Who are the Fallschirmjäger?
The Fallschirmjäger were the paratrooper (German language: Fallschirmjäger) branch of the German Luftwaffe before and during World War II. They were the first German paratroopers to be committed in large-scale airborne operations and came to be known as the "green devils" by the Allied forces they fought against.[1] Throughout World War II the Fallschirmjäger commander was Kurt Student.
The first attempt to form an SS airborne unit was in 1937 when a small group of volunteers from the Germania Regt. of the SS-Verfügungstruppe (later Waffen-SS) gathered at the Fallschirmschule at Stendal between 23 May and 17 July for jump training. However, the idea suffered crib-death in its infancy, and the troops were returned to their regular units. When the order came down from FHQu. to SS-FHA in late 1943 (post-Skorzeny at Gran-Sasso)to form an SS-Fallshirmjäger-Bataillon, it was decided that there would be an equal percentage of volunteers from both existing Waffen-SS units, and more specifically, for opportunities for officially disgraced officers and enlisted men wishing to redeem themselves from minor disciplinary sentences todo so under fire. Most such cases were at the time imprisoned at the Strafvollzugslager der Waffen-SS und Polizei in places like SS-Straflager Dachau, and at Danzig-Matzkau. The former military prisoners were restored to their rank and standing. They were integrated throughout the new unit while being overseen by a special probationary staff attached to the Battalion HQ, known as Section III (Abt. III), which included an SS Lawyer, and a number of clerks to keep track of the records concerning the disciplinary cases in the unit.
Although SS-Fj.Btl.-500 is commonly referred to as a penal unit, there is apejorative nuance to the term in English (ie. punishment) which the Germansdisdained to use outright for this type of unit. SS-Fj.Btl.500 was a 500 seriesBewährungs or probationary unit in which (as mentioned above) an enlistedsoldier, NCO, or Officer who had dishonored himself by minor infractions of themilitary code could be given the chance to, in the words of a 2.4.1942 Hitler-decree: “…an der Front bewähren, und eine Amnestie verdienenKönnten.” (ie. “…prove oneself by service at the Front, and thereby earnan amnesty.”). In other words, it was a unit where officers and men convicted bycourts-martial of minor infractions and currently in disciplinary straits couldredeem their soldierly honor by participation in hazardous duties and operations.
The 500 series numbering system was also shared by the Heer, but should not be confused with the post-1940 500 series designated divisional units, which were also to be found resurrected in the July-August 1944 Heer 28th, 29th and31st mobilization waves of Grenadier and Volksgrenadier formations. Some battalion-sized unit numbers of the 5xx series had also been formerBewärungs units (z.b.V.- zur besondern Verwendung – for special employment) of the Heer (also, Waffen-SS and Polizei) employed on theEastern Front and integrated into new Grenadier formations in the course of, in this case, the July-August 1944 reorganization of the Feldheer.
In the case of the Waffen-SS men being recruited for the SS-Fj.Btl.500, it would have probably been at one of the harsh SS-Strafanstalten, such as that of the notoriously brutal SS-military prison at Danzig-Matzkau, or the punishment-section for SS personnel at Dachau. Prisons for Wehrmacht personnel directed bythe OKW also existed at the Alte-Festung Gemmersheim, and after 1940 atIngolstadt, and at Fort Alvensleben in Metz, among other places. The Luftwaffe also had a disciplinary section at Prüfungslager (testing center) Leipzig-Schünau, and later at Dedelsdorf in Kreis Gifhorn. The Kriegsmarine established a special section for their disciplinary cases at Hela on the Baltics. The Kriegsmarine also had specific battalion-sized units for its disciplinary cases, the first being the Sonderabteilung der Kriegsmarine (NavalDisciplinary Unit) which after WWII began was renamed the Kriegsonderabteilung(Wartime Naval Disciplinary Unit). Another such unit was formed later in WWIInamed Kriegsonderabteilung Ost. Also during the War, the 30.Schiffstammabteilung and 31.Schiffstammabteilung (30th and 31st Ship Cadre Battalions) were formed; the 30th for use in the North Sea area, and the 31st in the Baltic Sea area. Interestingly enough, if “further education” was not likely, problem men were transferred into a naval company of the Heer Field Disciplinary Battalion.
https://www.feldgrau.com/ww2-german-ss-fallshirmj%C3%A4ger-batallion-500/
