Tuesday, August 31, 2021

SS-Oberscharführer Oscar Bang: Freiwilligen-Legion Norwegen


     A rather interesting photograph depicting a kriegsberichter (war correspondent) belonging to the Freiwilligen-Legion Norwegen. This Waffen-SS unit was raised in occupied Norway and was made up of Norwegian volunteers under the promise that the personnel would be led by Norwegian officers, the unit would continue to wear Norwegian military uniforms, and that the language within the unit would remain Norwegian. In addition, it was promised that the unit would only see action in Finland. All told, some 1,900 men volunteered and by June 29, 1941, Den Norske Legion (as the unit was called in Norwegian) was formed.

     In short order, two of the promises were completely ignored. The men wore standard German Waffen-SS uniforms and insignia, including unit specific insignia, rather than Norwegian military uniforms. This included the unit cuff title (called Ärmelstreifen) which read "Frw. Leg. Norwegen", special collar tabs featuring a heraldic lion, and those who belonged to the Norwegian NSDAP (Nasjonal Samling) wore a special sleeve patch. For the majority, the regular German Waffen-SS sigrunen (SS runes) tabs were used on the collars rather than the lion tabs. The second broken promise occurred when the Freiwilligen-Legion Norwegen was sent to the Rückwärtiges Heeresgebiet Nord (Army Group North Rear Area) in February 1942. This area of operations was to the rear of Heeresgruppe Nord (Army Group North). The main task of units in Rückwärtiges Heeresgebiet Nord was security and often, anti-partisan operations. The reason for not sending the unit to Finland was due to the Germans not wanting to give the Norwegians any validation of their territorial claims to the Kola and Petsano peninsulas (in Russia and Finland respectively). Freiwilligen-Legion Norwegen was posted to Krasnoye Selo, a town outside of St. Petersburg, Russia. The unit was subordinate to the 2nd. SS Infantry Division (mot.), the division having Dutch, Flemish, and Latvian units underneath it in addition to the Norwegians. The 2nd. SS Infantry Division took part in mass executions as well as the rounding up and deportation of any Russian Jews they found from 1941 through 1942 though it is unknown if Freiwilligen-Legion Norwegen was involved in any of these operations or took part in the atrocities. Later, the unit would be strengthened with the addition of a police company (Den Norske Legions Politikompani). By March 1943, the Freiwilligen-Legion Norwegen ceased to be, the unit being disbanded. This was because the 2nd. SS Infantry Division (mot.), which was very heavy with Latvian units, became the 2nd. SS Latvian Brigade and thus the Norwegians, along with the Dutch and Flemish, all had their respective units withdrawn and disbanded. All told, Freiwilligen-Legion Norwegen lost 180 to 190 men killed in action though there were some desertions and a handful of men were taken prisoner by Soviet forces. Following the disbandment of Freiwilligen-Legion Norwegen, those men who desired to continue their service in the Waffen-SS were transferred to SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 23 which was part of 11. SS-Freiwilligen Panzergrenadier-Division "Nordland".

     Freiwilligen-Legion Norwegen had its own Propagandakompanie (PK; Propaganda Company) that was led by one SS-Unterscharführer Breien. Under him were 15 men, including photographer SS-Rottenführer Ulf Tur, artist/illustrator SS-Sturmmann Finn Wigforss, and one SS-Sturmmann Holmung who served as the driver for the PK's vehicle(s). The man in the photograph is SS-Oberscharführer Oscar Bang. What we can tell about him is that he was attending the SS-Junkerschule Bad Tölz at the time this picture was taken. This can be told by the upper most cuff title on his left sleeve which reads “SS-Schule Tölz“. The school, one of several, was located in the town of Bad Tölz which was some 30 miles outside of Munich. Given this, Bang's rank at the time of the photograph is that of SS-Standartenjunker, or officer candidate. The various SS-Junkerschule taught military planning, logistics, small unit tactics, combat engineering, weapons training, and more but also the curriculum included political ideology and indoctrination. The SS-Standartenjunker could expect to be at the school for up to 19 months and if he successfully graduated, he was commissioned as a SS-Untersturmführer (equivalent to a U.S. Army 2nd. Lieutenant). Given he has the school's cuff title on his sleeve, it meant that Bang was not at the front with his unit but instead, was billeted at the school. Once he graduated, the school's cuff title would be removed from his uniform. The cuff title below it reads “SS-Kriegsberichter” and this identifies his position within the Freiwilligen-Legion Norwegen and that he is part of the unit's Propagandakompanie. Finally, the third cuff title is that of the unit, "Frw. Leg. Norwegen". However, Bang is wearing the last two in the incorrect order of precedence. The unit cuff title is superior to his position and so the “SS-Kriegsberichter” cuff title should be below the "Frw. Leg. Norwegen" cuff title. That the “SS-Schule Tölz“ cuff title is above the other two is because the school takes precedence over his position as well as his unit for the time he remains at SS-Junkerschule Bad Tölz.

     As a side note, the camera Bang is using appears to be a Leica III manual rangerfinder camera which was introduced in 1933 and built in various models all the way through 1960. The viewfinder was designed for a 50mm lens (which appears to be fitted) and shot 35mm film.

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