Were there Non-Nazi German Soldiers in WWII?
There were certainly non-Nazi German soldiers in WWII, although many members of the armed forces were ideologically affiliated with Nazism and Hitler. From one perspective, because members of the armed forces weren’t allowed to affiliate with a political party, one could say all soldiers were non-Nazi German soldiers in WWII.
The term Nazi is used to denote members of the National Socialist party, the political party Hitler rode to power and that eventually became the dominant political party in Germany during the era of WWII. However, the term is often generalized to refer to German combatants during WWII, as a way of differentiating that era of soldier from other German soldiers. By noting the fact that many soldiers were non-Nazi German soldiers in WWII, some people believe it seems to impugn all Germans at the time, many of whom were not directly supporting Hitler or the policies of Nazism.
The armed forces in Germany, consisting largely of non-Nazi German soldiers in WWII, was called the Wehrmacht. It was made up of three main branches: the navy (Kriegsmarine), the air force (Luftwaffe), and the army (Heer). Later, a fourth branch, the Waffen-SS, fell under its general jurisdiction, although it was also under the Schutzstaffel, or SS. Following WWI, strong limits were set on Germany’s military, the Reichswehr, restricting the amount of members it could have, and the equipment they could use. By the 1920s Germany had begun to circumvent these restrictions covertly, growing their military strength and acquiring new equipment.
When Hitler took power in 1934, he began to grow the military even more. He reinstituted conscription, and began the work of building Germany’s military might dramatically. This new body, the Wehrmacht, would eventually become a mighty force, and although not technically Nazi, as its creation was at the behest of Hitler, and as members of the forces had to take an oath of loyalty to the Führer, many view it as an inherently Nazi group.
At the same time, the Wehrmacht can be viewed as being made up exclusively of non-Nazi German soldiers in WWII, as the rules of the Weimar Republic’s constitution disallowed soldiers from holding political affiliations or voting. In fact, many members of the Wehrmacht in later years were staunchly opposed to Hitler and the Nazi policies, especially after Hitler began displaying dangerous tendencies towards throwing away strategic intelligence in favor of an emotionally driven hostility.
If the Wehrmacht can be looked at as consisting largely of non-Nazi German soldiers in WWII, then we have to look elsewhere to find the majority of Nazi soldiers. That’s where the Schutzstaffel, or SS, becomes important. The SS was a paramilitary organization that grew to the scope of a full blown army under Hitler’s leadership, and consisted entirely of Nazi party members. It was the SS that was responsible for the majority of the worst atrocities committed, while the non-Nazi German soldiers in WWII were primarily fighting on the different fronts of the war against foreign militaries.
Written by Brendan McGuigan
