Hiwi (volunteer)
Encyclopedia
Hiwi is a German
abbreviation. It has two meanings, "voluntary assistant" and "assistant scientist" .
when German troops enlisted volunteers from the occupied territories for supplementary service (drivers, cooks, hospital attendants, ammunition carriers, messengers, sapper
s, etc.).
This term from World War II times is often associated with collaborationism
, and, in the case of the occupied Soviet
territories, with anti-Bolshevism (and widely presented by Germans as such). A captured "Hiwi" told his People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs
' onMouseout='HidePop("75426")' href="/topics/NKVD">NKVD
) interrogators: "Russians in the German Army can be put into three groups:
Hiwis were referred to as "former Russians
" by the Soviet authorities, regardless of the circumstances of them joining, and their fate at the hands of the NKVD was most likely death or the Gulag
.
The reliance upon "Hiwis" exposed a gap between Nazi ideologues and pragmatic German Army commanders. Nazi leaders, such as German dictator Adolf Hitler
, regarded all Russians
as "sub-human" (Untermensch
) and therefore of no value to the "Aryan
" German Army. On the other hand, the manpower was needed and German Intelligence had recognised the need to divide the Soviet people. The contradiction was sometimes disguised by their reclassification as Cossacks. Colonel Groscurth (Chief of Staff, XI Corps) wrote to General Beck
: "It is disturbing that we are forced to strengthen our fighting troops with Russian prisoners of war, who are already being turned into gunners. It's an odd state of affairs that the "Beasts" we have been fighting against are now living with us in closest harmony." One quarter of 6th Army's front-line strength were Hiwis
See also: European Volunteers
(Europäische Freiwillige
)
. It is used for university students working part-time as Teaching assistant
s or Research assistants.
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
abbreviation. It has two meanings, "voluntary assistant" and "assistant scientist" .
("voluntary assistant")
The word entered into several languages during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
when German troops enlisted volunteers from the occupied territories for supplementary service (drivers, cooks, hospital attendants, ammunition carriers, messengers, sapper
Sapper
A sapper, pioneer or combat engineer is a combatant soldier who performs a wide variety of combat engineering duties, typically including, but not limited to, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, demolitions, field defences, general construction and building, as well as road and airfield...
s, etc.).
This term from World War II times is often associated with collaborationism
Collaboration during World War II
Within nations occupied by the Axis Powers, some citizens, driven by nationalism, ethnic hatred, anti-communism, anti-Semitism or opportunism, knowingly engaged in collaboration with the Axis Powers during World War II...
, and, in the case of the occupied Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
territories, with anti-Bolshevism (and widely presented by Germans as such). A captured "Hiwi" told his People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
' onMouseout='HidePop("75426")' href="/topics/NKVD">NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
) interrogators: "Russians in the German Army can be put into three groups:
- First: Soldiers mobilized by German troops, so-called CossackCossackCossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
sections, attached to German divisions. - Second: Voluntary Assistants (Hilfswillige) - Local civilians or Russian prisoners who volunteer or Red ArmyRed ArmyThe Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
soldiers who desert to join the Germans. These wear full German uniform with their own ranks and badges. They eat like German soldiers and they are attached to German regiments. - Third: Russian prisoners doing the dirty jobs, kitchens, stables and so on. The categories are treated differently, volunteers treated best."
Hiwis were referred to as "former Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
" by the Soviet authorities, regardless of the circumstances of them joining, and their fate at the hands of the NKVD was most likely death or the Gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
.
The reliance upon "Hiwis" exposed a gap between Nazi ideologues and pragmatic German Army commanders. Nazi leaders, such as German dictator Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
, regarded all Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
as "sub-human" (Untermensch
Untermensch
Untermensch is a term that became infamous when the Nazi racial ideology used it to describe "inferior people", especially "the masses from the East," that is Jews, Gypsies, Poles along with other Slavic people like the Russians, Serbs, Belarussians and Ukrainians...
) and therefore of no value to the "Aryan
Aryan
Aryan is an English language loanword derived from Sanskrit ārya and denoting variously*In scholarly usage:**Indo-Iranian languages *in dated usage:**the Indo-European languages more generally and their speakers...
" German Army. On the other hand, the manpower was needed and German Intelligence had recognised the need to divide the Soviet people. The contradiction was sometimes disguised by their reclassification as Cossacks. Colonel Groscurth (Chief of Staff, XI Corps) wrote to General Beck
Ludwig Beck
Generaloberst Ludwig August Theodor Beck was a German general and Chief of the German General Staff during the early years of the Nazi regime in Germany before World War II....
: "It is disturbing that we are forced to strengthen our fighting troops with Russian prisoners of war, who are already being turned into gunners. It's an odd state of affairs that the "Beasts" we have been fighting against are now living with us in closest harmony." One quarter of 6th Army's front-line strength were Hiwis
See also: European Volunteers
Europäische Freiwillige
Europäische Freiwillige is a German term meaning 'European Volunteers', derived from the German 'Freiwillige' , and is used to describe volunteers from an occupied country who join the army of the occupier.-Background:...
(Europäische Freiwillige
Europäische Freiwillige
Europäische Freiwillige is a German term meaning 'European Volunteers', derived from the German 'Freiwillige' , and is used to describe volunteers from an occupied country who join the army of the occupier.-Background:...
)
Hilfswissenschaftler ("assistant scientist")
This is today's common usage in the German languageGerman language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. It is used for university students working part-time as Teaching assistant
Teaching assistant
A teaching assistant is an individual who assists a professor or teacher with instructional responsibilities. TAs include graduate teaching assistants , who are graduate students; undergraduate teaching assistants , who are undergraduate students; secondary school TAs, who are either high school...
s or Research assistants.
See also
- Collaboration during World War IICollaboration during World War IIWithin nations occupied by the Axis Powers, some citizens, driven by nationalism, ethnic hatred, anti-communism, anti-Semitism or opportunism, knowingly engaged in collaboration with the Axis Powers during World War II...
- OstlegionenOstlegionenOstlegionen or Osttruppen were conscripts and volunteers from the occupied eastern territories recruited into the German Army of the Third Reich during the Second World War....
- Russian Liberation ArmyRussian Liberation ArmyRussian Liberation Army was a group of predominantly Russian forces subordinated to the Nazi German high command during World War II....
- Ukrainian Liberation ArmyUkrainian Liberation ArmyThe Ukrainian Liberation Army was formed by the German Army in 1943 to collect the Ukrainian volunteer units that came into being during World War II...
Further reading
- Ordinary men : Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland, New York : HarperCollins, 1992.