Americans in the Waffen SS

[Bluemoon]

I thought the British Free Corps saw no action and were just used for propaganda purposes not like these Americans mentioned who all seem to have been killed in action,is this correct?

[Paul D]

Some of the BFK ended up in the Front area in Pomerania at the HQ of III SS Panzer Korps , the Commanding General Felix Steiner sent them packing as he considered them to be useless although i think one of them after the war said he had been involved in combat.

Initially they were i think to be assigned to SS Panzer Auf Abt 11,

regards

Paul

[Dick]

I have spent much time in Eurpoe over the years getting to know many former members of the TK and other divisions. I became a close friend to a war veteran that went back to Germany, and he ended up in the TK division. He was born in Ohio. He wanted to fight the Comunists, and did. He had dual citizenship, loved both America and Germany, and hated the commies! He also gave me the one uniform thing he had left, his white tunic he wore as a sgt, when waiting tables for officers. He spent his war fighting carreer on the Eastern front. He was not a terrorist, nor a traitor. Like most of these young German men, and there were very large numbers of German Americans who did what he did, they all went back long before the war between the US and Germany ever started.

[OKW]

Joyce was in fact an Irish citizen and thus cannot have been a traitor to the British Crown for which he was hung. Another whose name eludes me was the son of a minister in Churchills government, he was also hung. And of course British Royalty with its close German ties has thrown up relatives which certain tabloid newspapers enjoy exposing again and again when copy is short. Not forgetting the Duke of Winsor, Edward 8th that wasn't, who was very friendly with certain T.R figures so much so that he was shipped off to the west indies to guard those islands against invasion.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Another whose name eludes me was the son of a minister in Churchills government, he was also hung.

John Amery

Cheers, Ade.

PS: Albert Pierrepoint (Britains hangman) described Amery as the bravest man that he ever had to execute.

[Adrian Stevenson]

William Joyce was actually born in New York, but he applied for a British Passport in July 1934. That is what sealed his fate.

Cheers, Ade.

[Dick]

Most of the American born, that fought in the German military, first went back to Germany with their German born parents. The parents mostly came to the USA after the first world war, and returned in the late 30's when there was no war going on.
They were not being sheltered in the normal sense, but the depression in those days, hit Germany a lot harder than in the US, only because of the war reperations added to the misery, by the league of nations, headed by the French Government.

[Brian Childress]

Thank you all for the info on William Joyce. Until recently I had no idea that Germany had a propagandist counterpart to "Tokyo Rose". Was there not another one named Axis Sally, or Axis Annie? Did the Allies have anything comparable going for them to broadcast back to occupied Europe other than the BBC and such?

[stonemint]

As an aside, do not forget that there were Americans who defected to the other side during both the Korean and Vietnam conflicts....

[Dick]

As an aside, do not forget that there were Americans who defected to the other side during both the Korean and Vietnam conflicts....

The Americans that I know that ended up in the German military were not defectors, they mostly went back to Germany with their parents where the parents were born, and they can't be classified as defectors when there is no war, hot or cold.
In fact, there were a lot of former SS men that ended up in our OSS after the war, and some in the newly formed US Special Forces in the early 60's. Dr. Werner Von Braun headed up in our space program. Each man had a story to tell from what he lived thru.
There were a lot of German prisoners being held in both Britain and the USA, after the war. Some ended up staying, as they had no place to go after the Berlin wall went up, as they couldn't go back to what ended up as Communist East Germany.
Some ended up marrying British and American gils. I have a friend in the UK that was in the Totenkopf Division as a very young soldier, got wounded, ended up where he was recovering, the British took over. He was taken to a British internment camp in England, eventually released into the country. He couldn't go back to East Germany, and then ended up marrying a British girl. Latter he was in the British Army, and guess what, he was sent to Palastine with the British troops there, in a place now named Israel. I have photo's of him in his TK uniform, his British uniform, and also at the Wailing wall. He is alive and doing well, inspite of all he went thru. I met him quite by chance in Austria. I was attending a yearly festiville that honored all soldiers from all wars. I had taken a photo album I had picked up at a MAX show many years ago, and was showing it to some veterans of the TK division sitting at a long table having some beer, and passing the album around. Shortly threafter I got up and went to the bar to get some more refrshment. While waiting for the beer, I hear an umustakable British voice and accent saying that is a very nice album from my old division. I turned and looked at this man, and naturally said, how can that be, your British, and he says, I wasn't then.
Some of you that have gone to the MAX or SOS militaria shows, might have got to know Mark Carrachi. Mark was in Seal Team 6 before retirerment, I got to know him through my business when Mark was active duty. Anyway, he always was interested in WW2 sniper gear, to include Germn Army and SS. He took me up on my offer to introduced him to some real former SS snipers. When the time came, we flew to a vet reunion meeting in Germany, and he got to meet, and see them in photo's when they were young SS snipers in uniform, and their weapons and equipment.
Some here may recall, about ten plus years ago, that there was a reunion of those from both sides, of the tank battle of Kursk.
The old men from both the Russian and German sides, sat down to a meal, and all the other festivities in a remeberance to the fallen.
I was invited to attend, but my wife and I had been there in Germany and Austia for two weeks, and had to get my or 12-13 year old daughter back home and back to her junior high school.
That is one trip I will always especially wish I could have attended, the SS and 10th Guards, sitting and having a civil time together. With age does wisdom come, but not always.

There is a lot more history to be discovered, just when we think we know what went on, wham, more things pop up., that's why history is so interesting.