Estonian SS volunteers and history

[Cees]

Me too Paul! It is good to see you here too.

With all the best,

Cees

[Dimas]

Hello Dimas,

Is it possible to see a picture of your tag from Rgt. 48? I have visited this place and thought 'only' about 50-60 tags had been found there? Are you sure about Wachtbataillon Nordwest? I know a tag from Standarte Nordwest which was found close to this farm building. The owner of that tag was captured on 26 July '44 - 64 years ago today - and only returned to Holland on 26 October 1950. Unfortunately, he passed away some years ago.

With all the best,

Cees

P.S. Kindzjal, that photo was not taken in or around Narva. That photo is probably from the Dutch legion while it was stationed in the Wolchow-Kessel in 1942.

Hello Cees,
All information about the tags are found you recieve from Valera Knyazev, but there some other guys where I got the tags too, Viktor from Sillamae found about 10 of them, "Kapiton" found about 5 of them, Robokop- more than 10, and others who is not a well known diggers. The Wachbtl Nordwest about a monthe aga has been on the hands of the Valeri Knyazev, you can ask him, but as I heard he made a most widely search, and probably that one was found in around of 1 km from the "stuffs farm"

[Paul D]

Hi Dimas,

What has happened to all the GS Tags the guys have found, have they all been sold on ??

regards

Paul

[LoCo]

Memorial at Sinimäed (The Blue Hills, Grenader Hill).









The texts and dates in the lower part of the stones show when the stones were destroyed after the April riot in Estonia last year.
On the slope of Lastekodumägi Hill there are also memorial stones for Flemish, Norwegian and Danish volunteers.



Text scanned from brochure "Sinimäed 1944", compiled by the order of The Foundation of Honouring the Estonian Fight for Freedom.

[Paul D]

Estonian Ritterkreuztrager and Narwakampfer , from left to right,

Alfons Rebane , Harald Nugiseks , Harald Riipalu ,

Note the Estonian Division collar patches.

regards

Paul

[Woolgar]

This is a great thread. I have been to Estonia but after reading this I want to go back !

Nick

[Datrus]

A very interesting thread. Thank you for bringing it back up Woolgar

Regards, Lars

[TrondK]

Great reading.

[Scout]

Having been to The Blue Hills, the Tannenberg Line and Narva several times, the subject is close to my heart.
Have also visited there with relatives of those lost there.
The history of it all is very moving.
That Estonians continued to fight in the forrests after '45 is almost to much to bear.
Richard Landwehr is a controversial person and not exactly universially loved.
That how ever, does not change the fact, that he has written some interesting books and magazines.

[Scout]

Just a few anecdotes to Dimas's work, after the surrender of the remnants of the 20th Esonian Division in Czechoslavakia Knights Cross Winner SS Sturmbannfuhrer Paul Maitla and other Estonian officers of his Regiment were murdered by Czech partisans on 10/5/1945.

Some of the Estonians were captured by the British in Denmark in May 1945 as the Ausb and Ertz Regiment from the Divison was stationed at that time in Denmark and included the famous Knights Cross Winner SS Obersturmbannfuhrer Harald Riipalu. Riipalu and many other Estonians settled in the UK and he died in West Yorkshire in 4/4/1961,

Maitla and Riipalu wewre both awarded the Ritterkreuz for the Narva Battles.

regards

Paul

Paul, do you know where in Denmark, they were when captured by the British?
I know of some troops of Eastern origin that were located on an island in the Baltic Sea.