Page 452 - Conflitti Militari e Popolazioni Civili - Tomo I

452 XXXIV Congresso della CommIssIone InternazIonale dI storIa mIlItare • CIHm

integration into the ‘general German SS’. In Norway, the establishment of the ‘Germanic SS’
had provoked troubles within the Hird, the armed militia of Quisling’s Nasjonal Samling .
30
the agreements between the SS and the Hird were not respected by the latter. However, many
left the Hird for the SS. The ‘Germanic SS’ in Norway had at this time 463 members and the
amount of donor members was 1099 . In Denmark, Fritz Clausen, the head of the country’s
31
Nazi party , was opposed to the establishment of the ‘Germanic SS’ . in the Netherlands,
32
33
Anton Mussert, the leader of the Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging (NSB) , only agreed
34
lately to change the name of the Nederlandse SS. at the time the report was written, however,
the Dutch ‘Germanic SS’ had 2518 members, among whom 226 were policemen. Moreover,
there were 1229 donor members. Despite this more or less important amount of members, the
NSB continued to create difficulties for the recruitment process . in Flanders, the ‘Germanic
35
SS’ received each day more registrations. At the time of the report it had 391 members . Nev-
36
ertheless, as the numbers are not very impressive, it is easily understandable that Riedweg and
his colleagues emphasised the ideological educations of the ‘Germanic SS’ members.
Already at the beginning of 1942, Riedweg, as the GL’s chief of staff, received the mis-
sion to politically form the SS and its similar organisations in ‘Germanic countries’ in the
‘Great-Germanic’ idea . Soon after Bormann’s order of 12 August 1942, Riedweg sent a se-
37
cret document to the GL’s services regarding ‘Germanic education’. Besides insisting on the
education of Waffen-SS leaders, he emphasised the need of the education of ‘Germanic SS’
leaders. For the fulfilment of the RF-SS’ political tasks in the ‘Germanic space’, he considered
the creation of a ‘corps of Germanic leaders’ a necessity . This ‘Germanic education’ was
38
not limited to the SS’ Junkerschule at Tölz. The GL organised a variety of courses. The first
39
one, of a week’s duration, took place from summer 1942 in a holiday residence of the Berlin-
Babelsberg police force (Ordnungspolizei). The courses were inaugurated by Riedweg. The
participants – 60 to 80 men – were deployed by the GL . The presentations they followed
40
were about German, ‘Germanic’ and European history, the ‘science of races’, politics, the
NSDAP’s programme, Mein Kampf, the ideology and life of the ‘political soldier’ . the
41

30 Durand, Yves, Le nouvel ordre européen nazi 1938-1945, Bruxelles : Editions Complexe, 1990, p. 18,
Seidler, op. cit., pp. 431-438.
31 BA Berlin, NS 31/375, SS-Hauptamt-Amt VI, Monatsbericht / Oktober 1942, 20.11.1942, p. 4.
32 Durand, op. cit., p. 251; Seidler, op. cit., pp. 135-138.
33 BA Berlin, NS 31/375, SS-Hauptamt-Amt VI, Monatsbericht / Oktober 1942, 20.11.1942, p. 8.
34 Seidler, op. cit., pp. 390-398.
35 BA Berlin, NS 31/375, SS-Hauptamt-Amt VI, Monatsbericht / Oktober 1942, 20.11.1942, p. 9.
36 Ibid., p. 11.
37 AF, E 4320 (B), 1984/29, Urteil des Bundesstrafgerichts in Sachen Franz Riedweg und 18 Mitangeklagte,
Luzern, 20.12.1947, p. 48.
38 BA Berlin, NS 31/375, SS-Hauptamt-Amt VI, Geheim, betr. Germanische Führerausbildung in Tölz, Ried-
weg, 24.8.1942.
39 the Waffen-SS’ military academies (Kammer, Hilde; Bartsch, Elisabet, Lexikon Nationalsozialismus. Begrif-
fe, Organisationen und Institutionen, Hamburg: Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag, 2002 (6. Auflage), p. 270).
40 AF, E 4320 (B), 1973/87, Bd. 10, Verhör des Dr. Heinrich Büeler durch den eidgenössischen Untersuchungs-
richter O. Gloor als Beschuldigter, 9.11.1946, p. 22.
41 AF, E 4320 (B), 1984/29, Urteil des Bundesstrafgerichts in Sachen Franz Riedweg und 18 Mitangeklagte,