Dutch Waffen-SS Legion & Brigade 1941–44
Goebbels’ 1941 propaganda campaign to present Germany's invasion of the USSR as a battle for European civilization against Asian barbarism convinced many men in occupied 'Germanic' European countries, such as Scandinavia and the Low Countries, to volunteer to fight on the Russian Front.
One of the strongest national legions of such a kind was raised in the Netherlands, where it was supported by a large pro-Nazi movement led by Anton Mussert. The 3,000-man Netherlands Volunteer Legion fought on the Leningrad front in regimental strength, from the Red Army's winter 1941/42 counter-offensive until April 1943. The survivors were then reinforced to form a 5,500-strong Panzergrenadier Brigade, and after anti-partisan service in Croatia, they returned to Army Group North as part of Steiner's III SS Panzer Korps, fighting in the most arduous battles of 1943–44 until driven back into Pomerania. In the final months of the war the division formed the nucleus of the new 23rd SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division 'Nederland'.
In this illustrated study of the Dutch Waffen-SS Legion and Brigade, specialist Massimiliano Afiero explores the full history of this important formation from its establishment in 1941 until it was incorporated into the ‘Nederland’ Division in 1944. Contemporary photographs and full-colour illustrations support the text and reveal key details including aspects of uniform and insignia.
Massimiliano Afiero specializes in the history of Axis units during the Second World War and particularly in the Waffen-SS. He is one of the few Italian historical researchers to have personally interviewed many veterans of the Waffen-SS and he has published numerous books dealing with foreign volunteers in the German armed forces during World War II. Since May 2008 he has been Editor-in-Chief of the bimonthly magazine SGM (Seconda Guerra Mondiale), and in 2017 he started his own magazine The Axis Forces in World War Two.
Ramiro Bujeiro has become a frequent and popular contributor to Osprey Publishing since illustrating Warrior 23: US Marine in Vietnam (1998). He is an experienced commercial artist who lives and works in his native city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. His professional background includes commissions as a figure illustrator and strip cartoonist for clients all over Europe and the Americas, including many years' work for IPC Magazines in Great Britain. His main interests are the political and military history of Europe in the first half of the 20th century.