Josef Mengele

Hitler’s Surprising SS Volunteers: The “Wikings”

The Scandinavian volunteers who would become part of one of the world’s most feared army section.

Calin Aneculaesei

Nov 24, 2019 · 4 min read

Men of the 11th SS Panzer-Grenadier Division Nordland during the Battle of Narva, 11 February 1944

The Schutzstaffel (SS for short) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party within the Third Reich, and later throughout German-occupied Europe during World War Two. It began as a small guard unit known as the Saal-Schutz (“Hall Security”) made up of NSDAP volunteers to provide security for the Nazi party meetings in Munich./.../