WBritain
First Sergeant
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2005
- Messages
- 1,360
To the Bitter End…
In the final months of the World War Two ad-hoc German units were formed for the defense of Germany as the Red Army rolled West. These included Army, Luftwaffe and Waffen-SS divisions made of technicians no longer needed, support staff and conscripts of old men and boys. Many of these latter brigades and divisions were formed from remnants of others units, staff from SS Junker Schools, foreign volunteers and conscripts unlucky enough to be assigned to the Waffen-SS. Many of the units were no more than brigades although given titles of Divisions and often lacked armored vehicles. The last of these “Divisions” formed was the 38th SS Grenadier Division Nibelungen consisting of only around 6,000 men. This title is interesting as it was used as the name of the SS division represented in the 1967 movie Night of the Generals starring Peter O’Tool, Omar Sharif, Tom Courtenay and Donald Pleasence. My understanding is that this divisional name was used as a stand-in for the 12th SS Panzer Division in this fictional drama and was used out of context to the time and location it represented. The title Nibelungen is derived from the Middle High German epic poem from around 1200 that tells the story of Siegfried, the dragon-slayer which Richard Wagner based his four-opera cycle written between 1848 and 1874. The four operas were Das Rheingold (The Rhinegold), Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods). Unfortunately for Wagner these works were embraced as a powerful expression for German mythology and national identity during the Third Reich, because the works emphasized the themes of strength, heroism, and the struggle against adversity, which aligned with their own political agenda.
I staged these late war Waffen-SS figures in one of our remaining destroyed corner factories that I detailed up for a customer and featured in both color and Black & White photos for a more period look. The new MG42 team (due in soon) was displayed fighting the in street somewhere in East Prussia as the Red Army advances toward Berlin… I hope you enjoy the photos.
In the final months of the World War Two ad-hoc German units were formed for the defense of Germany as the Red Army rolled West. These included Army, Luftwaffe and Waffen-SS divisions made of technicians no longer needed, support staff and conscripts of old men and boys. Many of these latter brigades and divisions were formed from remnants of others units, staff from SS Junker Schools, foreign volunteers and conscripts unlucky enough to be assigned to the Waffen-SS. Many of the units were no more than brigades although given titles of Divisions and often lacked armored vehicles. The last of these “Divisions” formed was the 38th SS Grenadier Division Nibelungen consisting of only around 6,000 men. This title is interesting as it was used as the name of the SS division represented in the 1967 movie Night of the Generals starring Peter O’Tool, Omar Sharif, Tom Courtenay and Donald Pleasence. My understanding is that this divisional name was used as a stand-in for the 12th SS Panzer Division in this fictional drama and was used out of context to the time and location it represented. The title Nibelungen is derived from the Middle High German epic poem from around 1200 that tells the story of Siegfried, the dragon-slayer which Richard Wagner based his four-opera cycle written between 1848 and 1874. The four operas were Das Rheingold (The Rhinegold), Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods). Unfortunately for Wagner these works were embraced as a powerful expression for German mythology and national identity during the Third Reich, because the works emphasized the themes of strength, heroism, and the struggle against adversity, which aligned with their own political agenda.
I staged these late war Waffen-SS figures in one of our remaining destroyed corner factories that I detailed up for a customer and featured in both color and Black & White photos for a more period look. The new MG42 team (due in soon) was displayed fighting the in street somewhere in East Prussia as the Red Army advances toward Berlin… I hope you enjoy the photos.
