did anyone see this program a while back on the discovery/history channel?
It was about the 27 man german SS unit which was British, scary stuff.
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British free corps
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Jason The Argonaut
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goldie ex rmp
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tab the german auther is called SVEN HASSEL he was in a panzer penal battalion and fought in several fronts russia, spain,etc,etc, his books are a fantastic read try OGPU PRISON or SS GENERAL.
THE BRITISH FREE CORP were firstly named THE LEAGUE OF ST GEORGE hence the National Front and BNP connections now, they did very little during the war apart from PR duties showing that even the British wanted to be ruled under National Socialism, of course only a few joined up but the germans were made to think that 1000's had defected when after all it was a few brits just after an easy time drinking, shagging and keeping alive, strange to think that the 3 lions on english football shirts were also on the collar badges of such a unit. here endeth the history lesson, i lost a lot of family in Dachau and Treblinca so ive done some home work on the matter
THE BRITISH FREE CORP were firstly named THE LEAGUE OF ST GEORGE hence the National Front and BNP connections now, they did very little during the war apart from PR duties showing that even the British wanted to be ruled under National Socialism, of course only a few joined up but the germans were made to think that 1000's had defected when after all it was a few brits just after an easy time drinking, shagging and keeping alive, strange to think that the 3 lions on english football shirts were also on the collar badges of such a unit. here endeth the history lesson, i lost a lot of family in Dachau and Treblinca so ive done some home work on the matter
Exemplo Ducemus (By Example We Lead)
"Do not confuse your rank with my authority....Sir!"
"Do not confuse your rank with my authority....Sir!"
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chunky from york
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Goldie
Hate to upset you but 'Sven Hassel' is the pen name of Charles Whiting. A respected military author, who specialises in the allied advance into Germany after D-Day.
The SS Wotan (in reality the SS Viking Div.) novels are based on stories and rumours that he heard during his research, but can not prove as true.
He lives a few miles west of York.
The British Free Corps as a unit ended up in Dresden and after the RAF fire bombed it, they slipped away into the chaos. One allegedly in SAS uniform.
Hate to upset you but 'Sven Hassel' is the pen name of Charles Whiting. A respected military author, who specialises in the allied advance into Germany after D-Day.
The SS Wotan (in reality the SS Viking Div.) novels are based on stories and rumours that he heard during his research, but can not prove as true.
He lives a few miles west of York.
The British Free Corps as a unit ended up in Dresden and after the RAF fire bombed it, they slipped away into the chaos. One allegedly in SAS uniform.
Chunky from York
I may not be the man I was, but I was
I may not be the man I was, but I was
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goldie ex rmp
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Chunky im no historian but i have found the following info on Sven
Sven Hassel did not serve in the 27th Panzer Regt, nor in a penal unit
(and you are quite correct to smell a rat with regards to the
penal/elite question).
The name Sven Hassel is a pseudonym; his real name is (or was) Boerge
Villy Redsted Pedersen, later changed to Boerge Villy Redsted Arbing.
He appeared on the scene in Denmark around 1949/50, claiming to be a war
veteran, and presented a bulky manuscript to an editor. This, with some
assistance from another writer was turned into "De Fordoemtes Legion,"
("Legion of the Damned," in English.
The book was a success, and more followed (all subsequent books were
written by "Hassel/Hazel" himself). What was interesting was that he
claimed (not only on the book jackets, but in actuality) to be writing
autoboigraphically. The books were tranlated into a number of languages,
causing Hassel to become a minor celebrity in Denmark, for being the
first writer to surpass the national icon, Hans Christian Andersen, in
worldwide sales. This was around the mid fifties.
Unfortunately, the publicity called attention to the man himself, and
journalists began investigating. What they found was a somewhat
different picture.
Boerge Villy Redsted Pedersen was a minor criminal in occupied Denmark
during the war. He had attempted to enter the Officers' Academy before
the war, but was rejected. At several instances during the war, he was
caught posing as an officer, usually in a bought or manufactured
uniform.
One instance was especially memorable: A young woman approached a Danish
policeman in Copenhagen (this was before August 1943, while the Germans
allowed the Danes to retain their police), having been terrified by a
uniformed member of the Gestapo, who had attempted to arrest her. The
policeman was naturally dubious, since the Gestapo, being a secret
police, never wore uniforms. When he inquired as to whether this
so-called Gestapo member had shown any ID, the woman answered
affirmatively. When the woman then told him that the name on the paper
(the Ausweiss) was Heinrich Himmler, he told her to get lost, or words
to that effect. A few minutes later, the woman returned, saying that the
man who had tried to arrest her was sitting around the corner in a cafe.
The policeman then arrested Boerge Villy Redsted Pedersen (BVRP), and
handed him over to the Germans. The uniform was one he had manufactured
out of bits and pieces, to look superficially like a SS-uniform,
complete with Iron Crosses of the 1st and 2nd grade. Interestingly
enough, some of Hassel's book jackets carry a picture of him in this
uniform. The Ausweis turned out not to identify BVRP/Hassel as Heinrich
Himmler, but to indicate that it was authorized by the Reichsfuhrer
himself. This was a distinction that did not mollify the Germans, who
sentenced him to a prison sentence of 6 months (IIRC) for that stunt.
He also worked some time as a police informer, apparently being quite
good at it, with a natural penchant for making up stories and identities
on the spot; a talent which serves a man well in that sort of
profession. He then gained employment as an informer with the HIPO, the
HILFSPOLIZEI, or auxiliary police, a force of Danes, employed by the
Germans to combat the Danish Resistance. With the liberation in 1945, he
was sentenced to prison again, on charges of treason. He did not appear
again until his release in 1949, when he changed his name to Boerge
Villy Redsted Arbing. He also posed as a Frenchman named L'Arbin, for a
short while, until he found his true calling as a writer.
As to the content of the books, there is little doubt that most is just
pure fiction. But it is also true that Hassel has spoken with veterans,
and is undoubtedly incorporating bits and pieces of stories, true and
false, told to him. With the first edition of "Likvider Paris" (I am not
familiar with the English title, but it would be akin to "Liquidate
Paris"), Hassel was caught by his editor in flagrant plagiarism, having
copied a passage about the assassination attempt on Hitler directly from
another book. He then had to cite the right author in subsequent
editions (Fabian von Schlabrendorf, unless I am much mistaken).
Readers will note that Hassel kills off all of his comrades in "The
Legion of the Damned," making it necessary to resurrect them in the
following books, only to be killed off at various times (in varying
circumstances) when it suits the author. One might also try to keep
track of Hassel and his friends during the war, but that is a daunting
task, since they are able to appear several places at the same time.
Take June 6, 1944. Depending on which book you read, you will find
Hassel on the Eastern Front, in a hospital in Hamburg, in Italy, and
guarding a prison in Germany, all on the same day! No wonder it took so
long to beat the Germans.
The above is taken from memory from the book "Hassel" by Erik Haaest,
Copenhagen, 1976. I believe it is only available in Danish. I will dig
it out if anyone want more details.
Of course i may be wrong
Sven Hassel did not serve in the 27th Panzer Regt, nor in a penal unit
(and you are quite correct to smell a rat with regards to the
penal/elite question).
The name Sven Hassel is a pseudonym; his real name is (or was) Boerge
Villy Redsted Pedersen, later changed to Boerge Villy Redsted Arbing.
He appeared on the scene in Denmark around 1949/50, claiming to be a war
veteran, and presented a bulky manuscript to an editor. This, with some
assistance from another writer was turned into "De Fordoemtes Legion,"
("Legion of the Damned," in English.
The book was a success, and more followed (all subsequent books were
written by "Hassel/Hazel" himself). What was interesting was that he
claimed (not only on the book jackets, but in actuality) to be writing
autoboigraphically. The books were tranlated into a number of languages,
causing Hassel to become a minor celebrity in Denmark, for being the
first writer to surpass the national icon, Hans Christian Andersen, in
worldwide sales. This was around the mid fifties.
Unfortunately, the publicity called attention to the man himself, and
journalists began investigating. What they found was a somewhat
different picture.
Boerge Villy Redsted Pedersen was a minor criminal in occupied Denmark
during the war. He had attempted to enter the Officers' Academy before
the war, but was rejected. At several instances during the war, he was
caught posing as an officer, usually in a bought or manufactured
uniform.
One instance was especially memorable: A young woman approached a Danish
policeman in Copenhagen (this was before August 1943, while the Germans
allowed the Danes to retain their police), having been terrified by a
uniformed member of the Gestapo, who had attempted to arrest her. The
policeman was naturally dubious, since the Gestapo, being a secret
police, never wore uniforms. When he inquired as to whether this
so-called Gestapo member had shown any ID, the woman answered
affirmatively. When the woman then told him that the name on the paper
(the Ausweiss) was Heinrich Himmler, he told her to get lost, or words
to that effect. A few minutes later, the woman returned, saying that the
man who had tried to arrest her was sitting around the corner in a cafe.
The policeman then arrested Boerge Villy Redsted Pedersen (BVRP), and
handed him over to the Germans. The uniform was one he had manufactured
out of bits and pieces, to look superficially like a SS-uniform,
complete with Iron Crosses of the 1st and 2nd grade. Interestingly
enough, some of Hassel's book jackets carry a picture of him in this
uniform. The Ausweis turned out not to identify BVRP/Hassel as Heinrich
Himmler, but to indicate that it was authorized by the Reichsfuhrer
himself. This was a distinction that did not mollify the Germans, who
sentenced him to a prison sentence of 6 months (IIRC) for that stunt.
He also worked some time as a police informer, apparently being quite
good at it, with a natural penchant for making up stories and identities
on the spot; a talent which serves a man well in that sort of
profession. He then gained employment as an informer with the HIPO, the
HILFSPOLIZEI, or auxiliary police, a force of Danes, employed by the
Germans to combat the Danish Resistance. With the liberation in 1945, he
was sentenced to prison again, on charges of treason. He did not appear
again until his release in 1949, when he changed his name to Boerge
Villy Redsted Arbing. He also posed as a Frenchman named L'Arbin, for a
short while, until he found his true calling as a writer.
As to the content of the books, there is little doubt that most is just
pure fiction. But it is also true that Hassel has spoken with veterans,
and is undoubtedly incorporating bits and pieces of stories, true and
false, told to him. With the first edition of "Likvider Paris" (I am not
familiar with the English title, but it would be akin to "Liquidate
Paris"), Hassel was caught by his editor in flagrant plagiarism, having
copied a passage about the assassination attempt on Hitler directly from
another book. He then had to cite the right author in subsequent
editions (Fabian von Schlabrendorf, unless I am much mistaken).
Readers will note that Hassel kills off all of his comrades in "The
Legion of the Damned," making it necessary to resurrect them in the
following books, only to be killed off at various times (in varying
circumstances) when it suits the author. One might also try to keep
track of Hassel and his friends during the war, but that is a daunting
task, since they are able to appear several places at the same time.
Take June 6, 1944. Depending on which book you read, you will find
Hassel on the Eastern Front, in a hospital in Hamburg, in Italy, and
guarding a prison in Germany, all on the same day! No wonder it took so
long to beat the Germans.
The above is taken from memory from the book "Hassel" by Erik Haaest,
Copenhagen, 1976. I believe it is only available in Danish. I will dig
it out if anyone want more details.
Of course i may be wrong
Exemplo Ducemus (By Example We Lead)
"Do not confuse your rank with my authority....Sir!"
"Do not confuse your rank with my authority....Sir!"
Apparently exaggerated reports of the size of the Britische Freikorps (c.300) were because POWs accepted the invite to join, or were ordered to by officers to gather information. In the end, apparently, only 58 became full members and wore the Waffen-SS uniforms.
Members of the Korps fought predominantly in Russia and were mostly captured. They were returned to England for Courts Martial.
Amery (the 'leader'/instigator of the idea was executed for treason. Others pleaded not guilty or refused to make any kind of statement and were given various periods of imprisonment. By 1985 only 10 were still alive. Don't know what the current sit'n is.
Not sure how this tallies with the TV documentary but the info came from 'Hitler's Samurai. The Waffen-SS in action'
Members of the Korps fought predominantly in Russia and were mostly captured. They were returned to England for Courts Martial.
Amery (the 'leader'/instigator of the idea was executed for treason. Others pleaded not guilty or refused to make any kind of statement and were given various periods of imprisonment. By 1985 only 10 were still alive. Don't know what the current sit'n is.
Not sure how this tallies with the TV documentary but the info came from 'Hitler's Samurai. The Waffen-SS in action'
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chunky from york
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goldie ex rmp
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harry hackedoff
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goldie ex rmp
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Some more info about the British Free Corps: http://www.wssob.com/000kpsbri.html
