Remaining Waffen SS veterans

[doriot]

Extremely interesting discussions here. Does anyone now how many of the Waffen SS men are still alive? doesn't appear to be many now, I suppose. Is there a contact organization by which I can write to them for research purposes?
thanks
RFC

[schwedi]

I am sorry, I dont know how many are still alive and where you can contact them!!!

But, my grandfather was in the Waffen-SS!! He fought in the battle about Berlin and was taken to russian capizity after the war.
He was only 1/2 a year in war, but he can tell you some interesting stories!!

[Danny]

Servus Schwedi,

in what unit did your grandfather serve?

Would you share a story or two with us?

Regards

Danny

[schwedi]

Yes, if you are interested in!!

He served in the 11 SS Flak Regiment, he was in the flak because his brother served in it!!
A story which showes the brutality of the SS:
My grandfather and his friend got the mission to go to a near viallage. From there they should get a machine to make cloth (dont know english word "Nähmaschine" ind german)! They got into the house and heared some strange noise! They knew that the russians broke through the lines at Halbe and they are everywhere hiding and sniping!! His friend took a grante and through down the celler where the noise came from! After the expolsion they heared people screaming! They shoot down into the celler! After an half an hour they went down and my grandfather saw that they had shoot four young german girls which were hiding in the celler. The mother of them was still alive! My grandfather didnt talked to her! He and his friend only stole her food and got on with their mission!!
So you see how the SS worked!!

My english isnt so good, so dont ...

If you want to hear something more, just ask!!

[schwedi]

but this isnt the normal way my grandfather got through war...
he only had luck and didnt want to play the hero there...

[Danny]

Well if you´ve got more stories to tell, please go ahead.

Regards

Danny

[schwedi]

Right lets go on!!

My grandfather and his his friend (he was Obergefreiter) walked along a road till Halbe from the boarder of poland! And at that time when you had stolen something to eat or if you dress you up like an civil you got shoot! They were walking till Halbe (their unit was splitted up) and everywhere their was Gestapo and "Kettenhinde" (SS-Polizei) running around checking, that nobody is stealing something! But the two went stealing into a farm and were cought by the "Kettenhunde" and they said to each other:"We´ll kill you....".
But suddenly a rocket from the "Stalinorgel" was exploding infront of the farm house. So the friend of my grandfather and the two Kettenhunde got killed. My grandfather had a piece from the rocket ("Splitter") in his after!!

So you see the russians were so strong, that they shoot with a rocket to kill only four people!!

Should I tell more?
I have plenty of stories!!

[Groscurth]

I saw a BBC documentary about the Waffen SS in wich was interviewed a Otto Kumm and he was described as a surviving "Leibstandarte-General"?
Anybody know his men?

[jan willem]

KUMM, Otto (RK m. EL u. Schw.; DKiG)
(1909- )
SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS:
Born: 1. Oct. 1909 in Hamburg. (Still living as of . 2000)
NSDAP-Nr.: 421 230/SS-Nr.: 18 727
Promotions:
SS-Brigf.u.Gen.Maj.d.W-SS: 9. Nov. 1944; SS-Oberf.: ; SS-Staf.: ; SS-OStubaf.: ; SS-Stubaf.: ; SS-HStuf.: ; SS-OStuf.: ; SS-UStuf.: .
Assignments:
Kdr. 1.SS-Panzer-Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler": 6. Feb. 1945 - 8. May 1945.
Kdr. 7.SS-Freiwilligen-Gebirgs-Division "Prinz Eugen": 30. Jan. 1944 - 20. Jan. 1945.
Ia (1.Generalstabsoffizier) 7.SS-Freiwilligen-Gebirgs-Division "Prinz Eugen":
Kdr. SS-Infanterie-Regiment (mot) "Der Führer"/SS-Division "Reich" (redesignated SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment "Der Führer", 9. Nov. 1943, then numbered as SS-Pz.Gren.Rgt. 4 "Der Führer" on 22. Oct. 1943):17. Jul. 1941 - 20. Apr. 1943.
Decorations & Awards:
Ritterkreuz des E.K.: 16. Feb. 1942 as SS-OStubaf. & Kdr. SS-Inf.Rgt. (mot) "Der Führer"/SS-Division "Reich"/9.Armee/Hgr. Mitte, Russian Front;
- Eichenlaub (Nr. 221): 8. Apr. 1943 as Kdr. SS-Pz.Gren.Rgt. 4 "Der Führer"/SS-Pz.Gren.Div. "Das Reich"/SS-Pz.Korps/HGr. Süd, Russian Front;
-- Schwertern (Nr. 138): 17. Mar. 1945 as SS-Brigf.u.Gen.Maj.d.W-SS & Kdr. 7.SS-Freiw.Geb.Div. "Prinz Eugen"/Heeresgruppe E/Balkan Front;
Deutsches Kreuz in Gold: 29. Nov. 1941 as SS-OStubaf. & Kdr. SS-Rgt. "Der Führer"/SS-Div. "Reich", Russian Front;
1939 EK I: 3. Jun. 1940; 1939 EK II: 30. May 1940;
Wehrmachterberichte: 6. Jun. 1944 & 10. Oct. 1944;
Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen; Ostmedaille; SS-Dienstauszeichnungen; Ehrendegen des RF SS/Totenkopfring der

[Thomas V.]

KUMM, Otto [...]

That information is copied and pasted from Mike Miller's ABR (Axis Biographical Research) website. Please list your sources when quoting something from the net, it's not only courteous but also fair as Mr. Miller put a lot of work into this.

Groscurth, did you mean that "documentary" on Canvas yesterday?

[Groscurth]

Jes, ThomasV, that is the one, saw via sattelite here and I'am looking forward for the next one, the special about the old VU senator , Van Oteghem that served in the Waffen SS from 1941 till the surrender in Berlin.

[Thomas V.]

Jes, ThomasV, that is the one, saw via sattelite here and I'am looking forward for the next one, the special about the old VU senator , Van Oteghem that served in the Waffen SS from 1941 till the surrender in Berlin.

Ah, I knew it Well it's not made by the BBC but by ZDF (originally has 6 different 'episodes', by G. Knopp). Unfortunatly these people operate without any scrupules and seem to have an agenda of their own. 40% Of this ,,documentary" was about ,,war crimes", the other 40% was a desperate atempt to make the SS-men seem like brainwashed killing robots. Nowhere did they ever explain what the Waffen-SS really was, it was a hodge-podge of ideas, impressions and Wehrmacht-soldiers talking. Kumm got exactly one (1) sentance. One cannot help wondering what the intention is, when they show some silly-looking English veteran saying how: ,,They [the SS] weren't very pleasant people to meet." Okay, I can understand that. But then he says: ,,They had no respect for anybody, they just killed every child and woman that stood in their way". It got a bit hilarious when, after their many attempts to make the SS look as bad as they possibly could, one SS man broke out in tears when he thought of his dead comrades and the other one admitted he screamed for his mother many times. Well, there they are, fighting for the ,,evil regime", as Bush's parrot Mr. ,,Rob'' likes to point out.

En nu even tussen ons: Oswald is een goede vriend van me, echt een Heerlijk (met capitale h) man! Hij zag de Knopp-spinsels reeds in Duitsland en vond het de smerigste aanval die hij ooit zag tegen de SS. Hij werd trouwens quasi in de val gelokt om mee te werken aan dat interview. Ze lokten hem naar een hotel in Brussel onder het valse voorwendsel dat ze een documentaire maakten over de Waffen-SS met Heinz Harmel. Maar Harmel was overleden in 2000! Om een leugen zitten die lui ook nooit verveeld. Ze drukten hem (de Duitse filmploeg - met een Engelse naam!) ook op hart dat ze niet zouden proberen de Waffen-SS weer met de KZ in verband te brengen. Dat hebben ze toch dubbel en dik gedaan achteraf. Wat we zagen op Canvas was een vreemde compilatie, waarschijnlijk hebben ze daar de 6 afzonderlijke docu's tot één geheel gemaakt. Ze waren zo slim om KZ eruit te halen, maar zoals je kon zien bij de intro (ze toonden de toegangspoort van Auschwitz) was dat wel ergens de intentie geweest. Volgende week dus zijn levensverhaal, alhoewel hij me ook al heeft gezegd dat we het met een ,,kilo zout'' (zijn woorden) gaan mogen nemen. Hij was inderdaad ere-senator en heeft heel wat op zijn politieke palmares. Ik zou er hier mee gaan opscheppen maar dat zou hij niet graag hebben. Was een zeer behendig soldaat en kon prima ,,tussen de kogels lopen''. Maar van oorlog moet hij niets meer hebben, en terecht. Hijzelf (zag de uitzending reeds) is ,,relatief tevreden'' (weer zijn woorden) bij de uitzending. Ik vraag me af wat we gaan zien voor deel III? Toch niet dat vrouwmens van de ,,inleiding'' dat de hele uitzending door zit te kakelen zekers?

[Groscurth]

Ik denk dat Mr. Van Oteghem er goed zal uitkomen,hij kwam er toch zeker niet slecht uit uit dit stuk. Lijkt me een fantastisch man, mijn pa heeft hem nog bezig geweten (was enorme VU er tijdens zijn leven).

Ja, juist dit komt uit Guido Knop's doc. en die Brit zijn regeltje is onnozel zonder wederwoord (maar dit executeren door de Leibstandarte is wel gebeurd, zie Felgrau).

De vrouw is Catherine Van Eylen, ze leidt enkel de programma's in, de mensen die inspreken zijn anderen. Vind haar niet slecht.

Ben echt benieuwd naar volgende week

[Rob - WSSOB]

But America is a terrible regime led by a militarist demogogue (sic) who rightly should be placed in the rogue's gallery of evil dictators such as Stalin, Idi Imin and Pol Pot.

Well, there they are, fighting for the ,,evil regime", as Bush's parrot Mr. ,,Rob'' likes to point out.

You talkin to me? It's always wonderful to hear from the perspective of the whatveverfantasyfuhrer of the Flemish Skinhead Ausbilding und Ersatz battalion.

Perhaps you could entertain us with a essay illustrating how "Dubya" is similar to Pol Pot.

If you can't write it, let me see if I can track down your gloating comments about the 9/11 WTC attacks. They'd make for interesting reading on a forum developed by an American, moderated by an American, and frequented by Americans. I think we'd all really appreciate seeing them again.

Keep up with your hyperbolic venom, Thomas. It's good for us to be reminded that the hatred and racism that motivated the Third Reich is still alive and well.

[Thomas V.]

Ik denk dat Mr. Van Oteghem er goed zal uitkomen,hij kwam er toch zeker niet slecht uit uit dit stuk. Lijkt me een fantastisch man, mijn pa heeft hem nog bezig geweten (was enorme VU er tijdens zijn leven).

Yes, he always remained a nationalist. His son, Sven Van Ooteghem, is an architect. Oswald studied architecture as well after the war. Recently saw an interview with Sven on TV Brussels. But I don't think you can receive that where you are In any case I was very impressed by his appearance on Knopp's documentary, and no doubt will be too in his own documentary. Gentlemen, start your videorecorders ...

Ja, juist dit komt uit Guido Knop's doc. en die Brit zijn regeltje is onnozel zonder wederwoord (maar dit executeren door de Leibstandarte is wel gebeurd, zie Felgrau).

Indeed, all the incidents took place. The question only is why and how. For example I currently achieved a breakthrough regarding Erfurt-case, but it turned out to be quite differently as to what I was supposed to find. It will be no different with any other massacre-claim.

Anyhow, it was good seeing Fenet, Kumm and Walther ... Only Kumm is still alive. Fenet was a very docile man as well. He came to Flanders many times, but I assume you were hanging from some mountain at the time