When Hitler’s Albanian SS Division Finally Paid: Skanderbeg
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The 21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg was created in May 1944 as Nazi Germany searched for additional manpower in the Balkans. Recruited mainly from Kosovo Albanians and commanded largely by German officers, the formation was intended to strengthen German control of the region and support operations against the Yugoslav Partisans. Instead, it survived for only six months and became associated with persecution, violence against civilians and widespread indiscipline. This documentary examines the circumstances that led to the creation of the Skanderbeg Division, from the Italian occupation of Albania and the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia to Germany's takeover of the region following Italy's surrender in 1943. It explores how German authorities sought to exploit local political ambitions and ethnic tensions while recruiting men to serve the occupation. Within weeks of its formation, members of Skanderbeg participated in the arrest of 281 Jews in Pristina, most of whom were
Tags: World History, SS Division Skanderbeg, SS Skanderbeg, 21st Waffen Mountain Division, Second World War, German invasion of Poland, Josip Broz Tito, Xhafer Deva, Heinrich Himmler, Waffen-SS, Wehrmacht, SS Handschar, August Schmidhuber, Prinz Eugen Division, Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, Velika 1944, Divna Vučetić, Red Army, Alexander Löhr, Alfred Graf
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