Abwehrgruppe 218

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Abwehrgruppe 218, known under the codename "Edelweiss" (German: "Edelweiß"), was a German rear-security unit operating in Slovakia during World War II.[1][2] Unit was constituted during September 1944 and led by SS-Sturmbannführer . In the period from September 1944 to April 1945 the unit carried out more than 50 missions, which resulted in killing around 300 people, including civilians; another 600 were taken prisoner. One of the most famous actions of the unit was the capture of members of an American OSS mission under command of Lieutenant and a British SOE mission under Major on 26 December 1944 in the Nízke Tatry Mountains. The unit is known for a number of war crimes, especially the massacre of civilians in the villages of Ostrý Grúň and Kľak, among the most notorious war crimes committed on Slovak territory during the war.[3]

Abwehrgruppe 218 "Edelweiss" had around 250-300 men in four sections:[4]

  • the "Partisan" section: about 25 men under the direct command of SS-Sturmbannführer von Thun-Hohenstein
  • the "Russian" section: about 50 men under command of SS-Oberscharführer Berlisov
  • the "Caucasian" section: about 50 men under command of SS-Oberscharführer Khan
  • the "Slovak" section: about 131 men under command of SS-Hauptsturmführer

References[]

  1. ^ Encyklopedický ústav SAV. Encyclopaedia Beliana (A-Belk). I. vydanie. vyd. Banská Bystrica : Veda, vydavateľstvo SAV a Stredoslovenské vydavateľstvo, a. s., (SAV Encyclopedia Institute. Encyclopaedia Beliana (A-Belk). First edition. ed. Banská Bystrica: Science, publisher of SAS and Stredoslovenská vydavateľstvo) 1999, ISBN 80-224-0554-X, p.36.
  2. ^ "Slovak Volunteers in the Special Units of Otto Skorzeny (II.)". druhasvetova.sk. Archived from the original on 2014-02-25. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
  3. ^ Lacko, M.: Slovenské národné povstanie 1944 (The Slovak National Uprising of 1944). Bratislava, Slovart, 2008, p. 177
  4. ^ Potocký, P. (1 October 2006). "Slovenskí dobrovoľníci v špeciálnych jednotkách Otta Skorzenyho II". druhasvetova.sk. Archived from the original on 2014-02-25. Retrieved 2017-04-24.
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