Flemish volunteers

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Salacious Crumb
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Flemish volunteers

Post by Salacious Crumb »

My latest uniform: an Obershütze in the 27th SS Frw.Gren.Div. Langemarck. Sold my Uscha. last year as it was to small and I didn't feel good with the rank.

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This was the old one:

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jeep111
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Re: Flemish volunteers

Post by jeep111 »

is it still for sale , thats a beuty :shock: :D
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Re: Flemish volunteers

Post by Salacious Crumb »

I'm sory to disapoint you but is is already sold and used well by a friend of mine.
I had to redo the insignia on that one as the Langemarck shield was on the Frw. Legion Flandern position (botom of sleeve) and the eagle was more on the elbow. Strange positions for this kind of insignia.

Altough I've been so a few events in england, I saw a Flemish uniform last year in Beltring. But is was totaly wrong! It was from a Flemish guy who was badged up like a chrismastree. With a Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub Frw. Legion Flandern cuffband and infantry waffenfarbe :shock: I confronted him with his awfull impression and he claimed to be "Remi Schrijnen".

http://www.wwiirelics.com/remyschrijnen.htm

He had at least 3 things wrong:
1 Remi was Ritterkreuz träger, not Eichenlaub!
2 Remi wasin the artilerie and wore red waffenfarbe
3 Remi wore a M43 jacket with Langemarck cuffband when he got his RK as a Sturmmann

I hate those clowns who go to Beltring and think it's ok to wear a uniform without doing some proper investigation in their impression :evil:
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Re: Flemish volunteers

Post by Salacious Crumb »

Belgium was occupied in 1940, as you know the Flemish live in the North and speak Dutch and the Walloons live in the South and speak French.

The Germans found that the Flemish where of Arian origin and they desided to let the vollunteers enlist in the Waffen-SS. The Westland regiment of the Wiking was created (1940) and a few months later the Flemish Legion: Freiwillige Legion Flandern (1941)
in 1943 the Sturmbrigade Langemarck was formed out of the veterans and new enlisted vollunteers. In 1944 every collaborator had to leave Flanders and the Allied forces liberated Flanders, so they had the choise do volluntary labor service in Germany or enlist the new Flemish Waffen-SS Division Langemarck (the 27th SS Div.)

The Walloons wheren't considered as Arians in 1940 so they could join the Wehrmacht into the Legion Wallonie (Inf. Btl. 373). In juli 1943 the 5. Freiwilligen Sturmbrigade Wallonien became a Waffen-SS unit. In 1944 it was upgraded as the 28. SS Frw. Gren Division Wallonien.

the Flemish vollunteers wore all the time cuffbands: Nordwest / Westland / Frw. Legion Flandern / Langemarck
their shield was a rampant black lion on a yellow field

The Walloons wore only a cuffband when they enlisted the Waffen-SS: Wallonien
Their shield was a belgian flag with the words Wallonie on top of it.
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Re: Flemish volunteers

Post by Salacious Crumb »

Image

from a friend. you can find more stuf of his collection on his blog: http://www.military.be/blog/
Last edited by Salacious Crumb on Fri Jun 19, 2009 11:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Flemish volunteers

Post by Salacious Crumb »

As you can see the Legion Flandern wore the SS colar tabs. The reason was a big fight between the vollunteers of the Waffen-SS in who joined the Nordwest (Waffen-SS unit for Dutch and Flemish in 1940) and the men for the Flemish legion.
When they joined togeter in Poland in 1941 at the exersize camp of Debica the first already swore an oath to the Waffen-SS and the men of the Legion didn't want to do that, becouse in Flanders they where told that they didn't have to join the Waffen-SS but a special Flemish unit under Flemish command. The Waffen-SS men didn't have positive thoughts about joining a unit that was not that elite.

Then SS high command decided that everyboddy had to wear the SS collartabs and the Frw. Legion Flandern cuffband, so that everyboddy could be happy. Notmaly the collartab of the legion was the tryfo but this was not adopted untill the Sturmbrigade Langemarck in 1943 and the 27th Ss-division Langemarck in 1944.

Image
http://www.military.be/blog/

Note the army eagle on the cap, a feature most of the Flemish vollunteers had.
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Peiper

Walloon volunteers

Post by Peiper »

Greetings kameraden :D
An intresting topic which needs a lot of research as iam beginning to realize.
Here is some pics of one of the "Wallonien" Commanders "Leon Degrelle" at the time
of his Knights Cross award and also in Wehrmacht uniform when the "Wallonien" were
known as "Wallonische-Legion" and were part of the Wehrmacht-Heer.
Leon Degrelle.jpg
Leon Degrelle.jpg (13.28 KiB) Viewed 32783 times
Leon_degrelle pic 2.jpg
Leon_degrelle pic 2.jpg (15.04 KiB) Viewed 32781 times
Leon Degrelle WH Uniform.jpg
Leon Degrelle WH Uniform.jpg (55.95 KiB) Viewed 32782 times
Regards Peiper :wink:
Last edited by Peiper on Fri Jun 19, 2009 11:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Peiper

Walloon volunteers

Post by Peiper »

Wallonie Recruiting poster :wink:
Wallonie recruiting poster.jpg
Wallonie recruiting poster.jpg (36.15 KiB) Viewed 32784 times
Cheers Peiper :D
Last edited by Peiper on Fri Jun 19, 2009 11:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Peiper

Walloon volunteers

Post by Peiper »

Some more recruitment posters :wink:
Cheers Peiper.
Wallonie recruiting poster 2.jpg
Wallonie recruiting poster 2.jpg (8.83 KiB) Viewed 32783 times
Leon Degrelle recruitment poster.jpg
Leon Degrelle recruitment poster.jpg (56.27 KiB) Viewed 32783 times
wallonie-02.jpg
wallonie-02.jpg (39.31 KiB) Viewed 32781 times
Last edited by Peiper on Fri Jun 19, 2009 11:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Peiper

Flemish volunteers

Post by Peiper »

Here are some pics of another known Dutch figure "Remi Schrijnen" who was awarded
the Knights Cross at the rank of SS-Sturmann, for knocking out seven T34 Tanks single
handed when wounded, Schrijnen was a member of SS-Langemarck.
Schrijnen Remi.jpg
Schrijnen Remi.jpg (35.35 KiB) Viewed 32773 times
Schrijnen Remi. pic 2.jpg
Schrijnen Remi. pic 2.jpg (9.24 KiB) Viewed 32771 times
Good hunting, Peiper :wink:
Last edited by Peiper on Sat Jun 20, 2009 4:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Walloon volunteers

Post by rednas »

Peiper wrote:Here are some pics of another known Dutch figure "Remi Schrijnen" who was awarded
the Knights Cross at the rank of SS-Sturmann, for knocking out seven T34 Tanks single
handed when wounded, Schrijnen was a member of SS-Langemarck.

Good hunting, Peiper :wink:
He was Flemish, e.a. from the norther Dutch speaking part of Belgium, but not a Dutchman from the Netherlands. Ironicly, he did served in the 4.SS PzGren. Brigade 'Nederland' (and not in Langemarck) at that time.
Image
Peiper

Re: Flemish volunteers

Post by Peiper »

Thanks Rednas :D

This is another example of confusing and conflicting information, Remi Schrijnen was indeed
Flemish from the Dutch speaking part of Belgium, born at Kumtich on 24th Dec 1921, but some
of the other "facts" are contadicting.???

In Wilkipedia it does state that Schrijnen was a member of the 4th SS Pz Gren Brigade "Nederland",
but then states that he was promoted to SS-Unterscharfuhrer for actions at Leningrad on Feb 43,
prior to his actions at the Battle of Narva on the 3 March 44 when he won the Knights Cross.

Other refs have disputed this saying that Schrijnen was only an SS-Sturmann at the time of his RK,
award and had served in the SS Frewilligen Flandern before it had been redesignated to
the SS Frewilligen Sturmbrigade Langemarck on 31st May 43.

(see books "Hitler's Samurai" by Bruce Quarrie page 146 and "The Iron Cross" by Gordon
Williamson page 112)
Remy Schrijnen.pic 2.jpg
Remy Schrijnen.pic 2.jpg (77.72 KiB) Viewed 32719 times
{Photo of Schrijnen wearing "Langemarck" insignia, taken after The award of the RK 1944}

Regards Peiper :wink:
kradschutze
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Re: Flemish volunteers

Post by kradschutze »

Remi schrijnen was born in Kontich, a Flemmisch village in the outskirts of Antwerp
He was allready in the Langemarck divison when he earned his knights kross, at the rank of sturmmann, the rank of unterscharfuhrer was only for propaganda surpose (so said..?) ive recently spoke to one of he's fellow pak crew members....
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Re: Flemish volunteers

Post by jan »

After the heavy fighting in the Oekraïne during the first months of 1944 the SS-Freiwilligen Sturmbrigade "Langemarck" was send end april 1944 to the SS-Tr.Üb.Pl. "Böhmen" for refitting.
When there was a crisis situation on the Narva front in july 1944 a Kampfgruppe "Rehmann" was organised from elements of the Sturmbrigade and send to the Narva front. The Panzerjäger, were Remi Schrijnen was in, were part of this Kampfgruppe. It was for his actions there that he was awarded the RK.

The first photo shows Remi Schrijnen, still as a sturmmann, on his way to the award cermony in october 1944, the second just after receiving the RK. He was later promoted to unterscharführer.

Image

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Re: Flemish volunteers

Post by rednas »

jan wrote:When there was a crisis situation on the Narva front in july 1944 a Kampfgruppe "Rehmann" was organised from elements of the Sturmbrigade and send to the Narva front. The Panzerjäger, were Remi Schrijnen was in, were part of this Kampfgruppe. It was for his actions there that he was awarded the RK.
Could it be that this KG was serving under the 4.SS Brigade Nederland, that most sources say that he was from that unit while being awarded the RK?
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