DoomYoshi wrote:Betiko, are you afraid to admit that the SS were a far more elite group than anything the Free French could field during WW2? Here at conquer club, we have respect for military might. While the end years of the war saw mostly untrained children fighting in SS uniforms, during the early years I would pick the WaffenSS for many different operations over any French units.
What I am trying to say is that the SS should be glorified, but only for their contribution to military history. Let us not forget it was the Waffen who kicked the British out of France for you.
EDIT: Let me rephrase this. In addition to war crimes, the SS also did WAR. So why not celebrate their achievements in War? Is Sir Liddell Hart a terrible strategist because his strategies allowed the Germans to occupy most of Europe rather quickly?
This is a dishonest representation of the SS and history.
Neither the SS Einsatzgruppen or the SS Totenkopfverbände were soldiers. Hitler personally decreed that the SS Einsatzgruppen were neither soldiers nor police, and operated at his pleasure during war and during peace. Their only job was to find "undesirable people" and "treat them as partisans." That's military code for summary execution on the spot. And that was Hitler's order. They rounded up 1 million people and killed them, and they didn't use any concentration camps to do it.
The SS Totenkopfverbände were the guards at the Concentration camps. They killed millions more. This symbol (that's what it is) that we are discussing is where their name comes from.
Because of Hitler's order, and because of the illegal and unconscionable actions of the SS, they were condemned as a criminal organization at Nurembourg. They're scumbags; criminals who deserve neither respect nor romance.
Both the Totenkopfverbände and the Einsatzgruppen wore the Totenkopf, and they are the one's who are associated with the symbol. They wore it in the field, or the camp, because Himler wanted to make people fear and respect the SS. The SS soldiers, or "division of" soldiers who were part of combat groups, the Waffen, typically didn't wear the Totenkopf because they didn't have a black dress uniform. When the war erupted, they were ordered to turn those uniforms in. I believe that tank commanders and officers kept the cap, but soldiers didn't. Instead they wore green camouflage and painted helmets, or something similar.
Yet even the Waffen units were not soldiers, and were never part of the Heer, or army. Typically the SS fought to the death, totally brainwashed and committed to Hitler. They were responsible for innumerable war crimes, killing prisoners and civilians alike. They were not respected as people. Their ability and willingness to fight and sacrifice was highly respected, but as soldiers and men they themselves were not respected.
Also, as has been said, the French partisans were in no way comparable to the SS. It's unfair to imply anything about that. Although, yes, many partisans won honor and love because they chose to fight for the death, particularly in areas occupied by the SS after the invasion of France. There's a lot to say here about the relationship in France between the SS and the partisans. The partisans would kill 1 SS soldier, and then the SS would murder a whole village irrespective of age or gender.