Building a Nazi Europe In a compelling new study, Martin Gutmann offers an in-d epth examination of the Swedish, Swiss, and Danish men who worked and fought for the Schutzstaffel , or SS, during the Second World War. Dispelling a host of myths regarding foreign collaboration with Hitler’s regime, it reveals how these men were highly motivated to affect a National Socialist Revolution across northwestern or “Germanic” Europe. Working behind Berlin desks, they played a pivotal part in shaping the Nazi New Order and actively participated in the regime’s brutal atrocities, fi ghting in the trenches of the Eastern Front and on the streets of Copenhagen. The book argues that these men became a focal point for infi ghting in the regime regarding the role of non- Germans in National Socialism, a source of tension that directly contributed to the regime’s failure. B uilding a Nazi Europe sheds new light on historical conceptions of fascism, collaboration, transnational history, and the Holocaust. Martin R. Gutmann is European Union Marie Skłodowska-C urie Fellow at Albert-L udwigs-U niversität Freiburg. Building a Nazi Europe The SS’s Germanic Volunteers MARTIN R. GUTMANN Albert-L udwigs- Universität Freiburg University Printing House, Cambridge C B2 8B S , United Kingdom Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge. It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence. www.cambridge.org Information on this title: w ww.cambridge.org/9 781107155435 © Martin R. Gutmann 2017 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2017 A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-i n-P ublication data Names: Gutmann, Martin R., 1979– author. Title: Building a Nazi Europe: the SS’s Germanic volunteers / Martin R. Gutmann (Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg). Description: Cambridge, United Kingdom; New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifi ers: LCCN 2016024244 | I SBN 9781107155435 (hardback) Subjects: LCSH: Waffen-SS – Recruiting, enlistment, etc. – History. | Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter-Partei. SS-Hauptamt. Germanische Leitstelle – History. | World War, 1939–1945 – Collaborationists – Switzerland. | World War, 1939–1945 – Collaborationists – Sweden. | World War, 1939–1945 – Collaborationists – Denmark. | Waffen-SS – Biography. | Himmler, Heinrich, 1900–1945 – Political and social views. | Germanic peoples – Europe – Ethnic identity – History – 20th century. | Fascism – Europe – History – 20th century. | Transnationalism – Political aspects – Europe – History – 20th century. | BISAC: HISTORY / Europe / General. Classifi cation: LCC D 7 57.85. G 87 2016 | DDC 940.54/1343–dc23 LC record available at h ttps://lccn.loc.gov/2016024244 ISBN 978-1 - 107-1 5543- 5 Hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-p arty internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. To Djahane, Espen, Emil, and Ylva Contents Acknowledgments page ix Note on Names xiii Common Abbreviations and Foreign Terms xv Introduction 1 1 Germanic Dreams: The Waffen-S S and Foreign Recruitment 26 2 Restless Youth: Prewar Biographical Sketches 52 3 Joining the Burgeoning Waffen-S S 89 4 Building a Germanic Europe 118 5 Molding the Germanic Political Soldier 149 6 The End of the Germanic Project 175 Conclusion 203 Bibliography 209 Index 225 vii Acknowledgments During the long process of writing this book, I was blessed with the generous support of numerous individuals and institutions. A number of scholars, librarians, and archivists supported me in my work. First and foremost, Michael Ebner was instrumental in my completing the dis- sertation upon which this manuscript is based. He braved through my frequent U-t urns and stumbles with calm and humor. He managed to remain a good mentor, motivator, and friend. Michael as well as David Bennett, Fred Marquardt, Paul Hagenloh, and Brian Taylor were instru- mental in my development as a scholar and guided my dissertation proj- ect with great care. I am grateful, too, for the support and feedback from scholars the world over, in particular Nir Arielli, Waitman Beorn, Claus Christensen, Terrence Corrigan, Peter Geiger, Robert Gerwarth, Asgeir Gudmundsson, Werner Hagmann, Ulrich Herbert, Thomas Kuehne, Mark Mazower, Niels Poulsen, Matt Smith, Lennart Westberg, and Michael Wildt. Jon Mathieu and Dorothee Brantz, in particular, went above and beyond in their advocacy for me. I would also like to thank the many archivists and librarians who helped me locate hard-t o- fi nd sources and secure permission to view otherwise closed fi les, in particu- lar the unknown administrator of the K ongelige Bibliotek , Copenhagen who managed to get me last- minute access to the closed fi les of K.B. Martinsen’s papers a mere few hours before my fl ight was departing. I wish to thank my editors Lewis Bateman and Michael Watson and the rest of the Cambridge team for the professionalism and care with which they guided this project through the publication process. Their dedication to producing the best possible book is exemplary and inspiring. I also ix x Acknowledgments owe my deepest gratitude to Audra Wolfe for her deft developmental editing of an early draft. I was blessed with generous fi nancial support from numerous organi- zations: the American-S candinavian Foundation, the Society for Military History, the German Historical Institute, and at Syracuse, the Goekjian and Roscoe Martin fellowship programs, the Campbell Public Affairs Institute, the Maxwell School Dean, and the History Department. I am particularly grateful to the University Dean’s Dissertation Fellowship, the CLIR Mellon Fellowship for Dissertation Research in Original Sources, the ACLS New Faculty Fellowship (with generous support from the Mellon Foundation), and the European Union Marie Skłodowska-C urie Fellowship each for supporting me for several months at a time. My research for this project took me to nineteen different archives, located in ten cities in six different countries. I was blessed to fi nd a couch or bed, free coffee, and good conversations in each of these places. Thanks to: Iry and James Gustin in Berlin; Kristina and Hans Stauffacher (and kids) in Berlin; Karin and Göran Johansson in Malmö; Dorte and Urs Gutmann (and kids) in Copenhagen; Dominique and Andreas Nebelung (and kids) in Freiburg; Marco Dörsam in Frankfurt; David Jean in Stockholm, whose chosen expertise is certainly more useful than mine; Waitman Beorn in Stuttgart; Pius Gutmann, Patrick Altherr in Zurich; Joachim and Monika Mauch (and kids) in Bern; Jim Lowry in Hasliberg; and Beatrice and Franz Gutmann in Rebstein. Wholehearted thanks also to Robert and Anna Bernvik who were able to track down hard- to- fi nd Swedish books before my arrival in Gothenburg. Additionally, Demmy Adesina, Melissa Bagg, Guido Bieri, Ashley Curtis, Will Decherd, Lucas Iten, Chantal Klug, Michel Raab, Caro and Jörg Schulze, Jack Sasser, Nicola Tosi, and Betsy Winston were extremely supportive and encouraging. I feel genuine admiration for those few family members of deceased Waffen- SS volunteers who, instead of destroying their father’s, spouse’s, or grandfather’s papers, donated everything they could fi nd to their local archives. I wish to express a heartfelt thanks to these brave persons whose wish for anonymity prevents me from being more specifi c. Above all, I wish to thank my family. I am grateful to my parents, Eva and Rudi Gutmann, and to Patrick, Pamela, Noah, Jonah, and Micah Gutmann for their encouragement, feedback, and patience during this long process. My fabulous wife Djahane Salehabadi was my most ardent supporter and friend, both in the academic and per- sonal challenges that surfaced during this project. This book would not