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Lars Westerlund, the Finnish SS-Volunteers and Atrocities

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LARS WESTERLUND The Finnish SS-VOLUNTEERS AND ATROCITIES 1941–1943 SKS The Finnish SS-VOLUNTEERS AND ATROCITIES 1941–1943 LARS WESTERLUND THE FINNISH SS-VOLUNTEERS AND ATROCITIES against Jews, Civilians and Prisoners of War in Ukraine and the Caucasus Region 1941–1943 An Archival Survey Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura – Finnish Literature Society Kansallisarkisto – The National Archives of Finland Helsinki 2019 Steering Group Permanent State Under-Secretary Timo Lankinen, Prime Minister’s Office / Chair Research Director Päivi Happonen, The National Archives of Finland Director General Jussi Nuorteva, The National Archives of Finland Legal Adviser Päivi Pietarinen, Office of the President of the Republic of Finland Production Manager, Tiina-Kaisa Laakso-Liukkonen, Prime Minister’s Office / Secretary Project Group Director General Jussi Nuorteva, The National Archives of Finland / Chair Research Director Päivi Happonen, The National Archives of Finland / Vice-Chair Associate Professor Antero Holmila, University of Jyväskylä Dean of the Faculty of Law, Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, University of Helsinki Professor Kimmo Rentola, University of Helsinki Academy Research Fellow Oula Silvennoinen, University of Helsinki Docent André Swanström, Åbo Akademi University Professor, Major General Vesa Tynkkynen, The National Defence University Professor Lars Westerlund Researcher Ville-Pekka Kääriäinen, The National Archives of Finland / Secretary Publisher’s Editor Katri Maasalo, Finnish Literature Society (SKS) Proofreading and translations William Moore Maps Spatio Oy Graphic designer Anne Kaikkonen, Timangi Cover: Finnish Waffen-SS troops ready to start the march to the East in May or early June 1941. OW Coll. © 2019 The National Archives of Finland and Finnish Literature Society (SKS) Kirjokansi 222 ISBN 978-951-858-111-9 ISSN 2323-7392 Kansallisarkiston toimituksia 22 ISSN 0355-1768 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International License. To view a copy of the license, please visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Copyright is retained by the author(s). CONTENTS FOREWORD 9 1,408 FINNISH SS-VOLUNTEERS 12 The recruitment of the Finnish SS-volunteers originated in the Winter War experiences 13 The Finnish volunteers harboured strong Anti-Soviet attitudes 20 The Waffen SS-Division Wiking – Overview and Documentation 22 Composition of the Division 22 I Political views among the Finnish volunteers 26 I Efforts by the Finnish National Socialist organisations to enforce the recruitment of Finnish volunteers 30 I The illusion of an SS elite unit 33 I Involvement of Waffen-SS in atrocities 36 I SS-Division Wiking and atrocities witnessed by Finnish volunteers 41 I Atrocities by Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish volunteers 50 I Surviving archives of the Waffen-SS 54 I Other Archives 55 I The 76 diaries by the Finnish SS-volunteers 55 I Ten diaries by Dutch and Norwegian SS-volunteers 57 I Recollections by and biographies on Finnish volunteers 58 I Photo documentation 59 THE UNITS OF WAFFEN SS-DIVISION WIKING AND THEIR COMMANDERS 61 The SS-Regiment Nordland 61 The SS-Regiment Westland 62 The SS-Regiment Germania 64 SS-Artillerie-Regiment 5 64 SS-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 5 66 SS-Panzerjäger-Abteilung 5 66 The Finnish SS-Volunteer Battalion 67 The Finnish contingent of the Waffen-SS 68 The Division Commander Felix Steiner 68 The Regiment and Battalion Commanders 73 THE HARSH GERMAN OCCUPATION POLICY IN POLAND, 1939–40 76 MASS KILLINGS IN UKRAINE IN 1941 77 Civilians 77 Jews 78 Partisans 82 Soviet Prisoners of War 88 Political Commissars 90 NO PRISONERS WILL BE TAKEN 92 MASSACRES IN THE LEMBERG AREA, 1.–7.7.1941 98 Lemberg 1.7.1941: The Baptism of Shocking Scenes 98 The Ukrainian nationalists 99 I The actions of Einsatzgruppe C 101 I The Wehrmacht City Commandant and German recollections 102 I A Dutch report 104 I Observations by Norwegian volunteers 104 I Experiences of Finnish volunteers 107 Olszanica, 2.7.1941: The first shootings of Soviet POWs and civilians 111 Novosilky, 2.–3.7.1941: Bloody revenge for the Regiment Commander Wäckerle 112 Krivichi, 2.7.1941: The annihilation of a local community 118 Slowita, 2.7.1941: Fire-raising, wild shootings, and executions 120 Kurowice, 3.7.1941: 180 Soviet POWs were shot and some Jews 124 Zolochiv, 3.–4.7.1941: Lieutenant-Colonel Groscurth restrains the brutality of SS-Division Wiking 125 The atrocities in the recollections of the locals 125 I The Ukrainian nationalists 127 I Oberstleutnant Helmuth Groscurth 129 I The SS-Division Wiking 130 I The minor role of Einsatzkommando 4b 132 I Actions by the Dutch and Norwegian SS-volunteers 133 I Experiences of the Finnish volunteers 133 Zboriv, 4.7.1941: Further Massacre of Jews 134 Ozerna, 3.–5.7.1941: 180–200 Jews killed, and two synagogues burned 135 Nowiki, 3.–4.7.1941: Minor scuffles and the killing of stragglers 136 Podhorylce, early July 1941: Two Finns shot two slaughter victims 138 Urycz, 7.7.1941: At least 300 civilians were shot 139 ACTS OF MASS VIOLENCE IN THE TARNOPOL AREA, 4.–6.7.1941 141 Tarnopol, 4.–5.7.1941: An urban massacre 141 The City Commandant Erwin Sander 141 I The Ukrainian nationalists 142 The Sonderkommando 4b 143 I Actions by the Dutch volunteers 143 Experiences of the Finnish volunteers 145 I The possible gauntlet of the Butchery Company 147 Mykulyntsi, 5.7.1941: The Berserk run of the Wikingers 148 The raids of the Ukrainian nationalists 149 I The actions of the SS units 150 Steiner is claimed to have ordered the execution of 200 Soviet POWs, 5.7.1941 151 Hrymailiv, 5.7.1941: Swift settlement in passing 152 Chorostków, 5.7.1941: Outrages against the Jews 154 Husiatyn, 6.7.1941: The mowing down of civilians and Soviet POWs 154 Recollections by Dutch volunteers 154 I Experiences of Finnish volunteers 155 Wehrmacht efforts to check the atrocities 157 VIOLENT EVENTS IN THE EASTERN AREAS, 11.7.1941 – JANUARY 1943 158 Proskurov, 11.7.1941: Mopping-up actions in the streets 158 Bila Tserkva, mid-July 1941: Shooting of Jews 159 The bridgehead of Dnipropetrovsk, August 1941: Shooting of civilians 160 Zhytomyr, mid-July 1941: The deathblow of a city 160 The Wiking round-ups 160 I Einsatzkommando 4b 161 I Cautionary hangings in the market square, 7.8.1941 162 Krementsug, 12.8.1941: The execution of a Soviet Lieutenant 163 Dniprodzerzhynsk: Suspect Russians shot, 22.8.1941 162 Village near Donskoye, 18.1.1942: Necessity to shoot the Ivans 163 Kabardinskaya, 26.9.1942:All the deserters were shot and two Russians hanged 164 Toldzgun, December 1942: Clearing the village 164 Metsentinskaya, January-March 1943: Shooting POWs 165 ATTITUDES TOWARDS JEWS AND REJECTION OF ATROCITIES 166 Anti-Jewish sentiments among the Finnish volunteers 167 SS-indoctrination on the race issue 172 Feelings of sympathy for the suffering Jews 175 Attitudes of indifference 180 Rejection of atrocities and latent anti-German views among the volunteers 183 Angry and understanding attitudes towards the Jews among Danish, Dutch and Norwegian SS-volunteers 187 THE FINNISH INVOLVEMENT 190 The number of victims 191 The pattern of perpetrators 192 The interlude of the Ukrainian nationalists 194 The accompanying Einsatzgruppen 198 The divided attitude of the Wehrmacht forces 199 The Wiking atrocities as mission-focused tactics 200 The Finnish volunteers were well aware of the atrocities 202 The Finnish involvement 202 Appendix 205 Notes 212 Archives 231 Literature 236 Index 245 FOREWORD On January 4th, 2018, Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Israeli fi ce to deliver an independent archive­based sur­ historian and director of the Simon Wiesenthal vey of the Finnish SS­volunteers’ participation in Center’s Jerusalem office, sent a letter to the Presi­ atrocities relating to Jews, prisoners of war, and dent of Finland Sauli Niinistö, requesting that civilians between 1941 and 1943. Professor Lars Fin land launch a comprehensive investigation into Westerlund was engaged to produce the report, the role played by Finnish volunteers who served and he and National Archives researcher Ville­ with the Waffen SS­Division Wiking between Pekka Kääriäinen began work one week later. In 1941 and 1943 in the murder of Jews in Ukraine spite of the considerable volume of material and and the Caucasus. work involved, the report itself was completed In his appeal to Niinistö, Zuroff cited an arti­ by the scheduled deadline of the end of Novem­ cle by the Finnish historian Dr. André Swanström ber 2018, but it became clear that additional time published in the 2017 Yearbook of the Finnish was required to bring the project to a satisfactory Society of Church History. Swanström’s Finnish­ conclusion, for extensive language checking, and language article was entitled Fasismi ja uskonto for the printing and publishing of the final text. suomalaisten SS-pastorien ajattelussa ja toiminnassa Consequently, the Prime Minister’s Office de­ (“Fascism and Religion in the Thoughts and cided that the report would be made public at the Dee ds of Finnish SS­Chaplains”), and it prefaced beginning of February 2019. an extensive volume published in 2018 entitled The Finnish volunteers served in the inter­ Haka ristin ritarit: Suomalaiset SS-miehet, politiik- national Waffen SS­Division Wiking, which ka, uskonto ja sotarikokset (“Knights of the Swas­ drew in volunteers from several other countries, tika: Finnish SS­Men, Politics, Religion and War including Sweden, Denmark, Norway, the Net­ Crimes”). herlands, Belgium, and Estonia. The com man ding The Secretary­General of the Office of the officers of the division and its subordinate units President of the Republic Hiski Haukkala re­ were mainly German Waffen­SS officers. Earlier por­­ted back to Zuroff on January 24th that Fin­ research into the Finnish volunteers in SS­Divi­ land felt it would be important to produce an sion Wiking has leant almost exclusively on ma­ independent scientific report on the matter.
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