The European Elite of the Waffen SS: Wiking | World War II 

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My late father belonged to Div. Wiking. He passed in 1994. He was Dutch, and fought on the Eastern front.

My Father lived in Esztergom Hungary was a four year old boy at the time . The nearby road leads to Budapest. He remembers the arrival of Wiking and how the SS tanks and apcs shook the foundations of every house as they rolled in. . A smiling SS trooper picked him up sat him on his knee and cut off a large chunk of bread and smoked ham to feed him . They stayed in the town for a while and in their back garden set up a heavy MG. Firing on Soviet column's on the other side of the Danube. They stayed for for a few days and rolled off towards Budapest. Still remembers to this day . Really good channel here best one on RU-vid.

a hard division that fought every where, brave soldiers, thanks for this doco

Damn shame we fought against them even Patton said where fighting the wrong enemie

I knew of a few American veterans who had friends from the 5th Wiking, many of them moved to the USA after the war, they were a very skilled bunch of fighters

Thank you all wikings who fought for Finland.

Absolutely love your work, the fine line in history where we should explore. Your perfectly centred, not too radical with your presentations as like others on RU-vid, love it

Leon Degrelle and his Sturmbrigade Wallonien would be worth a separate video. He was awarded the close-combat clasp in gold, which means he lived through at least 50 days of close combat. Only around 650 soldiers had been awarded the "Nahkampf-Spange in Gold".

The first true European Army.

I used to talk (early 90's) with two finnish SS men who were volunteers and fought in the east front during '41-'44. They we're hard boiled fighters.

I do agree that the SS Wiking division was the elite foreign division of the SS but not of the entirety of German forces. The 250th infantry division of the 16th army also known as the Blue division gets that distinction in my opinion. They were a division made up of Spanish volunteers. They showed their tenacity with their first orders. They were to march over 550 miles from Poland to join Army Group Center for its march towards Moscow. Shortly before they arrived they were reassigned to Army Group North and its siege of Leningrad. In its most famous battle at Krasny Bor just under 5000 of them took the brunt of the attack from 33000 Soviet infantry of the 55th Army. Even with the Soviets attacking with 30 tanks and over 1000 field guns they could not dislodge the Spaniards. The Blue division dealt the red army 5 times more casualties and stopped the Soviets cold allowing the siege of Leningrad to go on another year. They were never beaten in battle and Hitler created a special award just for them. He was reported to hold them in very high regard saying "Those Spanish have never yielded an inch." Also remarking that he was sure any German troops would be happy to know they had the blue division on their line. They were battle hardened from the Spanish Civil War before joining the Germans and hated communism. Franco because of allied pressure ordered the last of them to return to Spain before the Soviets launched Bagration which more than likely saved the Spanish some very heavy casualties. They were a fierce division of warriors being led by Spanish generals. They were the true elite of German foreign divisions. Wiking, Charlemagne and the Latvian Legion all deserve recognition but can any of them say a military award was created in their honor and awardedbby Hitler?

These guys volunteered to end communism. The german forces was some of the most diverse soldiers ever to that point to fight together. And operatio barborasa was a 6 nation invasion not just germany

I always recommend reading “twilight of the gods” by thorolf hillblad about a Swedish ss soldier serving in ss nordland a great book which shows the toughness of ss volunteers in general

Look at europe and usa today 😢

My grandfather could be in those video clips.Died in Kaukasus 1943...Finland contripution against ryssä.

The last Knights of Europa.

The most Based channel on YT, appreciate all of your work

The Viking Division, contrary to what has been told, existed for the bigger part of ethnic germans! The volunteer numbers from other European countries, didn’t meet the expectations of the ss … Nonetheless, respect to all the European volunteers who bravely fought against the new world order on german side!!!!

These videos are amazingly well done, so much research and scripting and editing. Thank you so much for your dedication. Will always follow your channel brother.

Felix Steiner was one of very few ss-generals who was not trialed of war crimes .

The German Military had the most diverse Military in the war... They had Arab divisions, French, Indian, Waloon, Russians, Ukrainians, Turks,

My late father was 5th SSPZ Wiking, still have his uniform and medals, and the memories of all the stories he would tell me when he was drunk....saddens me now.

Note NOT in Viking - there were British and a sprinkling of Canadian, South African, Australian and New Zealanders in the SS. One Brit now passed was a strong man and stayed on in Berlin after its conquest. He got a job in a circus doing strong man acts. Eventually the Russians found out and he spent 10 years in a Russian Gulag camp. He was released in 1955 and returned to UK. Later the same year he was employed teaching Norfolk school children PT - a remarkable come back

And the snow fell …

Wiking had some of the toughest german soldiers, e.g. Hans Dorr.

The documentary Europa the last battle is also good!

What the 5th Wiking Division and the 28th Wallonien division endure and did achive in the Horrendous Korsun- Cherkassy pocket,is stuff of Legend.. One of the most brutal,vicious and cruel battle in WW2. Even by Eastern Front "standards".

Thanks for the video, very interesting, I have some war time documents telling me that my late grandfather was part of this very 5th Freiwillingen SS panzergrenadier Div.1941-43, all the Best from Finland

We need these on streaming services, amazing documentary’s

There where a Finnish officer in the Salla /Lapland battlefield that took command over a German Waffen SS unit called 6:th Gebirgs -Division Nord. They where a disaster in the early days and could not hold up with their Finnish comrades. Many of my relatives fought in that battle,but in the Finnish side...The Germans when picked mainly from concentration camps in Germany,so they had no experience of war. All ny relatives said that yhey had only good things to say about the Germans. They where real gentlemen.....the Soviets on the other hand...they where and is still hated

Danes and Norwegians each joined the Waffen-SS at an average rate of just four a day. There was certainly nobody killed in a crush at recruitment offices! Only 180-200 Swedes joined the Germans (an average of just 3 men a month!), which was insufficient to even keep a single company up to strength in combat. As a result, there was no Swedish unit at all. Six Icelanders are known to have served with the Wehrmacht in WWII. Compare that to the 258 Icelanders who were repatriated via Sweden and Finland on a single ship to British-occupied Iceland in September 1940. Low Scandinavian recruitment was a massive disappointment for the Germans. As a result, the Wiking Division, which the Scandinavians were meant to fill, had to be manned largely by Germans.

A great video and effort to find so much information. Thanks

Well done very interesting and informative

When i grew up and learned that the USA allied with Communist Jays in Russia everything that i didn’t understand about my Country’s failed culture, foreign policy, Economic policy, and its hattred of US European stock , all of a sudden it all made perfect sense….Communist allies….NVTS

Informative video about Waffen Viking SS divisions members & Ethnic groups...video showed theirs furious and deciplined fought...

Germany lost so many men and women of good stock to this senseless war.

You have a new sub.. ive watched a few of your videos.. great quality content.. you and the history underground are 2 of the best on here

Thankyou ! Gotta come back to this later with more time lol.

Beautiful video. Congratulations ❤❤❤ great history and very well and honest narrative.

Great video, love the narration

Mostly Dutch men were in the Wiking division!

German/Irish - American born. US Military - 1971 to 1973. Western European, American History/Military History & Ancient History. Thanks.

God, I love this channel

I love your content! Thank you! Just out of curiosity where do you get all of this incredible footage? I can never seem to find anything good that isn’t under the Creative Commons lol. Keep up the great work! Have a great day!

Europe needs these men now more than ever. AH; “if we lose this war, then Europe will be finished within one hundred years” He said that eighty years ago.

Hey can you make one video about the Prinz Eugen Division? I heard they were the most brutal ones

Excellent work. I watched a few videos early on and gave you some grief about the "adjective salad" narration. I have watched this and another and it is so well done with excellent footage and narration. I saw a few seconds of the Arden offensive in 55 min of video. The rest seemed to be all placed pretty correctly , not easy to do I am sure. Again excellent work not that it's worth much but I subscribed, something I have rarely ever done.

crazy footage, never seen it before i dont know where u got it from

The division contained small contingents of foreign volunteers from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Iceland, the Netherlands and Belgium. These contingents were elevated in wartime propaganda and postwar mythology, including from the former German officers of the division, to give the Wiking Division the reputation of a pan-European force. In truth, the division was at all times equipped with a vast majority of German personnel.

Goosebumps

Outstanding account of the 5th Wiking SS division.

The speaker in the smaller documents like „Encirclement Kiew 1941“ suits the best and gives goosebumps together with the background music !

Just to tell you what happend doing battle on the eastern-front - my wifes father had a working mate that had fought in the waffen ss at the Stalingrad front and had the one Lung shot through and came to Pitomnik airfield to be flown out of the kessel to be sent to a Field lazaret far away , he survived the ordeal and came Back to denmark sometime in early 1944 , many years later and with a unhealty use of alcohol he told my father in law that he fought the russians Every night waking up screamming and strugling so the fear was with him the rest of his life - damm ruskis

What a great ❤documentary 😢it’s sad that so many life’s from all sides lost so much but their memories shall never be forgotten for their valor

Really fascinating stuff

Fascinating stuff, great insights

Can we have a video about the 10th army(wermacht) fighting in italy? My grandpa fought in that army

amazing and beyond!!! Tnx for this higly top doc.!!! THANK YOU!!

Dude, best channel for WWII history!!! I wish you'd go into detail about all the SS units from start to finish! Or maybe just the most notorious SS units!

I told you that last video wasn't gonna last long. Can you upload it again soon??

Wow really good video. But with the maps where better. Good job.

The Wiking SS division ( pronounced 'vee-king) was comprised of 90% Germans, according to Roman Töppel, so not really a European army at all in the broader sense. That is not to say that quite a few northern Europeans didn't serve in the Wehrmacht or Waffen SS.

Brilliant footage and a respectful voice over.

Great channel, well researched really interesting showing another side literally to the world greatest conflict.

I have studied WW2 for over 50 years. I didn't know there were men from Iceland in the SS.

suomen SS pataljoona 1.41

I don’t suppose you can do a video on the LSSAH division at some point?

Awesome work blew my mind. It's 2024 and your vid showed me how incredible this really was and that even with Hollywood movies and stuff i realize i honestly hardly can believe or understand that this really happened

The Nordics were united with the Germans in a culture only the Europeans understood. Great fighters, the Viking Division.

Outstanding documentary here, great effort. Myself a Veteran subscribed Immediately.

I love the videos and rich history I would love to see one about the 10th SS if that’s something you would be interested in covering.

So the Wiking was a foreign legion of sorts, then it seems like. I just found this page, and I am a big fan. I watched three videos already keep up the

The way Russia and its army have behaved recently makes me look at these units a bit differently. In fact, the way the Soviet Union kept every country it occupied at the end of WW2 makes it more understandable what many of them were fighting for.

Wir sind stolz auf unsere Soldaten der Wickingeinheit!

Great division. Extremely tough soldiers, and they were highly respected by all, especially the allies

Amazing footage for ww2 painters.

My grand father served in SS Wiking. fought the Russians on the eastern front, he was finnish but settled in Sweden after. Never meet the him but such an evil man. He use to beat my dad every day especially after the drinking. My dad never spoke about that stuff but my mom told me some things about it. I'll not go into detail but a real sadistic shit. So it makes one wonder what he was up to in his service i must edmit.

Great video! By the way, where do you find all the footage for these videos? Is it all from Deutsche Wochenschau?

there is no w sound in germam so it is pronounced 'v'

Another banging documentary about the Waffen SS

A lot of these soldiers believed that Hitler was creating the European Union and thus volunteered to fight the Soviets to preserve the Union. Not all of the SS were volunteers or formed in Germany like a regular enlistment scheme. One who was drafted into the SS was a young man who wanted to be a fighter pilot so had joined the Luftwaffe. His name was Otto Blasé and he had become an officer while waiting to get is training. At that time so many of the SS officers had been killed our maimed in the fighting in Russia so the SS worked out a deal basically conscripting officers from the Luftwaffe since there are so many of them. Blasé became a Tiger Tank commander the SS Division Leibstandarte 101st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion and was in Michael Whittmann's unit. The day Whitman was killed, Blase's Tiger was also destroyed but he was sick and in the hospital because earlier that day in the commander's conference before the battle, Whittmann noted that Blasé was wearing a heavy coat, was easily distracted and stooped rather than standing straight. There are photos of this meeting and you can see Blasé as Whittmann saw him. After the meeting he ordered Blasé to go to the closest military hospital and be treated and not to come back to the unit until he is well. Interestingly enough, a 1:35 scale army figure studio has made figures of Whittmann and Blasé based on photos of that meeting. Blasé did not receive another Tiger until, unbeknown to any one other than Hitler and a select few military planners, Operation Watch on the Rhine was being planned and the necessary units with new equipment were being gathered in strict secrecy. Hitler was convinced, rightly, that the Allies had found a way to tap into their radio, telegraph and telephone system and knew what was being said at the same time that the recipients did. Therefore everything was communicated by couriers. New Tiger B models were being produced and an entire Heer heavy tank battalion was due to receive those tanks. When they were ready to be delivered, the SS seized the tanks and gave them to SS units. Otto Blasé received one of those tanks and it was painted with the number 332. During the battle now known as the Battle of the Bulge, Blasé and his crew discovered that their tank's transmission had broken and the tank would only run in reverse. While waiting for the 332 to be recovered by a repair unit, an American tank brigade found the 332 and fired on it with phosphorous shells. The crew tried to escape, three were killed and two were able to make it to safety. It is not known if Blasé was one of those killed but his tank was recovered and sent to the United States for study. It has been "permanently" displayed at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, then the Armor museum at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and now it is displayed in a very sterile, uncreative, visitor access unfriendly tank warehouse at the tank "museum" where it is available for you to visit two days a week. At Fort Knox, it was displayed in a well done display with many other armored vehicles and It was available to be seen every day the Museum was open. It is sad to see a move backwards, and not cater to the public but rather only to military personnel and professional historians.

There were also many Bosniac muslims in Wehrmacht and SS.

I wonder how many men actually survived all the campaigns

Got mitt uns.

Please use a correct map of Europe and not a post WII map. It a kind of “surprising” that Wagrain where 5th Wiking surrender is still today probably the Dane’s most favorite skiing destination in Austria 🇦🇹 History is truly amazing

Tough division a real band of brothers

you need to do the 2nd SS Panzer. there is a book MEN OF STEEL 2nd SS Panzer

Note Well: there were NO Polish volunteers nor Greeks, thus "other European nations" is a flippant remark.

many danes in ⚡️⚡️ viking, were not there to fight for germany, they were there to fight the red bolsheviks

Us Brits were on the wrong side 🤷‍♂️

The maps were looking different, anyway good job

The SS was one of the first modern EU Army.

Truth is bitter... .

They were all,to a man, absolutely 💯 nationalist and anti-communist!!❤

In some aspects Wiking can be considered father of NATO.

The Austrian painter had to have Stalingrad instead of oil, from there it was all retreat.

1400 Finns enlisted, 4:51 is from my home city, home coming ceremony. The building you see is still there.

love this channel, i think its shadow banned by the yt regime. saved.

Interesting/informative/entertaining. Excellent still-motion photography pictures. Enabling viewers to better understand what the orator is describing. Had Berlin waited perhaps ( 6 to 12 ) months. Before going to war. Not allowing ( WW-1 ) corporal Hitler to deviate from successful military strategies. ( Dunkirk )( Moscow invasion )(D-Day) The war might have ended in their favor-???🤔.