Spanish SS

[Gregorio Torres]

Could anybody tell me titles of books (no written by spaniards) where spanish SS are mentioned?
Whatever info about this topic will be welcome.
Thank you very much in advance and best regards.
Gori

[Spanish Freiwillige]

There are several books where they mention the spanish ss volunteers, one is the book called "Forgotten legions of the waffen SS" and "The Waffen SS Hitlers Instrument of Terror", and I sugest making a web search as i have found several good articles about this subject.

Its funny, since yesterday I wanted to ask the members of the forum if anybody had found a picture of a spanish waffen SS volunteer, I only have found that of Botet Moro an SS Haupsharfuhrer (forgive the spelling), and that of Camargo. Apart from them I have not found any. Yet there si a lot of information that supports the use of insignia of this volunteer unit.

[Anthony T]

Here is some info with book listing and links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Division

[Gregorio Torres]

Thank you Jaime and Torra.
Jaime: Both books mentioned are in my list. If you know some more please tell me. No other photos of spanish SS than the Camargo******180;s and Botet******180;s have been published. I have seen one more photo of them (an NCO called Oca******241;a) but it******180;s unpublished. Please you must think this: 1.They fought at the very last part of war; 2. These man were persecuted by the spanish goverment (to have photos with SS uniforms maybe dangerous), 3. The main part of them dead in combat or were executed by the rusian (only 22 spanish SS prisioneers came back to their country in 1954).
Torra: thank you very much for this link. I didn******180;t know it.
Please, if anybody could give me more info....

[Spanish Freiwillige]

you are right, I always wanted to see a picture of Manuel Sanchez Ezquerra, is there a picture of him?

One more book is that of Ospery Germany`s Spanish Volunteers, ist has a brief description but most of the books are quite repetitive, I guess because there is not much info on this Unit!

Thanks a lot for your coments

[Gregorio Torres]

Thank you again, Jaime.
I have seen Ezquerra******180;s photos published by the magazine Interviu, when Javier Nar interviued him several years before. But he appear as a old man (no pics in uniform or so). As Javier Nar told me one day, Miguel Ezquerra******180;s problem is that he lies a lot, although his true history is interesting enough without more adornment.
Gori

[Spanish Freiwillige]

I agree, I always had my suspicion about the aleged Knights Cross awarding, and the story of 25 destroyed soviet tanks, but as you say the story of this man is very interesting specially his militaru career. i have also heard that the sovietes executed a lot of foreign SS soldiers ans some spanairds among them during the battle of berlin, others died in combat, others diguised themselves as russian soldiers and tried to break out and were caught and shot by both germans and russians and others, I think Ezquerra among them made it to the spanish embassy and were given forged documents as diplaced workers and escaped to spain. the rest as you said mde it back to spain in 54 after years in a Gulag

[erichcraciun]

I can add one small first hand account, if these men are Spanish SS, I am not sure. This is from the manuscript entitled Geschichte der 6./ Art. Regt 357 by Guenter Haake. The incident took place in early 1945 somewhere on the Czech / Austrian border:

“Hier lagen nun Teile der spanischen “Blauen Division”, die als Freiwillige in Kampf gegen die Sowjets an unserer Seite standen und die wir nun zu unterstützen hatten. Oftmals war die Verständigung nicht leicht, aber mit der weltweiten Zeichensprache kamen wir dann doch ganz recht gut zurecht. Auf die Dauer war uns nie richtig wohl zumute, nachdem uns später bekannt wurde, daß sich von Fall zu Fall eine größere Zahl dem Russen gefangen gab, wenn er den Fluß überquerte und in die Stellungen einbrach oder sie sich der psychologischen Kampfführung des Gegners nicht gewachsen fühlten.”

translation:

“There were units of the Spanish ‘Blue Division’, who, as volunteers fought on our side in the struggle against the Soviets, we were to support. Often the comprehension between us was not easy, however with worldwide sign language we eventually got along very well. Over time we no longer felt too comfortable with them after we realized that from time to time a greater number of these men surrendered to the Russians, once they crossed the river and broke into the Spanish positions. (The Spanish may also not have been) mature enough to resist the physiological warfare of the enemy.

[Spanish Freiwillige]

Well, what I have learned so far is that after the dissolution of the Spanish legion in 43 (that is after the Blue Division was dissolved and called back to Spain the legion was formed as a Token force) some members refused to be repatriated to Spain, others later crossed the border illegally and were assembled in the town of Lourdes in France there some were incorporated to Gebirgs unit to the Heer, SA for anti partisan duties and other into the SS some into the Nordland others to the Walloons, but the information is sketchy, what is a fact is that some did in fact fight in the SS and the details of the existing documents and veteran account is that they wore standard SS uniforms with SS runes collar patches and wore the Spanish volunteer shield on the left arm under the SS eagle unless some specialized patch or rank prevented this then it was worn on the right side arm as the Blue division did. So far everything I have read is that this die hard Spaniards called the irreductibles fought courageously to the last, and were esteemed and respected by their German counterparts.

[erichcraciun]

I hope no one misunderstood the quote I posted. I was very surprised about what I read since I know from an uncle that when the Spanish Azul Division replaced a German division around Leningrad, they were the only ones who were about to take the Soviet positions that the Germans were not able to.

So, I think it is a bit of a mystery what Spanish unit this could have been that is mentioned in this journal.

Erich

[Spanish Freiwillige]

No one miss understood you Erich this small units history is very interesting specially since the information is scarce, a lot of veterans accounts and few written documents, for example Leon Degrell assembled a small number of Spaniards into his unit and a lot of this members were found in Vienna, I think, they were a small number of men that refused to go back to Spain. Other among with the ones that crossed the border illegally from Spain to France (as Franco ordered the border closed to avoid further implication) were gathered and incorporated to the Heer and to the SS, there are reports that Miguel Ezquerra along with teniente Ocaña fought in the Arddenns i think, other Spaniards fought in Skoersiny`s unit, others fought in Yugoslavia against partisans in a geberigs division, others in Austria and others in the final battle in Berlin as part of Unit Ezquerra.

We have documents and articles that imply others prove that they were scattered among several units, even a picture of a Spanish volunteer in the Italian SS unit (the name is Camargo I think a haupsharffuhrer)

[Gregorio Torres]

Hello again gents
I was traveling for a week and when I come back the thread is very hot.
For me, the information about this incident from a mauscript is very very interesting. A complete spanish company served in a Gebirg division for several monts in Czech ground between the end of 1944 and the begining of 1945. A photograph of these men has been published in Spain but not a lot of info is known about this combats. Not a very big number of them could surrender to rusians, cause the 60% of them were sent to an austrian quarter to be regrouped with one other company which fought in Romania. I can supouse that many of the casualtys were by enemy fire (wounded or dead). Among the 40% no returned perhaps some soldiers were surrended, but in these days a lot of germans were captured by soviets and allieds in all fronts. I think Guenter Haake saw or heard some not very couragenous action of several spanish soldiers and he generalized.
Any case this is a very apreciated info for me.
Please, Erich, could you tell me any data about this manuscript?.
Thank you in advance.
Jaime, as I can see, you know a lot about spanish volunteers in rusian front. Do you have any first hand account?
Regards
Gori

[Spanish Freiwillige]

Unfortunatelly, here in Mexico I have only met one veteran`s son and showd me his fathers picture of when he was in the division, he had no picture of when his father joined the SS.

Gregorio, can you post the picture that you speek of, I would love to put it into my archives, theis gebirgs unti was at one point left alone and it made its way back to german lines, it had suffered hevy casualties, but it made it.

Form ther in Austria some of them were gruped into the two spanish SS comapnies and some of them fought against the americans in la Selva Negra and the others fought agains the russians in Austrian soil, by the ned they say they scatered into the hill others made their way to Berlin for the Gottedamerung!

I have several articles that i downloaded from the net, unfortunately I canot remeber the link, but if you like I will scan them into a file and send them tow you they are both very good.

[erichcraciun]

Hello Gregorio,

I wish I could tell you more. The entire part I published is the only thing mentioned in 93 pages of text. If Herr Haake is still alive, I will let you know.

Erich

Unfortunatelly, here in Mexico I have only met one veteran`s son and showd me his fathers picture of when he was in the division, he had no picture of when his father joined the SS.

Gregorio, can you post the picture that you speek of, I would love to put it into my archives, theis gebirgs unti was at one point left alone and it made its way back to german lines, it had suffered hevy casualties, but it made it.

Form ther in Austria some of them were gruped into the two spanish SS comapnies and some of them fought against the americans in la Selva Negra and the others fought agains the russians in Austrian soil, by the ned they say they scatered into the hill others made their way to Berlin for the Gottedamerung!

I have several articles that i downloaded from the net, unfortunately I canot remeber the link, but if you like I will scan them into a file and send them tow you they are both very good.

[Gregorio Torres]

Some exact data:
The so called Freiw.-Einheit Stablack (Spanische) had a Ers. Btl and a Ausb. Btl. It was equiped as Jager in the Heer, as may be seen in the order of OKH/Chef Nr 3545/44 (7th June 1944).
A total of 400 men were recruited, cause SS took the most part of spanish volunteers gotten in the following months. Just 2 companys (numbered 101 and 102, were created, and were sent to Rumania (attached to 3 Geb. Div) and to Slovenia (302 Inf. Div).
The most interesting for you, Erich: In january 1945 a group of these men was sent attached to 357 Div. (two more groups fought attached newly to 3 Geb Div and 302 Inf Div in these days). As I can suppouse, every group had 60-70 soldiers, because all the spaniards in the Heer were 200 more or less in the beginning of 1945. Only 60 survivors can scape to Swizerland and north Italy (the main part of them arrive to Spain several months after the end of war). One more small group was pushed to Vienna, where they were almost exterminated.
Jaime, I didn******180;t remember exactly were you can find the pictures of these spanish jager in 1944. I******180;ll looking for the book and I******180;ll tell you the title tomorrow.
Regards from Spain.
Gori