SS-Standarte Kurt Eggers
Encyclopedia
SS-Kriegsberichter-Abteilung
SS-Standarte Kurt Eggers
The SS-Standarte Kurt Eggers was a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Waffen SS war correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
formation which reported on the actions of all Waffen SS combat formations, seeing action in all major theatres of war with the exception of North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
.
Unit History
The SS-Kriegsberichter-Kompanie (SS War Reporter's Company) was established in January 1940, its original formation being four platoonPlatoon
A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or squads and containing 16 to 50 soldiers. Platoons are organized into a company, which typically consists of three, four or five platoons. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer—the...
s of war correspondents and their support staff. The platoons were able to operate independent of each other, each equipped with still
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
and movie camera
Movie camera
The movie camera is a type of photographic camera which takes a rapid sequence of photographs on strips of film which was very popular for private use in the last century until its successor, the video camera, replaced it...
s to enable to units to visually document the actions of Waffen-SS men in combat.
The company was placed under the command of ex-Allgemeine SS
Allgemeine SS
The Allgemeine SS was the most numerous branch of the Schutzstaffel paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany. It was managed by the SS-Hauptamt...
Standartenführer
Standartenführer
Standartenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in the so-called Nazi combat-organisations: SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK...
Günter d'Alquen
Gunter d'Alquen
Gunter d'Alquen was Chief Editor of the SS weekly, Das Schwarze Korps the official newspaper of the Schutzstaffel , and commander of the SS-Standarte Kurt Eggers Gunter d'Alquen (October 24, 1910 - May 15, 1998) was Chief Editor of the SS weekly, Das Schwarze Korps ("The Black Corps") the...
. Upon his transfer to the Waffen-SS, d'Alquen was given the rank of Waffen-SS Hauptsturmführer der Reserve. d'Alquen would command the unit throughout its existence, ending the war as an Waffen-SS Standartenführer der Reserve.
Soon after its formation, one platoon was attached to each of the four Waffen-SS combat formations. These platoons were to remain attached to their respective formations throughout the campaigns in France and the Low Countries, reporting on the actions of the SS combat formations during the campaign.
The platoons remained attached to the SS combat units during the campaign in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
, taking many famous photographs, including that of SS-Standartenführer Kurt Meyer
Kurt Meyer (Panzermeyer)
Kurt Meyer, nicknamed "Panzermeyer", served as an officer in the Waffen-SS during the Second World War. He saw action in many major battles, including the Invasion of France, Operation Barbarossa, and the Battle of Normandy.Meyer was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and...
at the battle for the Kleisoura Pass.
By August 1941, the number of Waffen-SS formations had increased, and so the SS-Kreigsberichter-Kompanie was increased in size as well, becoming the SS-Kreigsberichter-Abteilung. As an Abteilung
Abteilung
Abteilung is a German language word often used when referring to German or Swiss military formations...
, the unit had several more war correspondent units attached to it, enabling it to cover the actions of all the Waffen-SS formations in the field.
As the number of SS combat formations increased, so did the number of correspondents required. In December 1943, the unit was enlarged to regimental size, and renamed SS-Standarte Kurt Eggers. The honour title Kurt Eggers referred to the SS War Correspondent and editor of the SS Magazine Das Schwarze Korps
Das Schwarze Korps
Das Schwarze Korps was the official newspaper of the Schutzstaffel . This newspaper was published on Wednesdays and distributed free of charge. Each SS member was supposed to read the publication and urge others to do so as well...
who had been killed earlier in the year, while reporting on the Wiking's battles near Kharkov
Third Battle of Kharkov
The Third Battle of Kharkov was a series of offensive operations on the Eastern Front of World War II, undertaken by the German Army Group South against the Red Army, around the city of Kharkov , between 19 February and 15 March 1943...
.
Many of the Kurt Eggers photographers, movie cameramen, writers, broadcaster and recorders were foreign volunteers, and most were multilingual
Multilingualism
Multilingualism is the act of using, or promoting the use of, multiple languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers. Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. Multilingualism is becoming a social phenomenon governed by the needs of...
. Several formations within the Standarte were formed to gather information for occupied or allied countries, and these sub-units were generally staffed by volunteers of the relevant nationality. At least two U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
citizens, several British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and a New Zealander served with the Standarte throughout the war.
Order of Battle: SS-Standarte Kurt Eggers, January 1944
- Stab der Standarte
- Abteilung Verwaltung
- Unterkunftsverwaltung
- Gruppe Wort
- Verbindungsführer Presse
- Gruppe Bild
- Referat Bildtechnik
- Referat Bildschriftleitung
- Referat Bildarchiv
- Gruppe Rundfunk
- Referat Rundfunkstechnik
- Referat Rundfunksendung
- Abschnitt Russland-Nord
- Abschnitt Russland-Süd
- Abschnitt Lettland und Lettische Einheiten
- Abschnitt Südost
- Abschnitt West
- Sonderunternehmen Südost
- Kommando Oslo
- Kommando Kopenhagen
- Kommando Frankreich
- Kommando Brüssel
- Kommando Südost
- Kommando Adria
- Ersatz-Kompanie
- Ausbildungsgruppe
- Gruppe Kampfpropaganda
- 2 x SS-Kampfpropaganda Zug
- Sonderunternehmen "Südstern"
- "Skorpion Ost"
- "Skorpion West" (Ober-Rhein)
- Unternehmen "Wintermärchen"
See also
- Martin James MontiMartin James MontiMartin James Monti was a United States airman who enlisted in the Army Air Forces as an aviation cadet. Monti reported for training and later was commissioned as a Flight Officer. He subsequently qualified in the P-39 Aircobra and the P-38 Lightning, and was promoted to second lieutenant, when he...
- Waffen-SSWaffen-SSThe Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
, War correspondentWar correspondentA war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:... - RegimentRegimentA regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
, Military unit - WehrmachtWehrmachtThe Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
, List of German military units of World War II