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Werwolf (German for "werewolf", the spelling "Wehrwolf" is incorrect) was a Nazi plan at the end of World War II for a clandestine force which would carry out guerrilla attacks against the Allies in the Allied-occupied regions of Germany. It is an extreme example of a stay-behind or partisan organization. The word "Werwolf" is the German cognate of werewolf, in the sense of lycanthropy; it is also a pun on Wehrwolf, which means "defence wolf". "Werwolf" was the favoured name of the movement, although "Wehrwolf" was also sometimes used. In the end, the name was chosen after the title of a novel about the 30 Years War, written by Hermann Löns in 1914. Löns was admired by the higher spheres of Nazism because of the nationalist ideas in some of his writings. Image File history File links Circle-contradict. ... A German woodcut from 1722 A werewolf (also lycanthrope or wolfman) in folklore is a person who shapeshifts into a wolf or wolflike creature, either purposely, by using magic, or after being placed under a curse. ... National Socialism redirects here. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Guerilla may refer to Guerrilla warfare. ... Look up ally in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Look up Partisan in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A German woodcut from 1722 A werewolf (also lycanthrope or wolfman) in folklore is a person who shapeshifts into a wolf or wolflike creature, either purposely, by using magic, or after being placed under a curse. ... In folklore, lycanthropy is the ability or power of a human being to undergo transformation into a wolf. ... The victory of Gustavus Adolphus at the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) The Thirty Years War was a conflict fought between the years 1618 and 1648, principally in the central European territory of the Holy Roman Empire, but also involving most of the major continental powers. ... Hermann Löns (August 29, 1866 - September 26, 1914) was a German journalist and writer. ...

"Wolverine" was another name used by the Nazis for this plan.

Plans

The original plan for Werwolf was to act as a guerrilla force to interfere with the logistics of Allied armies preparing to assault the Nazis' "Alpine National Redoubt." Lt. General of the SS Hans-Adolf Prützmann was named "General Inspector of Special Defense" (Generalinspekteur für Spezialabwehr) and was assigned the task of setting up the force's headquarters in Berlin and organizing and instructing this force. Prutzmann had studied guerrilla tactics used by the Russians while stationed in the occupied territories of the Ukraine and the idea was to teach these tactics to the member of Operation Werwolf. A 1945 U.S. Army map showing the possible extent of the National Redoubt The National Redoubt was the English term used to describe the possibility that Adolf Hitler and armed forces of Nazi Germany would make a last stand in the alpine areas of Austria, Italy in the closing... Hans-Adolf Prützmann (born 31 August 1901 in Tolkemit; died 21 May 1945 in Lüneburg) was a Superior SS and Police Leader, as well as an SS Obergruppenführer. ...

Werwolf originally had about five-thousand members recruited from the "SS" (Schutzstaffel) and the Hitler Youth (Hitler-Jugend). These recruits were specially trained in guerrilla tactics. Operation Werwolf went so far as to establish front companies to ensure continued funding after Germany was occupied (all of the "front companies" were discovered and shut down within eight months). However, as it became increasingly clear that the Alpine Redoubt was yet another grandiose delusion, Werwolf was converted first into a terrorist organisation. In the last few weeks of the war, Operation Werwolf was largely dismantled by Heinrich Himmler and Wilhelm Keitel.^{[citation needed]} SS or ss or Ss may be: The Schutzstaffel, a Nazi paramilitary force Steamship (SS) (ship prefix) The United States Secret Service A submarine not powered by nuclear energy (SS) (United States Navy designator), see SSN A Soviet/Russian surface-to-surface missile, as listed by NATO reporting name Shortstop... The   (German for Protective Squadron), abbreviated (Runic) or SS (Latin), was a large security and military organization of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) in Germany. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The German Nazi party established the Hitler Youth (in German: Hitler-Jugend or HJ) in 1926. ... This article is becoming very long. ... Heinrich Luitpold Himmler ( ; October 7, 1900–May 23, 1945) was the commander of the Schutzstaffel (SS) and one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany by being second in power to Adolf Hitler in the Nazi hierarchy. ... Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel Wilhelm Bodewin Johann Gustav Keitel (September 22, 1882 - October 16, 1946) was a German field marshal (Generalfeldmarschall) and a senior military leader during World War II. // Keitel was born in Helmscherode, Brunswick, German Empire, the son of Carl Keitel, a middle-class landowner, and his wife Apollonia...

Disorganized attempts were made to bury explosives, ammunition and weapons in different locations around the country (mainly in the pre-1939 German-Polish border) to be used by the Werwolf in their terrorist acts after the defeat of Germany, but not only were the amounts of material to be "buried" prohibitively low, at that point the movement itself was so disorganized that few actual members or leaders knew where the materials were, how to use them, or what to do with them. A large portion of these "depots" were found by the Russians. Almost none of these materials were actually used by the Werwolf.^{[citation needed]}

On March 23, 1945, Joseph Goebbels gave a speech, known as the "Werwolf speech", in which he urged every German to fight to the death. The partial dismantling of the organized Werwolf, combined with the effects of the "Werwolf" speech, caused considerable confusion about which subsequent attacks were actual Werwolf attacks, as opposed to solo acts by fanatical Nazis or small groups of SS. is the 82nd day of the year (83rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... Paul Joseph Goebbels (German pronunciation: IPA: ) (29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German politician and Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda during the National Socialist regime from 1933 to 1945. ...

The tactics that the organization could use included sniping attacks, arson, sabotage, and assassination. The plan included things like home-made explosives production, using simple things like "a can of soup" and pencils as detonators, and training every agent in how to jump into a guard tower and strangle the sentry in one swift movement, using only a metre of string. Werwolf agents were supposed to have at their disposal a vast assortment of weapons, from fire-proof coats to silenced Walther pistols. In reality this was merely on paper; the Werwolf never actually had the necessary equipment, organization, morale or coordination. Arkansas Army National Guard soldiers practice sniper marksmenship at their firing range near Baghdad, Iraq in 2005. ... The Skyline Parkway Motel in Afton, Virginia after an arson fire on July 9, 2004. ... “Saboteur” redirects here. ... It has been suggested that Selective assassination be merged into this article or section. ... Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen is a German arms manufacturer. ...

Operations

Antony Beevor and Earl F. Ziemke have argued that Werwolf never amounted to a serious threat, in fact they are regarded by them as barely having existed. However, the historian who has done an in-depth study of the subject, Alexander Perry Biddiscombe in Werwolf!: The History of the National Socialist Guerrilla Movement, 1944-1946, 1998, comes to a much different conclusion. Shortcut: WP:-( Vandalism is indisputable bad-faith addition, deletion, or change to content, made in a deliberate attempt to compromise the integrity of the encyclopedia. ... Shortcut: WP:-( Vandalism is indisputable bad-faith addition, deletion, or change to content, made in a deliberate attempt to compromise the integrity of the encyclopedia. ... Antony Beevor (born on December 14, 1946) is a British historian, educated at Winchester College and Sandhurst. ...

According to Biddiscombe, after retreating to the Black Forest and the Harz mountains, the Werwolf continued resisting the occupation until at least 1947, possibly to 1949-50, effectively undermining the post-war peace and stability. A map of Germany, showing the Black Forest in red. ... The Harz is a mountain range in northern Germany. ...

Part of the books book's publication summary states that: Werwolf violence failed to mobilize a spirit of national resistance, that the group was poorly led, armed, and organized, and that it was doomed to failure given war-weariness of the populace and the hesitancy of young Germans to sacrifice themselves on the funeral pyre of the regime, but it also states that Biddiscombe demonstrates that although the group failed to assume a popular character, its influence was still great and that its revolutionary sentiments would have grave implications for the future.

Werwolf's most prominent alleged victim was Dr. Franz Oppenhoff, the newly appointed anti-Nazi mayor of Allied-occupied Aachen, who was murdered outside his home in March of 1945. But this operation had not been carried out by local irregulars. The so-called Werwolfs were in fact an SS commando unit flown in at Heinrich Himmler's order. Alleged victims include: Category: ... A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning larger, greater) is the modern title of the highest ranking municipal officer. ... Oche redirects here; in darts the oche is the line from which players must throw. ...

• Major John Poston, Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery's liaison officer (killed before Germany's surrender by unidentified assailants);
• Colonel-General Nikolai Berzarin, Soviet commandant of Berlin, killed on June 16, 1945 (Soviet reports claimed that Berzarin died in a vehicle accident).

The Werwolf propaganda "Radio Werwolf" (which actually broadcast from Nauen near Berlin during April 1945)^{[citation needed]}, also claimed the assassination of General Maurice Rose, who was in fact killed in action by regular troops before the war ended. Note: This article is about the military usage of the word marshal. For other usages, see the end of this article. ... Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG, GCB, DSO, PC (17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976) was a British Army officer, often referred to as Monty. He successfully commanded Allied forces at the Battle of El Alamein, a major turning point in World War II, and... Nikolai Erastovich Berzarin (Russian Николай Эрастович Берзарин) (born April 1, 1904 in St. ... This article is about the capital of Germany. ... Soviet Propaganda Poster during the World War II. The text reads Red Army Fighter, SAVE US! Chinese propaganda poster from during the Cultural Revolution. ... General Maurice Rose (November 26, 1899 - March 31, 1945) was an American military officer in the United States Army during World War II. Rose first enlisted in the Colorado National Guard as a Private in 1915 hoping to serve with General John Black Jack Pershings expedition into Mexico. ...

It has been claimed that in Warmia, a part of Germany that had been handed over to Poland and from which the German population was being forcibly expelled, that the Werwolf carried out massacres of civilians, and a few substantial attacks against Soviet troops. There is no proof of any of this, however. Warmia in 1547 Warmia (Polish: , German: , Latin: Varmia, also historically known as Ermeland) is a region between Pomerania and Masuria in northeastern Poland. ... Soviet redirects here. ...

The most costly single Werwolf-related attack in the western zones of occupation is said to be a bombing in Bremen which killed 44 persons. Yet it is more likely that the bomb was simply a bomb left from an air raid that exploded by accident^{[citation needed]} (not uncommon after World War II, unexploded bombs from the war are still found in German, British and Italian cities today). Kammergericht, Headquarters of the Allied Control Council The Allied Control Council or Allied Control Authority, known in German as the Alliierter Kontrollrat, also referred to as the Four Powers, was a military occupation governing body of the Allied Occupation Zones in Germany after the end of World War II in...

One often overlooked aspect of Werwolf is that the Hitler Youth component was also responsible for developing a new political youth movement which was intended to outlast the war, and which was called "neo-Nazism". Some current German neo-Nazi groups refer to themselves as "Werwolf" or "Wehrwolf."^{[citation needed]} The terms Neo-Nazism and Neo-Fascism refer to any social or political movement to revive Nazism or Fascism, respectively, and postdates the Second World War. ...

The Werwolf were aggressively repressed by the allied forces. The Russians didn't hesitate to execute suspected Werwolf partisans, and the Americans were known to use summary execution and demolitions to enforce edicts against German terror. The French, too, didn't hesitate to evict Germans from occupied French territory, resorting to executions and imprisonment to encourage the laggards.

The post-war longevity of German resistance movements, such as the Werwolf, was partly due to the continued desperation of the German people who for two years suffered under the U.S. occupation directive JCS 1067.^{[1] [2]}. The German resistance movements, like the parent SS branch, were entirely oblivious to the enormous pain and suffering that the German nation had caused to the rest of the world by engaging in World War II.^{[citation needed]} The Morgenthau Plan showing the planned partitioning of Germany into a North State, a South State, and an International zone. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Werwolf references in recent politics

The history of Werwolf has been compared to Islamic terrorists by the Bush Administration in defense of the American-led occupation of Iraq ^{[3] [4] [5]}. Some aspects of Werwolf which are relevant to this discussion are: The Bush administration includes President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard Cheney, Bushs Cabinet, and other select officials and advisors. ... This article deals with the post-invasion period in Iraq and its occupation. ...

1. Werwolf was principally a war stratagem of the Nazi government. It endured as a terrorist force for many years after the end of the war. It existed to terrorize the occupation symapthizers, but was not as well financed as the Iraqi terror forces.
2. The Werwolf proposal contradicted a stifled incentive for German units to surrender to Western forces rather than to the Russian Army. Although Hitler never accepted any talk of surrender, other Nazi leaders attempted steps in this direction in the last two weeks of the war.^[6]
3. Hitler's fixation on death before surrender, and his growing insanity in the face of defeat, stymied Nazi postwar planning in general, including preparation for guerrilla warfare.
4. Werwolf had a mythological reputation which was deliberately fostered by Nazi propaganda. Its perceived influence went far beyond its actual operations, especially after the Nazi regime surrendered, although isolated German terror groups persisted for many years.
5. Despite its historical and mythological significance, Werwolf was not the only post-war guerrilla insurgency in Europe.

Werwolf in fiction

In the 1977 movie, Shock Waves, staring Peter Cushing, a "super-soldier" spin on the Werwolf soldier is used as a plot device. As well, the introduction of the movie hypes the fear and abilities of the Werwolves. Shock Waves is a horror movie from 1977 directed by Ken Wiederhorn. ... Peter Cushing OBE Cushing (left) in the television adaptation of Nineteen Eighty-Four in the winter of 1954 on BBC Television. ...

In the manga Hellsing, a secret British organisation fights against a Nazi battalion based in Brazil. It moved there during the last months of the war and some of its officers are referred as being Werwolf. They fight to overthrow Britain using a battalion of artificially created vampires. Manga )   (pl. ... Serialized in Young King OURs Original run 1997 – ongoing No. ... Symbol of the Austrian 14th Armoured Battalion in NATO military graphic symbols A battalion is a military unit usually consisting of between two and six companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel. ... Further reading Christopher Frayling - Vampyres: Lord Byron to Count Dracula 1992. ...

In the Lars von Trier film, Europa, Werwolf terrorist plots play a prominent role in the story. Lars von Trier (born Lars Trier, April 30, 1956) is a Danish film director closely associated with the Dogme95 collective, calling for a return to plausible stories in filmmaking and a move away from artifice and towards technical minimalism. ... Zentropa also known as Europa is the title of Lars von Triers third theatrical feature film, released in 1991. ...

Samuel Fuller directed the 1959 film Verboten! about the love between a GI and a German woman whose brother is active in the Werewolves. Samuel Fuller Samuel Michael Fuller (August 12, 1911 – October 30, 1997) was an American film director. ...

In a French comic book called "Anton Six" (José Louis Bocquet / Arno) the U.S Secret Service sent an agent to meet Werwolf soldiers in Ukraine which possessed information about Stalin and the Red Army.

In the 2007 movie, "Grindhouse", Rob Zombie directed a short fictional movie preview, titled "Werewolf Women of the SS".

Operation Werwolf is referred to in passing in the both the book and movie The ODESSA File. It has been suggested that The ODESSA File (film) be merged into this article or section. ...

Notes

Proposed new USIP headquarters, construction to begin 2007. ... (Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ... April 8 is the 98th day of the year (99th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• Forest Brothers, the post-war resistance movement in the Baltic states.
• Stay-behind
• Partisan
• Franz Oppenhoff, Mayor of Aachen, Germany
• The Alpine National Redoubt of Germany

Young Lithuanian Forest Brothers in 1947 The Forest Brothers (also: Brothers of the Forest, Forest Brethren; Forest Brotherhood; in Estonian: metsavennad, in Latvian meža brāļi, in Lithuanian miško broliai) were Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian guerillas (partisans) who fought against Soviet rule during the Soviet invasion and occupation... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Look up partisan in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Category: ... A 1945 U.S. Army map showing the possible extent of the National Redoubt The National Redoubt was the English term used to describe the possibility that Adolf Hitler and armed forces of Nazi Germany would make a last stand in the alpine areas of Austria, Bavaria and northern Italy...

External links

• Sorry, Dr. Rice, postwar Germany was nothing like Iraq
• James Carafano, A Phony "Phony History" The Heritage Foundation, September 23, 2003 (decisively refutes the "Sorry, Dr. Rice,..."article)
• Review of Werwolf! The History of the National Socialist Guerrilla Movement, 1944-1946 Canadian Journal of History, Dec 1999 by Lawrence D Stokes
• ARMY HISTORICAL SERIES: THE U.S. ARMY IN THE OCCUPATION OF GERMANY
• The Anti-Terror Campaign That Succeeded
• The occupation of Germany, the occupation of Iraq, many parallels

Bibliography

• Biddiscombe, Perry, "Werwolf! The History of the National Socialist Guerrilla Movement, 1944-1946".
• Beevor, Antony, "Berlin 1945: the downfall"
• Lucas, James , "Kommando: German Special Forces of World War II"