Americans In The Wehrmacht

[LandZack2013]

Hi Forum!

We all have read about the Germans who fled the Nazis and came to America and fought. My question is if any Americans had a loyalty to the Fatherland and returned to fight. I think it could be plausible, but does anyone know for sure?

I would like opinions, all thoughts appreciated!

[hucks216]

Yes there were some who were born in the USA and then fought for Germany. One dealer site currently has a Soldbuch and some paperwork (including a formal appointment/promotion citation signed by Goering) for sale that belonged to an officer in the 76 & 333 Infantry Divisions who was born in Washington in 1912.

[Ian Jewison]

I knew a Panzerjäger who had an Irish/American father and German mother. His parents met shortly after WWI as his father was on the decommissioning (?) staff.
They were married in the 20's and also lived in the Washington area. Their son was born in 1921 in USA. By 1938 and some marital problems the mother, with her son returned to Germany.
At the outbreak of war, the son never spoke about his understading of the English language as he was certain he would have been transferred to some "special unit" which would have terminated his life early......he served with 71 Inf.Div. in France, Russia (Stalingrad) and Italy.
Unfortunately I have not heard from him for 2 years. His name never appeared in the Division magazine but I suspect that he is no longer with us.

There will be many cases like this.............

/Ian

[themilitaryman]

Remember in Band Of Brothers when the Germans were captured near the beginning. The German ended up talking to the American after getting cigs and it turned out they were from the same place. Might be truth or Hollywood in that case but I'm sure it happened.

[NickG]

I picked up the following info from another forum "WW2 talk" (posted in 2008 and repeated here for educational purposes)

There were US citizens who were members of the Waffen-SS, but no unit was made up of American volunteers None were ever raised (despite some claims about an "American Free Corps" or "George Washington Brigade"). According to figures from the SS five US citizens served in the Waffen-SS in May 1940, but after that date no numbers are available.

Second Lieutenant Martin James Monti (born 1910 in St Louis of an Italian-Swiss father and German mother) went awol Oct 1944, he travelled from Karachi to Naples (through Cairo and Tripoli) where to stole a F-4 or F-5 photographic reconnaissance aircraft (photo recon version of the P-38) and flew to Milan. There he defected, to the Germans and worked as a propaganda broadcaster (as Martin Wiethaupt) before entering the Waffen-SS as a SS-Untersturmführer in SS-Standarte Kurt Eggers.
At the end of the war he went south to Italy where surrendered to US forces (still wearing his SS uniform) claiming that he had been given the uniform by partisans. He was charged with desertion and sentenced to 15 years hard labour. This sentence was soon commuted and Monti rejoined the US Air Corps, but in 1948 he was discharged and picked up by the FBI. He was now charged with treason and sentenced to 25 years the following year. He was paroled in 1960.

Peter Delaney (aka Pierre de la Ney du Vair), a Louisiana born SS-Haupsturmführer in SS-Standarte Kurt Eggers who is believed to have served in Légion des Volontaires Français (LVF). He met Monti and probably arranged for him to enter the Waffen-SS. Delaney was killed in 1945.
At least eight American volunteers are known to have been killed during their service.
No real attempt by the US authorities to investigate the matter and trace the volunteers was made after the war, as opposed to for example the efforts by the British.

The Berlin Document Center do have the personnel records of 7 other US citizens who became officers in the Waffen-SS or SD.

They were:
Hstuf. Josef Awender, a medical doctor in the “Frundsberg” born in Philadelphia in 1913,

Ustuf. Robert Beimes, a signal officer in the “Hitler Jugend” born in San Francisco in 1919, whose father was a translator in the SD,
Ustuf. Dr. Hans Eckert, born in Buffalo, NY in 1917 and assigned to the SS hospital at Dachau in November 1944,

Ostubaf. Viktor Fehsenfeld, born in Elk Rapids, Michigan in 1984 and an administrative officer in the SS-WVHA,

Hstuf. Franz Stark, born in St. Louis in 1901 and assigned to the SD,

Hstuf. Eldon Walli, born in New York City in 1913 in the SS-Kriegsberichter Abteilung (war reporters) and Hstuf. Paul Winckler-Theede, born in New York City in 1912 and who was a military judge? in the “Das Reich” division.

In a letter from July 1990, the former Ostuf. Gerhard Amler , who was a signal officer in the Artillerie Regiment 12 “Hitler Jugend” from June 1944 – May 1945 wrote about a unique radio reconnaissance platoon that his friend, Ustuf. Sigi Schneider organized in the signal battalion. This platoon was composed of men from the USA, Britain and Canada who returned to Germany at the beginning of the war and volunteered for the Waffen-SS. They intercepted Allied radio transmissions that were broadcast in clear text. They also found on the second day of the Normandy invasion radio documents in a shot-up Allied tank. Among the documents was a map that had the quadrants around Caen marked on it. This map together with radio intercepts gave the Germans advance notice of planned artillery bombardments and air attacks

[Simon O.]

At the end of the war in Norway, one of the tasks of the allies was to segregate the 'Germans' into their repective nationalities as they were on the 1.1.1938. I have copies of the lists made up, no names, though you can sometimes find out where\with who they served. In amongst them are a few Americans.

This one for example, an American serving with Marineflakabteilung 702 near Trondheim, Norway.

[Gerdan]

In the staff of the DULAG Luft/Evaluation Centre West in Oberursel there have bee also some
Amercans interrogating the Britisch and American flyers.

Gerdan

[NARVIK1940]

Remember in Band Of Brothers when the Germans were captured near the beginning. The German ended up talking to the American after getting cigs and it turned out they were from the same place. Might be truth or Hollywood in that case but I'm sure it happened.

Here is the story behind that scene:

http://www.101airborneww2.com/bandofbrothers4.html

"The scene where Don Malarkey meets the German PW from Oregon did happen on D-Day although it isn't mentioned in Ambrose's book. The screenwriters learned of it from talking to Don and decided to put it in the film. But it had to be married to a more dramatic event to be allowed in, so it was made part of the scene in which Lt Speirs offers cigarettes to the same group of prisoners before gunning them down. Don actually went to school in Eugene OR and told the writers the PW was from Portland, but somehow, it got changed to where the PW was from Eugene. He was not in a group which was shot after surrendering. Lumping the Malarkey story to the Speirs cigarette incident brought home the impact of the killings by making them more personal to the viewer."

[hucks216]

Here is a scan of a soldbuch page to Leutnant Wollenweber who was born in Washington and returned to Germany with his parent(s) by the age of 16. After being seriously wounded he ended up being assigned to an interpretor Company in Berlin..

[colt45s]

Always go with the front runner, but sometimes you can pick the wrong side

[Robbie Farrell]

American Hitler Youth

A number of years ago, I traveled to New Port News, Virginia to vist relatives of my wife. As some of them knew I collected militaria, my wife's uncle told me to walk up the street and knock on the door of one of his neighbors. Little did I know that the old gentleman that answered the door had been in the Hitler Youth for more than one summer. His mother was German and when school was out the summer of 1936 and 1937 (I'm not sure if these are correct) he and his mother traveled by ship back to see his maternal grandmother. They stayed all summer and he joined the local Hitler Youth unit. He had his uniform and pictures of him in his uniform hanging on the wall in his den. There was a studio portrait of his two German uncles, one in the navy and one in the army also hanging on the wall. I remember he said he really enjoyed his time in the Hitler Youth and he also was a Boy Scout back home in America. I have no idea if he is still alive today. He did not serve in the German military but he did serve in the HJ.

[Lee Luke]

Hi

I have a soldbuch that lists the man's mother living in Cleveland, Ohio, he was born in Romania, so hard to tell if he moved before the war.

Also a soldbuch to a man who's parents were living in Niagara, North Dakota.

[12thPanzer]

A number of years ago, I traveled to New Port News, Virginia to vist relatives of my wife. As some of them knew I collected militaria, my wife's uncle told me to walk up the street and knock on the door of one of his neighbors. Little did I know that the old gentleman that answered the door had been in the Hitler Youth for more than one summer. His mother was German and when school was out the summer of 1936 and 1937 (I'm not sure if these are correct) he and his mother traveled by ship back to see his maternal grandmother. They stayed all summer and he joined the local Hitler Youth unit. He had his uniform and pictures of him in his uniform hanging on the wall in his den. There was a studio portrait of his two German uncles, one in the navy and one in the army also hanging on the wall. I remember he said he really enjoyed his time in the Hitler Youth and he also was a Boy Scout back home in America. I have no idea if he is still alive today. He did not serve in the German military but he did serve in the HJ.

Great stories Guys! I like this one, as I live pretty close to Newport News myself!

[me6_130]

I read the story of someone called Rudi Salvermoser in another forum. It's a really good story:

http://www.feldgrau.com/interview6.html

http://www.feldgrau.com/rudiphotos.html


Carles

[Steve Turner]

I had the opportunity to meet a fellow name Bruno Friesen a few years ago who was a Canadian who served in the 7th Panzer Division. He has a very unique and interesting story, I hope he is still alive and perhaps I will see him again at some point, he use to volunteer at the Canadian War Museum, and was also a very funny guy!

He recently published a book telling his story:

http://www.amazon.ca/Panzer-Gunner-O.../dp/1906033110

-Steve