What was training like?

Franz: It was pretty much like any army really; we exercised often, marched, and drilled. The only difference was we were treated as equals, there were no class or officer privileges, we all ate together and lived together. All through training it was reinforced we are all comrades, and each man depends on the other regardless of rank. Our officers led us from the front and that's why we were so good at fighting, they always had firsthand knowledge. Our training day would start early with a call to arms, we would get into formation before the sun rose, hear roll call, march to the exercise field, then come back and make the barracks ready for inspection. Then we formed up to hear that day's tasks, which could be drilling, weapons, or special tactics. One thing I will tell you we did not use live ammunition in exercises, as have been claimed. At the most reduced load rounds would be used to simulate live fire, and reduced load practice grenades would be used. Accidents did happen, especially later on in the war, and we needed our men alive. I remember the first time I was moving through a barbed wire course and the sound of a machine gun went off and I knew I was in the war then.

The bullets were blanks but sounded very realistic; they even threw smoke grenades at us while we crawled. Going through the water courses when it was cold was very unpleasant as well, our uniforms would be filthy, and we were cold. We would train in any weather as well, our lead instructor told us the war is fought in all weather, so you can not pick the days that are warm and nice. We did not like this, but I will say they sat us down and explained exactly why we trained for a task, and how important it was to finish it in any weather, no matter how we felt. It would later save our life and the lives of comrades as we were used to bad conditions and knew how to survive them. After our basic training we were trained on specific areas, like Panzers, anti-tank, mechanic and so on. We would be sent to different schools for these, which were much more laid back than our first training. Here we could go out on the town on the weekends, receive visitors and attend dances and dinners hosted by the civilians. It felt more like a college campus than military base. Except we did have to maintain our bearing at all time, and never forget we wore the uniform of the Führer's SS.

We were under strict rules and codes of law that dictated our behavior. There could be no stealing, especially from civilians. One man did this, he took a watch that was not his, he was found out, and removed from the SS and sent to a penal unit in the east. We also had to watch the ladies, no relations without permission from the parents, no married women either. Another comrade was placed under arrest for an unlawful affair with the wife of an army soldier. Both received punishment. We were instructed that what we are fighting for was the women and children on the home front, if you can not trust your woman is being taken care of and faithful, what motivation did some men have left?

We also did not receive much political training, and no one pushed party membership on us. My platoon did have a low level party official in it and he was very quiet about National Socialism, and the Führer, he knew we understood what we were here for, and fighting for. We usually talked about home, hobbies, travel, the war, and of course the ladies. We had singing troupes that regularly appeared and handed out photos of the pretty girls which were very popular for the single men.

Were you allowed to go to religious services during training?

Franz: Of course, one of the biggest lies about the SS is that it was anti-religious. It was not, and was not built to be. Not all SS men and leaders were Christian; some did openly oppose religion, and made it known they did not like the Church. We had an instructor who was one of these men. He felt the Church was too Jewish and created by Jews; he let us know this all the time. He tried to prevent trainees from attending services with the priests or pastors that were made available. We went to our commander to explain the issue and he was dealt with very nicely, it put smiles on our faces. But no, most all SS men were Christian, with a few being very vocally against the Church, but not allowed to interfere in our beliefs.

What were the relationships like with the civilians in both Germany and in the occupied areas?

Franz: It was very good I must tell you. In Germany we were the homeland's soldiers, fighting for them, so we received all sorts of stuff like food, cards, letters, and gifts. We were invited to many dances and parties in the nightclubs and dance halls, which it seemed every town had one of these where the people could go to be social. I must say that even in the occupied areas it was not bad, not bad at all. Of course the people wished we were not there as invaders, but they got along with us well when they realized we did not come to harm them. The people who did not like us stayed to themselves, and would not speak to us, but that was not a big deal.

We had very strict rules of conduct while in an occupied country, some say stricter than at home. If you acted out of character you could get yourself in a lot of trouble. I know some SS men were placed in penal units for stealing or deceiving civilians, another was sent away for fighting while drunk. Being an SS man meant you always showed respect to the uniform and hosts by not drinking too much. So in spite of the victors making it sound like we ran amok in occupied areas, we did not. There was very tight control to make sure the civilians saw us as liberators, and just. Even petty crime was treated severely if you were German in an occupied area. To give an example, a soldier from Nordland assaulted a Polish man who refused to give him food; this was right before the Warsaw battle. He was sent right away to the Dirlewanger Brigade who went into Warsaw, which from what I hear today was a death sentence as the home army fought very cruel.

A Polish gypsy stole a watch and wallet from a comrade who was watching a dance, and only received a fine. That was the impression that our leaders wanted to be made. It is simply just not true that the SS was behind the lines rounding up Slavs and Jews; you had to directly attack German personnel for there to be arrests and deportations. Labor allocation is another misunderstood issue. In very small incidences, like repairing roads and such, civilians were forced to work. Most of the time they were recruited and paid well to help us, otherwise we used prisoners of war recently captured, or in nearby camps. We would need help repairing towns, roads, and living quarters so sometimes people who were unwilling were made to work.

I once saw Jews from a Russian town forced to clear rubble from an air raid and they looked happy and content, this was in late 1943. At this time we were supposed to be killing all we saw, but this is a lie. I will tell you also the Russians; especially the Ukrainians viewed German soldiers as their liberators, and treated us as such. They paid a terrible price later at the hands of the partisans who the Soviets sent into the rear to cause problems.