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The SS Division Hitlerjugend or 12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjugend" (German: 12. SS-Panzerdivision "Hitlerjugend") was a German armoured division of the Waffen-SS during World War II. [7] The majority of its junior enlisted men were drawn from members of the Hitler Youth, while the senior NCOs and officers were from other Waffen-SS divisions.
During the Normandy Campaign, Waffen-SS Standartenführer Kurt Meyer, commander of the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend, used the Abbaye d’Ardenne for his regimental headquarters, as its towers gave a clear view of the battlefield. [4] In June 1944 at the abbey, 20 Canadian soldiers were murdered by members of the 12th SS Panzer Division.
Meyer commanded the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend during the Allied invasion of Normandy, and was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. After ordering the mass murder of civilians and prisoners of war (POWs) several times during the conflict, Meyer was convicted of war crimes for his role in the ...
The 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend set out by rail for Normandy at the end of March, 1944. On 1 April, their train was approaching the gare d'Ascq , a junction where three railroads intersected, when an explosion blew the line apart, causing two cars to derail.
The opponent of the armored divisions of the II Canadian Corps was the 12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjugend", which had been fighting in Normandy for over two months (commanded by SS-Brigadeführer Kurt Meyer), supported by elements of the shattered 89th Infantry Division from the first phase of Operation
12th: Hitlerjugend: Germans and 50 italians after 8/9/1943: Hitler Youth: 1943–1945: 21,482 (1943) ... SS Panzer Division order of battle; Notes and references
The prisoners kept in the stable at the Moulin farm initially received good treatment from the 2nd Battalion of the 12th SS Panzer Division, which was commanded by SS Major Bernhard Seibken. [50] These 40 men were kept behind while military police escorted a group of over 100 POWs toward Lieutenant Colonel Mohnke's headquarters.
The 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend was organized according to the above table, and served as a standard for all other SS panzer divisions during World War II. The average complement was approximately 19,000. However, only two out of seven SS panzer divisions contained that strength.