History UsefulNotes / NazisWithGnarlyWeapons

* ''Film/TheEagleHasLanded'' -- A British made stereotype-free portrayal of German commandos in a fictional plot to assassinate Winston Churchill.

UsefulNotes/NaziGermany fielded soldiers from a number of armed organisations for conventional warfare, anticipatory-retaliatory anti-partisan warfare, and prejudicial counter-intelligence operations during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. These were subordinated to two major organisations, the ''SS'' (''Schutzstaffel'' - lit. 'protection squadron') and the Wehrmacht (Military). The ''SS'' was created from the merger of paramilitary groups associated with the Nazi Party with Germany's major police forces upon their seizure of power in 1933, and was originally focused on unconventional enemies. The ''Wehrmacht'' was created from the ''Reichswehr'', the military of the German Republic (1918-1933), in 1935 and had an initial focus on conventional enemies.

The largest organization of the German war machine, the ''Heer'' is often erroneously referred to as the ''Wehrmacht''. Properly, the ''Wehrmacht'' refers to the entire armed forces of Nazi Germany while the ''Heer'' refers to the ground forces. The most recognized symbol of the ''Heer'' was the "coal scuttle" helmet known as the ''Stahlhelm'' ("steel helmet"). It was such a popular design that it was used by the rest of the ''Wehrmacht'', as well as civil organizations such as police and fire departments. Today, it can still be seen in the Chilean Army, with American military PASGT helmets having a similar swooped-back design (which has found its way back into the German military). Neutral Ireland used this helmet in the first year of UsefulNotes/WW2. But with British soldiers on the other side of the border, nervous about any sign at all of a German invasion through the Irish back door, it was thought wise to retire it and replace it with a different design. Irish soldiers patrolling their side of the border in German-style helmets and uniforms were considered too much of an accident waiting to happen.\\\

The German army was badly overrun by French and British tanks in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, and was a quick learner. The Army adopted tank and armoured assault warfare early, and was the first to notice the role of tank on battlefield: tank was to be the knight of the 20th century, and deployed like knights: in concentrated formations on their own, employing firepower and mobility and crush the enemy lines with impetus, enabling breakthroughs and allowing mobilized infantry to employ the gaps on enemy lines. "Tank" itself is ''Panzerkampfwagen'' in German language, literally "armoured fighting vehicle", abbreviated just ''Panzer'' ("armour"). The official abbreviation for ''Panzerkampfwagen'' is [=PzKpfW=], or just Pz.\\\

* ''Film/{{Le Silence de la Mer|2004}}'' -- French TV film adapting the eponymous book.

** Generaladmiral (Equivalent to Admiral, rank does not exist in either the US or UK)

** Generaladmiral (Equivalent to Admiral)

* Kriegsmarine (lit. Navy)

Like some of the ''Heer'' soldiers, because many ''Kriegsmarine'' officers were anti-Nazi, a fair few able to salvage their careers in the new West German military. ''Fregattenkapitan'' (Commander) Otto Kretschmer and Erich Topp, the first and third highest scoring U-boat aces respectively, joined the ''Bundesmarine'' and eventually retired with the lovely ranks of ''Flottillenadmiral'' and ''Konteradmiral'' (Rear Admiral).\\\

** Kapitanleutant (Equivalent to Lieutenant)
** Korvettenkapitan (Equivalent to Lieutenant Commander)
** Fregattenkapitan (Equivalent to Commander)
** Kapitan zur See (Equivalent to Captain)

For Alsace and Moselle alone, 135000 French-born men were forced to enlist (contrast a meager 2400 volunteers before the conscription order) and most of them sent on the Eastern Front, 30000 died (KIA and prisoners in Soviet camps included) and 10000 remained missing. Over 95 per cent of them were put in branches of the Wehrmacht (over 80 per cent of these in the Heer), although the 1926-1927 classes had a higher chance of being conscripted in the Waffen SS through particularly devious Nazi school paperwork methods starting in 1943. The consequences for refusing to enlist or trying to escape conscription were particularly dire, it usually meant being sent to "reeducation" camps such as that of Schirmeck (where living conditions were just a wee bit superior to the concentratrion camps Nazi Germany was infamous for), deportation of family members or death. Deserters were shot the same as German-born soldiers.

A case can be made that the Wehrmacht was technically not a 'Nazi' institution because (before 1944) none of its personnel were Nazi Party members and the Wehrmacht's leadership did not wholeheartedly agree with all Nazi ideals and policies. However, the Wehrmacht's leadership actively supported the Nazi regime and shared almost all of its ideals. Even though there was a distinction between the regime and the military in the minds of many German military personnel and civilians, in practice this separation was artificial and reflected neither the attitudes of the organization's leadership nor its policies. Many of the Wehrmacht's 'pragmatic'/'non-Nazi' policies were virtually indistinguishable from 'Nazi' ones. UrExample of such a policy was the purely 'rational' measure of working together with the Croatian Utasha regime and Waffen-SS to execute all Yugoslavian Jews and Gypsies in the field. This was a 'logical' exercise in 'preventative security' because some of them were associated with Tito's Communist partisans and there was no point in [[GenocideBackfire leaving radicalized survivors.]]\\\

The Einsatzgruppen were death squads established by SS leader Heinrich Himmler for the purpose of murdering Jews, Gypsies and Soviet political commissars. Most of their members were Security Police personnel, though they were supplemented with (regular) Order Policmen. At their peak they had 15,000 German members in 4 active groups and up to 33,000 Hiwis (also known as 'Trawnikis', as they were trained at the Trawniki concentration camp in the Generalgouvernement). The Einsatzgruppen alone shot at least .5 million undesirables, an impressive proportion of the 1.8 million Undesirables shot in The Holocaust. However, the HSSPF (Regional Security Chief) forces of Reichskomissariat Ukraine and Galicia-Podolia (annexed from Ukraine by the Generalgouvernement in July 1941) completely outshone them in their respective spheres of responsibility. Galicia-Podolia was cleansed a full .5 million Undesirables with no Einsatgruppen input whatsoever, and the vast majority of the million Undesirables shot in the Ukraine were handled by (Order Police, Security Police, and Hiwi) forces under HSSPF control. The Einsatzgruppen were also unable to claim full credit for the cleansing of Belarus, where Wehrmacht forces embraced the logic of wiping out all Jews (given their possible ties to Communism). The cleansing of the Baltic States (Reichskomissarist Ostland) was their only 'clean'/'total' victory.\\\

Quite interestingly, the greatest innovation the Reich brought in armored warfare and [[LongRunner still used today in modernised form]] was not a tank, but the nowadays-ubiquitous [[AwesomePersonnelCarrier multi-wheeled armored car]]. Ever since the first armored cars had appeared during TheEdwardianEra, they had followed faithfully the internal structure of a truck: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolls-Royce_Armoured_Car ladder chassis]], 4x2 or [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BA-10 6x4 drive]], rigid axles, leaf springs, tall armored box. The costs of developing something new from scratch were too great, even as the years after TheGreatDepression unfolded, so the militaries used what could be built quickly and cheaply. Even the independently-sprung Tatra armored cars had tall, goods-van like armored superstructures, while the beautiful M8 "Greyhound" of the US Army still ran on truck-type axles. While the Germans had already developed around 1936-1937 the 8x8 [=SdKfz.=] 231 8-rad, with modern flat armored box, fully independent suspension, all-wheel drive, all-wheel steering, a world away. Then came the [=SdKfz=] 232, 233, 263 and 234 "Puma". Every multi-wheel armored vehicle of the modern age still follows the pattern: [[NotSoDifferent Soviet]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BTR-60 BTR-series]], Czech [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OT-64_SKOT OT-64]], South African [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratel_IFV Ratel]], Cadillac Gage [=LAV=]s, Mowag Piranha, [=LAV=] [=III=] Kodiak, [=IAV=] Stryker and so on.

When the Third Reich was victorious and expanded in 1940, it annexed or attempted to annex several territories where ''Volkdeutsche'' ("people whose language and culture had German origins but who did not hold German citizenship" from a Pangermanic viewpoint) lived, such as [[UsefulNotes/DepartementalIssues Alsace and Moselle]][[note]]which UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany lost to France in 1918, Adolf Hitler had his eyes set on them ever since[[/note]], the germanophone parts of UsefulNotes/{{Belgium}}, and UsefulNotes/{{Luxembourg}}. These people were considered ''de facto'' Germans without having much choice, Nazi propaganda and indoctrinations were forced upon them and displaying patriotism of their former country was severely punished. During the turning point year that was 1942, conscription was enforced on those populations, particularly where there was a lack of volunteers.\\\

For Alsace and Moselle alone, 135000 French-born men were conscripted (contrast a meager 2400 volunteers) and most of them sent on the Eastern Front, 30000 died (KIA and prisoners in Soviet camps included) and 10000 remained missing. Over 95 per cent of them were put in branches of the Wehrmacht (over 80 per cent of these in the Heer), although the 1926-1927 classes had a higher chance of being conscripted in the Waffen SS through particularly devious Nazi school paperwork methods starting in 1943. The consequences for refusing to enlist or trying to escape conscription were particularly dire, it usually meant being sent to "reeducation" camps such as that of Schirmeck (where living conditions were just a wee bit superior to the concentratrion camps Nazi Germany was infamous for), deportation of family members or death. Deserters were shot the same as German-born soldiers.

->''"In this battle mercy or considerations of international law with regard to these elements is false. They are a danger to our own safety and to the rapid pacification of the conquered territories. The originators of barbaric, Asiatic methods of warfare are the political commissars. So immediate and unhesitatingly severe measures must be undertaken against them."''
-->-- "'''Guidelines for the Treatment of Political Commissars'''", 6/6/1941

* ''Film/ComeAndSee'' -- The occupation of Belarus. The film is told from a Soviet point of view, but it's one of the most striking films about the German army's war crimes to this day.

* The ''VideoGame/CompanyOfHeroes'' standalone ExpansionPack ''Opposing Fronts'' has a German POV campaign, and adds a semi-fictional faction called "German Panzer Elite", which is heavily based on the real life ''Panzer Lehr'' Division. NoSwastikas also applies to all of the ''Company of Heroes'' games, replacing the swastika with a Balkzenkreuz.

* The ''VideoGame/CompanyOfHeroes'' standalone ExpansionPack ''Opposing Fronts'' has a German POV campaign, and adds a semi-fictional faction called "German Panzer Elite", which is heavily based on the real life ''Panzer Lehr'' Division.

* Abwehr (lit. "Defence", Intelligence)

* ''VideoGame/SecretWeaponsOfTheLuftwaffe'' -- SimulationGame about the U.S. Eighth Air Force campaign against the Third Reich. Players can play as Luftwaffe fighter pilots defending against American air attacks, and in the campaign mode, control deployment of their fighter squadrons, as well as oversee production and research of aerial warfare related industries.

* ''VideoGame/SecretWeaponsOfTheLuftwaffe'' -- SimulationGame about the U.S. Eighth Air Force campaign against the Third Reich. Players can play as Luftwaffe fighter pilots defending against American air attacks, and in the campaign mode, control deployment of their fighter squadrons, as well as oversee production and research of aerial warfare related industries.

The iconic pistol associated with Nazis is the Pistole 08, universally known as the "Luger", and also as ''Parabellum''. The pistol was actually used in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, but was gradually being replaced by the Walther P38 after 1938. The pistol just [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Parabellum_1586.jpg looks evil]] ([[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Walter_HP_Speerwerke_1428.jpg so does the P38]], just that it's [[OurWeaponsWillBeBoxyInTheFuture slightly boxier]]) and enough were [[{{Plunder}} collected as trophies]] by Allied soldiers to ensure continued currency. The Walther P38 was also still manufactured until 2004 as an updated version called the P1 and was still used by the German army until being phased out. As with the K98 example above, however, despite its refinements in mass production technology there were simply not enough P38s to go around that the Luger could be removed from service (even had any of the servicemen who were lucky enough to have one been inclined to do so), so the two sidearms soldiered along side by side for the duration of the war. The P38 is also associated with another evil figure in modern culture, [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers Megatron]]. Another iconic pistol is the Walther PPK; the gun that Film/JamesBond uses is also the one that Hitler used to kill himself.\\\

* '''33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS "''Charlemagne''" (1st French)''': Composed of French anticommunists as well as adventure-seekers who found little work opportunity in occupied France, the ''Charlemagne'' Division was formed from the few remaining men of the previous organization, the LVF (which was part of the Heer and got nearly wiped out in USSR), as well as other French volunteers from the Vichy Milice, French auxiliaries of the Heer, Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe and French auxiliaries of the Atlantic Wall. It had over 7,000 men at its largest. About 350 of them had the distinction of being one of the last Third Reich units to see action during World War II, as, knowing that they would face a dreadful fate if they surrendered, they continued to fight in the ruins of Berlin. A group of just twelve managed to destroy ''sixty-two'' Soviet tanks using Panzerfausts alone, and several won the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, being awarded the decoration in a half-wrecked railway carriage that served as battalion HQ. The last French volunteers fought not far from the ''Führerbunker'' until May 2, so the Soviets wouldn't capture it on May Day. Some tried to escape back to France. Most were denounced, some were shot on capture by French troops, and many were later sentenced to hard labor. One group, captured in Bad Reichenhall, was asked by General Leclerc why they wore German uniforms. The highest-ranked asked the general [[ShutUpKirk "Why do you wear an American uniform?"]].

When the Third Reich was victorious and expanded in 1940, it annexed or attempted to annex several territories where ''Volkdeutsche'' ("people whose language and culture had German origins but who did not hold German citizenship" from a Pangermanic viewpoint) lived, such as [[UsefulNotes/DepartementalIssues Alsace and Moselle]][[note]]which UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany lost to France in 1918, Adolf Hitler had his eyes set on them ever since[[/note]], the germanophone parts of UsefulNotes/{{Belgium}} and UsefulNotes/{{Luxembourg}}. These people were considered ''de facto'' Germans without having much choice, Nazi propaganda and indoctrinations were forced upon them and displaying patriotism of their former country was severely punished. During the turning point year that was 1942, conscription was enforced on those populations, particularly where there was a lack of volunteers.\\\

When the Third Reich was victorious and expanded in 1940, it annexed or attempted to annex several territories where ''Volkdeutsche'' ("people whose language and culture had German origins but who did not hold German citizenship" from a Pangermanic viewpoint) lived, such as [[UsefulNotes/DepartementalIssues Alsace and Moselle]][[note]]which UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany lost to France in 1918, Adolf Hitler had his eyes set on them ever since[[/note]] or UsefulNotes/{{Luxembourg}}. These people were considered ''de facto'' Germans without having much choice, Nazi propaganda and indoctrinations were forced upon them and displaying patriotism of their former country was severely punished. During the turning point year that was 1942, conscription was enforced on those populations, particularly where there was a lack of volunteers.\\\

[[folder: You're with us or against us: Foreign Conscripts]]

For Alsace and Moselle alone, 135000 French-born men were conscripted (contrast a meager 2400 volunteers) and sent on the Eastern Front, 30000 died (KIA and prisoners in Soviet camps included) and 10000 remained missing. Over 95 per cent of them were put in branches of the Wehrmacht (over 80 per cent of these in the Heer), although the 1926-1927 classes had a higher chance of being conscripted in the Waffen SS through particularly devious Nazi school paperwork methods starting in 1943. The consequences for refusing to enlist or trying to escape conscription were particularly dire, it usually meant being sent to "reeducation" camps such as that of Schirmeck (where living conditions were just a wee bit superior to the concentratrion camps Nazi Germany was infamous for), deportation of family members or death. Deserters were shot the same as German-born soldiers.

For Alsace and Moselle alone, 135000 French-born men were conscripted (contrast a meager 2400 volunteers) and sent on the Eastern Front, 30000 died (KIA and prisoners in Soviet camps included) and 10000 remained missing. Over 95 per cent of them were put in branches of the Wehrmacht (over 80 per cent of these in the Heer), although the 1926-1927 classes had a higher chance of being conscripted in the Waffen SS through particularly devious Nazi school paperwork methods starting in 1943. The consequences for refusing to enlist or trying to escape conscription were particularly dire, it usually meant being sent to "reeducation" camps such as that of Schirmeck (where living conditions were just a wee bit superior to the concentratrion camps Nazi Germany was infamous for), deportation of family members or death. Deserters were shot the same as regular Germans.