HiWi

Lupo Solitario · Post by **Lupo Solitario** » Fri Dec 06, 2002 2:06 pm

I'm looking for a correct definition of the concept of HiWi (HilfWillingen I believe) and KaWi (KampfWilling still my opinion)
Any help is appreciated

thanks

Lupo

Jason Pipes · Post by **Jason Pipes** » Fri Dec 06, 2002 2:09 pm

From the glossary found on the main page of Feldgrau.com.

Hilfswillige: Auxiliary Volunteers. After the invasion of the USSR, many thousands of Soviet citizens volunteered to fight the Soviet regime. At first, the German government refused to use them, but later relented (no doubt in the face of mounting casualties) and allowed the German Army to use them in non-combat roles. Hilfswillige served as auxiliaries to the front line troops on various support tasks such as construction or carrying ammo.

Christoph Awender · Post by **Christoph Awender** » Fri Dec 06, 2002 9:53 pm

Interesting is also that already in 1941 they had these Hiwis in their KStN. The KStN says how many Hiwis are authorized for the unit. Which position they have can be determined by the commander but they must be in the Tross section.
In this KStN it is the last point of the additional infos at the end of the document.
http://chrito.users1.50megs.com/kstn/ks ... 1nov41.htm

Christoph

Wurger · Post by **Wurger** » Sat Dec 07, 2002 1:51 am

I wouldn't take the "authorized" numbers of Hiwi's reported by units to be an accurate figure of the numbers that were employed. This is especially true during the early years of the war when "official" Hiwi policies were still unwritten. A lot of the field "improvisations" to solve manpower problems were either unreported or downplayed.

This is also true in the case of Hiwi's joining combat formations - unfortunately there are no definitive records of when these laborers became soldiers.

Regards,

Wurger

Christoph Awender · Post by **Christoph Awender** » Sat Dec 07, 2002 7:08 am

Wurger, I am totally aware of the fact that the authorized number was not an actual one. I just said that it is interesting that they already "counted" on them in official KStN in 1941.

Christoph

joscha · Post by **joscha** » Sat Dec 07, 2002 12:45 pm

Speaking about my unit, the Hiwis were all in support roles. The entire kitchen help was Hiwis; we had a Russian as a cobbler who did a very good job of fixing boots and shoes; we had the luxury of a company barber, a Ukrainian. All of them deserted in October 1944 in Italy.

Oh, yes, the "I-Staffel", the repair squad of my company, as well as more than half of the repair platoon of the battalion were Ivans. As a matter of fact, none of them ever came close to ammunition or explosives.

When we got them in May 1943, they were a skinny lot; two months after - what a happy and fat bunch they were (this shows you the benefits of KP).

My 1,7 cents (US). Joscha

Wurger · Post by **Wurger** » Sun Dec 08, 2002 1:51 am

Sorry Christoph,

No offense intended in my previous post.

It's just that some people tend to consider many of these official reports to be "the Law" and fail to take certain realities into account.

Best Regards,

Wurger

Lupo Solitario · Post by **Lupo Solitario** » Sun Dec 08, 2002 1:16 pm

Thanks for answers guys

My interest for HiWIs is centered on the fact that after fall 1943 thousands of italian soldiers in Balkans and elsewhere were incorporated as HiWis in Whermacht as alternative to deportation in Germany, following german troops....I've had the pleasure to meet a Cefalonia slaughter survivor who ended "to cut trees near Smolensk" as he said. A lot of italians made the same end.
It's quite curious to see in 1944 Italian HiWis in Russia and russian HiWis in Italy (Thanks Joscha) and I wonder how of them filled the ranks of italian resistance (eastern europe partisans are really frequent in italian relations).

bye

Lupo

Feldgrau.net

HiWi

HiWi

hiwis

Hiwis

Hiwis

HiWis

Hiwis