RIDING THROUGH RUSSIA

Florian Geyer cavalry trooper and Hermann Fegelein

8th. SS Division Florian Geyer on the Eastern Front

The 8th SS Division or Kavalleria Division Florian Geyer had its beginnings in April 1940 when two cavalry regiments were formed, these were followed by a cavalry brigade and in September 1942 the Division was authorised.

It was destroyed in February 1945 in Budapest.

Most of the war was spent in anti-partisan operations on the Eastern Front. To get an idea of what this meant in practice let me quote part of a report from the commander of Security police and SD in Belorussiya on operation `Hornung` between 8th and 26th February 1943 in the Pripyat Marsh area. “Losses of the enemy: 2,219 dead; 7,378 persons who received special treatment; 65 prisoners; 3,300 Jews. Our own losses: dead 2 Germans, 27 non-Germans; wounded 12 Germans, 26 non-Germans”.

Here’s some excerpts re: SS-Kav Regt./8th SS Division war crimes:

January 1940: Unit subordinated to HSSPF “Ost” Krüger, the former inspector of the Equestrian SS. The unit suffers from a lack of mounts, so in the early part of 1940 replacement horses are requisitioned from Polish breeders and even circuses.

Squardon 5 under W. Weichenwallner inspects a cattle car of transported Jews and sees the car is filthy with excrement. Fearing dysentery, he orders all the Jews shot. His troops don’t have enough ammunition and the Heer refuses to provide any, so Weichenwallner coerces members of the Gendarmerie to kill them, although 11 SS soldiers participate as well.

Commanding Officer of Florian Geyer, Hermann Fegelein, reports how pleased he is that troops commanded by his younger brother Waldemar (who served as a unit officer) fufill their “special tasks” without hesitation.

March 1940: Gestapo investigate allegations that Fegelein has been sending looted goods and cash back to the SS cavalry school at Riem. RFSS Himmler discourages the investigation, not wanting to one of his favored, charismatic officers exposed by scandal.

March 30: Squadron 10, along with Police Battalion 51, battle partisans at Kamienna. SS troops employ “atonement actions” (burning villages, executing males and evacuating women and children)

May 1940: Unit contains 12 cavalry squadrons reorganized into 2 regiments - 1st and 2nd Totenkopf Reiterstandarte; training in Poland; unit strength 1,908 officers and men

SS cavalrymen turn over Polish farmers of “questionable” race to the SD who seize the Polish farmer’s property and resettle it with a volksdeutsche family, often in the same day. Problems arise when the SS and volksdeutsche resettlers find Polish women and children who had evaded the evictions still on their farmsteads. Unit detachments used to keep the peace between Ukrainian and Polish populations

September 1940:

Sept 19-20: The First and Fifth Squadrons from the 1st SS Reiterstandarte participate in the mass arrest of 1,600 Poles in Warsaw after the assassination of one SD man; 2nd Squadron detains 700 Jews for the SD at Otwock. Elements of the 1st SS Reiterstandarte execute 20 Jews per SD orders.

June 1941:

June 22: Operation Barbarossa - Germany invades the Soviet Union; unit assigned to Kommandostab RFSS.

June 24: Unit begins mopping-up operations; SS-Sturmbannführer Fassbender appointed liaison to Heer units.

June 26: SS-Obersturmführer Maeker cited for bravery in defending the 87th Infantry Division’s flank at Narev.

June 27: Himmler, angry that his units are being used on the front lines, informs XLII Armee Korps that it does not tactically control the Kommandostab-RFSS.

June 28: Himmler expressly orders HSSPF Bach-Zelewski to kill all male Jews and drives the women and children into the swamps. Fegelein comments that “only villages that are free of Jews do not become partisan bases.”

June 29: SS Kav Regt 2 stationed Sonnav until July 1

July 1941: SS-Kavallerie Regiment participates in antipartisan sweeps in Pripet marshes; kills 259 Soviet soldiers and 6,500 civilians, mopping up after Einsatzgruppe B.

July 30: Voraus-Abt. combat against Soviet Cossack cavalry, Novo Andreyevka. Back at HQ, RFSS Himmler, Fegelein and Von dem Bach meet; Himmler conveys the “All Jews must be shot. Drive the females into the swamps” order. Fegelein relays order to SS-Sturmbannführer Herthes. Herthes on August 2nd (or 3rd?) informs Franz Magill of Fegelein’s order with the additional comment “The Jews are the reservoir of the partisans.” Magill, shocked by the order to drive women and children into the swamps to drown, radios Brigade HQ to confirm the order. Brigade HQ confirms the order.

August 1941: Unit becomes SS-Kavallerie Brigade (combining 1st and 2nd SS-Totenkopf-Reiterstandarte) under Kommandostab Reichsführer-SS; used for anti-partisan security duties behind the front lines in Russia at the 300×200 square km Pripet Marshes area. Unit operates under the command of SS-Obergruppenführer Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski. Unit strength 3,500 men, 2,900 horses, 375 vehicles

Aug 2-12: 2 mounted detachments under Franz Magill, along with Police and SD troops, kill 14,178 Jews, 1001 partisans and 699 Soviet soldiers at a cost of 2 dead. Many Ukrainian, Byelorussian and Polish residents assist in the capture of Jews to be killed. Magill, who may have complained to Fegelein about the unjustness of the orders, also commented “The Ukrainian clergy was very cooperative” in these actions, and that driving the women and children into the swamps “did not have the desired effect” as the water wasn’t deep enough to drown them. An expanded quote from his report:

“…Jewish marauders were shot. Only a few manual laborers employed by the Wehrmacht repair shops were spared. Driving women and children towards the the marshes did not have the desired effect as the marshes were not deep enough to ensure drowning…The total number of marauders and others shot by the Reiter Abt. stands at 6,526 men. About 10 prisoners were taken away. Overall, the operation may be described as a success.”*

* See page 29-31, “Division Florian Geyer”, by Charles Trang

Aug 7: SS Brigade reports 7,819 Jews killed, Minsk Area.

Aug 8: Squadron 1, SS cavalry Regt. 2 kills 1,950-6,526? Jews at Pinsk. SS lower execution age limit to age 6. Himmler regards the number of executions as “too insignificant.” Fegelein, aware of the emotional toll these grisly actions take on his troops, makes a concerted effort to ensure that the men are given awards and decorations for these “special assignments.”

Aug 11: Magill reports “impressions of combat: none.” In a post-war interrogation, one of Magill’s men commented

“…the Jews behaved themselves in an exemplary fashion. No one tried to flee for his life. I could only marvel at them.”

The SS soldier and his comrades thought what they were doing was, in his words, a “horrible madness*” (* “The Third Reich: A New History” by Michael Burleigh, see p. 566 and footnote 191)

Aug 13: Brigade receives intelligence “Partisan bands operate with the support of the Jewish population.”

Aug 15-21: SS-Kavallerie Regt. 2 participates in antipartisan sweep “Operation Turov” at Turov, Pripet marshes

Aug 23: The mayor and members of the Hilfspolizei are killed by partisans at Starobin; 3rd squadron dispatched to appoint a new mayor and reorganize the Hilfspolizei detachment. The SS suspect the assassins to be Jewish, so CO Waldemar Fegelein (younger brother of Hermann) orders all male Jews in the town to be shot. 21 J

The 8th was encircled in Budapest as Hitler wanted the city held even though the garrison could have evacuated before being encircled and could probably have broken out to meet troops trying to re-capture the city on the 24th of January. German troops in Pest surrendered on the 18th of January the Soviets claimed 35,840 (very precise?) killed and 62,000 prisoners. Inside Buda resistance ceased on the 13h of February the Soviets claiming 30,000 prisoners. The German commander of the Budapest garrison tried to get away through the sewers but came out in the midst of a Russian unit. On the night of the 16th of February a force of some 16,000 troops (Soviet figure) tried to fight their way out, after a promising start they were wiped out in the area of Ferbal almost to a man, as no mention of prisoners with this 3rd group I would put my money on them being mainly SS. The commander of the 8th till 1943 was Herman Fegelein, Eva Braun’s brother in law shot on Hitler’s orders during the last days in Berlin. By the end of March Hungary had been cleared and the Soviets opened the assault on Vienna on the 6th of April.