35187 WAFFEN SS MOTORCYCLE CREW, HUNGARY, WINTER 1945

Due to the limitations of the Versailles Treaty of 1919, the German army could not develop many means of reconnaissance or communication, and for this reason, among others, in the 1920s, they put emphasis on the development of heavy motorcycles with good or very good road and off-road performance. After the Nazis came to power in 1933, the process did not stop, but it actually accelerated. He led to the introduction in the 1930s and during World War II of such successful designs as the BMW R-12, BMW R75 or Zündapp KS 750. It is worth adding that motorcycles in the German army very often had a sidecar, intended for a soldier with a machine gun. Motorcycles in the German army proved themselves particularly well in the initial period of World War II, especially in the course of fighting in Poland (1939), France (1940), but also in North Africa (1941-1943). They were used primarily for reconnaissance operations, sometimes in the rear of the enemy army, and for liaison tasks. The first paramilitary unit to have the abbreviation SS (German: Schutz Staffel) in its name was the personal protection of the dictator of the Third Reich called Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, which was officially formed in 1933. From 1934, the SS was an independent formation headed by Heinrich Himmler. With time, further SS units were formed, including the SS-Totenkopfverbände and the SS-Verfügungstruppe. It is worth adding that the latter was trained similarly to regular Wehrmacht infantry units. On a relatively small scale, SS units were used in combat during the fighting in Poland in 1939 and in the French campaign in 1940. The first units intended from the beginning to fight at the front were created in mid-1940, giving them the name of the Waffen SS. Initially, they were recruited on a voluntary basis, also among non-German people, but over time, compulsory recruitment began to apply. Within the Waffen-SS, many divisions of different combat value were formed. Nevertheless, a few of them (e.g. the 1st SS LAH Panzer Division, the 2nd SS Das Reich Panzer Division or the 12th SS Hitlerjugend Panzer Division) can be considered elite units, with very high combat value and often equipped with the best available equipment. They demonstrated their considerable advantages not only on the Eastern Front (1941-1945), especially during the battles near Kharkiv in 1943, but also during the battles in France in 1944. Another thing is that the quality of the commanding staff of these units was in many cases debatable, and many Waffen-SS soldiers committed war crimes during World War II.