Overview
- Description
- The collection consists of 344 photographs taken by the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen in Croatia, Serbia, and Montenegro from 1942-1944 after the German invasion of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. They are labeled by the commanding office of the Waffen-SS. The photographs depict the military campaigns by the division and include several images of captured partisans. Also included are postcards from Dubrovnik and Sarajevo, and a travel log from 1944 February 2-5 that was likely authored by Friedrich Wilhelm Krüger, who served with the division.
- Date
-
inclusive:
1942-1944
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Irwin Birnbaum and Phillip Birnbaum
- Collection Creator
- Friedrich Wilhelm Krüger
- Biography
-
Friedrich Wilhelm Krüger (1894-1945) was born in Strasbourg, Germany (now France) to Alfred (? – 1914) and Helene Glünder Krüger (?-1930). Friedrich Wilhelm had two brothers, one of whom, Walter (1890-1945), had a career that paralleled his own. The second brother may have served in the military. His father, Alfred was an Oberst [Colonel] in the German Army. Friedrich Wilhelm was educated at the Karlsruhe and the Prussian Main Military Academies. Following the outbreak of World War I and his graduation in June 1914, Friedrich Wilhelm was commissioned as a 1st Lieutenant in the German Army. In August 1914, his father, Alfred, was killed in action. Friedrich Wilhelm was wounded three times and awarded the Iron Cross, 1st class. In 1920, he returned to civilian life, and in 1922, Friedrich Wilhelm Krüger married Elisabeth Rasehorn (1896-?). The couple settled in Berlin and had two children, while also raising three foster children. He became the director of a waste removal company in 1924. Four years later, in 1928, he left the company because he felt it was corrupt and became a self-employed businessman. During these years, he became friends with Kurt Daluege, commander of the SS (Schutzstaffel [Protection Squadron]) in Berlin.
Krüger joined the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in November 1929, and entered the SS in February 1931. Originally, the SS was subordinated to the leadership of the larger, paramilitary SA (Sturmabteilung [Assault Division also known as the Stormtroopers]). Initially, the SS was designed as a security force for protecting Adolf Hitler and members attending Nazi Party meetings. The group transformed into a large, lethal, well-organized paramilitary unit after Heinrich Himmler became Reichsführer SS. In April 1931, Krüger transferred to the SA. He attained the rank of SA-Gruppenführer [Lieutenant General] by 1932 and joined the personal staff of Ernst Röhm, head of the SA. In 1932, Krüger also became a Nazi Party Member of Parliament in Berlin, a position that he held until the end of the war. He was not a target during the Night of the Long Knives, during the summer of 1934, when Hitler ordered that Röhm and most of the SA leadership be arrested and executed for treason. Under Röhm’s leadership, the SA had become well organized, grown larger than the military, and escalated its violent actions against political opponents and undesirable elements of German society. SA leadership had sought to remove the elites from power and replace them with fanatical Nazis, as well as become the main military force in Germany. These goals threatened the Nazi Party and Hitler’s efforts to consolidate power, which required the cooperation of the traditional elites and army leaders, who promised to oust the Nazi government if the SA was not eliminated. The SS supported the dismantling of SA leadership, and was responsible for carrying out the purge. As a reward, the SS was made a separate organization. Krüger rejoined the SS at the rank of Obergruppenführer in January 1935. His career continued to flourish and included rapid promotions, bringing him to the attention of Hitler, for whom he served as a personal representative on several occasions.
After the invasion of Poland in 1939, Krüger was appointed as the Höherer SS und Polizeiführer [Supreme SS and Police Leader, HSSPF] for the Generalgouvernement [General Government] section of Poland, and served as a personal representative for Heinrich Himmler. Krüger was responsible for the liquidation of the Jewish ghettos as well as for carrying out Heinrich Himmler’s killing operations for Jews in the concentration camps in occupied Poland. In 1943, Krüger was replaced as part of a long power struggle with Dr. Hans Frank, the Governor General of occupied Poland. Krüger requested a military command with the Army, and he was given command of divisions in the field. Following Germany’s surrender on May 7, 1945, Krüger, committed suicide. Friedrich Wilhelm’s brother, Walter, had a less political career than Friedrich Wilhelm had, but attained the rank of Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS during World War II. He also committed suicide after Germany’s surrender, and before the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg found the SS to be guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Physical Details
- Language
- German
- Genre/Form
- Logbooks. Photographs. Postcards.
- Extent
-
1 box
- System of Arrangement
- The collection is arranged as one series.
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
- Conditions on Use
- Material(s) in this collection may be protected by copyright and/or related rights. You do not require further permission from the Museum to use this material. The user is solely responsible for making a determination as to if and how the material may be used.
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Guerillas--Yugoslavia--1940-1950. Campaigns & battles--Yugoslavia--1940-1950. Soldiers--German--Yugoslavia--1940-1950. Military occupations--German--Yugoslavia--1940-1950. War damage--Yugoslavia--1940-1950. World War, 1939-1945--Deportations from Yugoslavia.
- Geographic Name
- Montenegro. Dubrovnik (Croatia) Serbia.
- Personal Name
- Krüger, Friedrich Wilhelm, 1894-1945.
- Corporate Name
- Waffen-SS
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The papers were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2005 by Phillip Birnbaum and Irwin Birnbaum.
- Record last modified:
- 2023-08-28 08:08:38
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn523297
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Also in Friedrich Wilhelm Krüger collection
The collection consists of artifacts, a logbook, and photographs relating to the experiences of SS Obergruppenfuhrer Friedrich Wilhelm Krüger during his service in the 5th Mountain Corps in German-occupied Yugoslavia during World War II.
Date: 1942-1945
Engraved wooden box presented to a Lieutenant General of the SS by his troops
Object
Engraved commemorative box presented to SS Obergruppenführer [Lieutenant general of the SS] Friedrich Wilhelm Krüger by the troops of the 5th Mountain Corps in German-occupied Yugoslavia, which he commanded from August 1944 to February 1945. The box was used to hold Waffen-SS labeled photographs of the region where Krüger’s troops had served. From October 1939 to October1943, Krüger served as Höherer SS und Polizeiführer [Supreme SS and Police Leader] for the Generalgouvernement in occupied Poland, where he carried out Heinrich Himmler’s killing operations for Jews in the region. In 1943, Krüger was replaced due to a power struggle with Hans Frank, Governor General of Poland during the German occupation. At Krüger’s request, he was given command of divisions in the field, and committed suicide after Germany's surrender in May 1945. After Krüger’s death, the box was acquired by Henry Birnbaum, a United States soldier who served as a translator for the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany, from 1945-1946.