Germany has a debt to Poland

There were approximately 15 to 20 nationalities represented within the SS forces (including the Waffen-SS and auxiliary police) in occupied Poland in 1944. The exact number is difficult to pinpoint because of shifting national borders and the heavy use of conscripted ethnic minorities.

The SS presence in Poland in 1944 drew from across occupied Europe and the Soviet Union, broken down into key groups:

1. Primary Nationalities

Germans & Austrians: Reichsdeutsche made up the core leadership and the majority of the SS garrison.

Volksdeutsche: Ethnic Germans from occupied territories.

2. Eastern European & Soviet Collaborator Units

By 1944, the SS had formed or deployed several specific “national” divisions and auxiliary battalions to Poland for anti-partisan operations and to guard concentration camps:

Ukrainians (notably the 14. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS)

BelarusiansRussians / Cossacks (e.g., formations like the 30th Waffen Grenadier Division)

Lithuanians, Latvians, & Estonians (serving in various auxiliary security and police regiments)

3. Central & Western European VolunteersThousands of Western and Central European volunteers rotated through SS training facilities and training grounds located in Poland (such as the SS-Truppenübungsplatz Heidelager in Dębica):

French
Dutch
Belgians (Flemings and Walloons)
Danes & Norwegians
Hungarians
Slovaks
Italians

4. Caucasian & Central Asian UnitsThe Germans used former Soviet POWs and ethnic minorities to form “Osttruppen” and specific ethnic battalions (such as the Slovak 535th Platoon in Warsaw, which included Georgians, Armenians, and Azeris):

Georgians
Armenians,
Azerbaijanis
Tartars

Germany also established several massive military training areas (SS-Truppenübungsplätze) across occupied Poland. These sites were geographically selected for their dense forests, vast uninhabited expanses, and proximity to major rail networks.

The primary SS training grounds in occupied Poland included for example:

SS-Truppenübungsplatz Heidelager (Dębica / Pustków) which located in southeastern Poland (Subcarpathian Voivodeship). This camp was a primary site for training collaborationist foreign units—including the Ukrainian 14th Waffen-SS Division “Galicia” and the Estonian Legion—and famously doubled as a secret launch site for V-2 rocket testing.

Trawniki Training Camp (Ausbildungslager Trawniki) located in eastern Poland, approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of Lublin. It was set up on the grounds of a former Polish sugar refinery, this specialized SS facility trained the infamous “Trawniki Men” (Trawnikimänner). These recruits were primarily Soviet prisoners of war and collaborators (Ukrainians, Latvians, and Lithuanians) trained specifically for security duty, anti-partisan actions, and running the death camps of Operation Reinhard.

SIPO-SD Training Schools (Zakopane and Bad Rabka) located in extreme southern Poland, nestled in the foothills of the Tatra Mountains near the Slovak border. While not massive mechanized military grounds, the SS Security Service (SD) and Security Police (SIPO) converted hotels and schools in these mountain resort towns into specialized academies. They trained Gestapo personnel, execution squads, and foreign collaborators in interrogation and counter-insurgency tactics.

Postscript

During World War II, many European, and less European, nations participated in war crimes in Poland. This is one reason why Poland’s demands for war reparations have so little support in Europe. Simply: they don’t want to open Bandora’s box. Because of all this, the EU has decided to pay subsidies to Poland for the damage caused by Germany, Russia, etc. In addition, EU subsidies provide the opportunity to monitor policy of Poland and intervene if necessary. Simple, nothing happens by chance in politics.

Jan Polak on Facebook

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