 April until the end of the war, the division fought against the Red Army in the region of Graz in Austria [link].

1st Ukrainian Division UNA

On 17 March 1945, Ukrainian emigres established the Ukrainian National Committee to represent the interests of Ukrainians to the Third Reich. Simultaneously, the Ukrainian National Army was created. It was intended to be composed of all Ukrainian soldiers fighting for Germany, the first of whom were the SS “Galizien” division. The commander in chief of the UNA was General Pavlo Shandruk.

General Shandruk, a former officer of Wojsko Polskie who had been decorated in 1939 with the Virtuti Militari cross, was assigned command of the “Galizien” division and renamed it the 1st Ukrainian Division UNA. On 7 May, under his influence, the division left the front line, separated from Soviet forces and capitulated to the British and Americans. The Ukrainian soldiers were imprisoned in Italy. The renaming of the division, the fact that its soldiers were, until 1939, citizens of Poland, the intervention of the Vatican (and probably Poland's General Władysław Anders) saved the division from potentially tragic deportation to the USSR. According to Ukrainian sources, 176 soldiers of the division, following the division's surrender, joined Anders' Polish army. In 1947, former soldiers of SS “Galizien” were allowed to emigrate to Canada and to Britain [link].

Factual and alleged war atrocities

SS “Galizien” units have been accused of participating in several atrocities during the war. The most severe accusations relate to the actions of the 4th police regiment in Galicia and the 5th police regiment in Lubelszczyzna. The most serious accusation is the burning of the village of Huta Pieniacka and the most controversial is participation in the suppression of the Warsaw Uprising in 1944.

The village of Huta Pieniacka was a Polish self-defence outpost directed against the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. On 23 February 1944, a small unit of the 4th regiment came to the village searching for partisans. It appears that during the reconnaissance, an accidental shooting occurred in which two Ukrainian soldiers were killed. The Germans organised a lavish funeral for the soldiers and carried a punitive expedition that razed the village. Between 800 and 1,000 inhabitants of the village were murdered. Since November 1992, a Warsaw Commission of the Institute of National Remembrance has been conducting an investigation on the crimes committed by Galizien SS and other Ukrainian units in Huta Pieniacka.

Much more controversial is the participation of the SS “Galizien” units in suppressing the Warsaw Uprising. The investigation made by Ryszard Torzecki and Andrzej A. Zięba suggests that there were no uniformed units of SS “Galizien” in Warsaw during the Warsaw Uprising. This implies that the atrocities ascribed to Ukrainians were committed by other divisions, such as Bronislaw Kaminski's Russian RONA brigade – a formation composed of citizens of the USSR who supported the Germans. The confusion appears to stem from the fact that the citizens of Warsaw, under the influence of information about Volhynia massacre committed by the UIA, assumed that the foreign units were Ukrainian. However, the Germans used two companies (about 300 people) of the Ukrainian Self-defence Legion (USL) against the Warsaw insurgents that fought on Powiśle in September 1944. In March 1945, the USL was absorbed into the SS “Galizien” division. However, it is not clear if the two companies were at that time a part of the USL [link].

A report, "Commission of Inquiry on War Crimes", by the Honourable Justice Jules Deschênes of Canada of October 1986 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 report 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." [link]

Combat route

The organizer of the division was the German governor of Galicia, Otto von Wächter, and its formation was announced on 28 April 1943. The head of the Ukrainian Central Committee in Cracow was Volodymyr Kubijovyč. A military administration was created to conduct recruitment, assist the families of volunteers, and organize cultural and educational activities for the soldiers. There were more than 80,000 candidates for the division, of which 42,000 enlisted and 27,000 were called up; only about half were accepted. In the summer July/August of 1944 the division saw action at the front; while attached to the 13th Army Corps, it was surrounded and destroyed at the Battle of Brody during the Soviet offensive, next same part (4,000 persons) become of UIA rebel bands.

See also

References

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External links


Divisions of the Waffen-SS
(see complete list)

 

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