SS Frei Korps what's your opinion?

You should have explained your discussion is based around the programme we watched this evening on the Free corp.

In re-enacting circles it's a bit of a hot potato. There are a few who do a BFC impression [often only in the beer tent] and are often sneered at by even other german re-enactors. Most brits seem to take a dim view.
The grandaughter of one BFC vet was at Beltring 3 years ago, Bill M???, I dont recall. She was welcomed by some, scorned by others, I just didn't see what the fuss was about.
They were traitors I feel, never saw combat[kept below strength by the CO I heard] and are now just a quirk of WW2 history. Propaganda effort that came to not much.

I mentioned the fact of the BFC being pretty much taboo in reenacting circles.

My views on it having watched the program are hard, though we both never realised there were some BFC that were on the front line though their section eludes me right now, there were a handful that did.

Some as Che touched on above, had what they classed a 'happy war' that doesn't necessarily justify the means to the end by any stretch of the imagination but its pretty hard stuff to think through being what I class myself as, a rational person.

To the female whose grandfather served with them, I think its disgraceful she be treated that way, a whole two generations later, she had no part in what he chose to do and to be scorned even by a few, is a few too many for its taking things way too far to ostrich size someones relatives for which they had no control or part in that annoys me (and its nothing to do with the BFC, just the irksome nature of some people)

My real feelings are undecided at the mo I guess on it coming from a UK military background, but can see how in the most appaling conditions of a KZ how some maybes swayed by the offers of food, health care, life even. Horrible really to consider what it would have been like then for those who chose to, having to go and tout the carp (intentional spelling) to others, though many protested they were heckled, left leaflets and went onto the next. Have I answered myself, I don't think so really pmsl its too hard a subject to get over in text without sounding hmmmm a fence sitter (I am )

There is a rather lengthy Wikipedia article I read just the other day so it's curious that I should find this thread, and although I have done no formal research on the subject, I would say that it would be a poor decision for a POW to make.

If you did decide to join the BFC, you would have access of course to better food, treatment, and women which is something prisoners would desire. On the other hand, being in the highly temperamental position of propaganda puppets being posed by the Nazis would leave members subjected to the whims of some blatantly insane people.

When you look at the composition of the recruits, it appears that they were drawn from the most emotionally fragile, the most right wing, and the least noble of POW's. A number were members of the British Fascist Party (name is escaping me and search bar is just too far...) and at least one was South African; these were certainly traitors in one regard, but also politically motivated soldiers in another sense, who could certainly not be subjected to national boundaries. I imagine they were like the foreign Waffen SS volunteers who joined simply for intangible reasons.

Others were inducted as the result of a rather extensive program of separation, isolation, and deliberate misinformation which resulted in a prisoner becoming attached to a member of the BFC who was posing as a prisoner. I don't think these poor men had much of a choice in their position as they were totally unaware of what was going on.

Finally, there were a number of members who just wanted to live out the rest of the war in a nicer station than a POW camp and betrayed their duties as soldiers (since a POW is still a soldier, just not an active combatant) and British citizens for some beer and German women. I don't believe there was any direct threat to their lives which forced them to join, and there membership resulted in quite the opposite (weren't they stationed in Dresden for training when it was bombed?)!

I personally think it was a poor decision; the members of the BFC who joined with fully informed decisions put their lives in jeopardy for some amenities which really weren't worth the risks.

In regards to reenactment, I must confess I have never seen anyone wearing the uniform of someone in the BFC, as it's sort of an unknown unit in the US. It is a novelty though I think is better left out of any actual combat reenactment since only one or two members of the unit ever saw any.

Reminds me of a Commando magazine ive got called Misfit squad

My thoughts are that to do a BFC impression opens you up to speculation on your moral and political motivation for such an impression; are you doing it to make a point, or do you like German uniforms? Plenty of other German units were functionally apolitical - even Waffen units - so why don't you do one of those?

By the way, this is not directed at anyone, just my incoherent ramblings...

I saw the program too. The most telling line was that they reached their numerical peak with....27 members! They didn't actually ever fight, their weapons were antiquated, and they certainly weren't elite! Who would want to impersonate this bunch of losers??

From the CiA game point of view, we would not welcome people coming to our games as BFC or other "undesirable" SS units such as the Dirlewanger Brigade .

The more regular units such as LSSAH, Hohenstaufen and Das Reich were predominantly combat units, and as such are more than welcome, but Allgemaine or SA/SD impressions would also be considered unsuitable.

Some elements of the Nazi period are best left forgotten in our opinion .

I was hoping an organiser would say that at some point. Hard enough to have our friends and loved ones understand us dressing up and playing soldier - even harder if you do a German impression.

There are stories of allied POW's using the BFC 'familiarisation weekends' as a holiday from the hardships of POW life, with absolutely no intention of ever joining up, but obviously they'd never have got as far as wearing the uniform and were just opportunists as opposed to traitors/collaborators.

'Hitler's Englishmen' is about the best book i've read on the BFC, can't remember offhand who it's by, but gadge has got my copy at the moment.

I don't think there's any mileage in reenacting BFC, as the evidence is that only about a dozen or so at most ever saw active frontline duty, and that was piecemeal in the retreat back towards Berlin fighting the russians, IIRC as the German command didn't know what to make of, or do with them!

Plus on the reenacting front, it brings far too much political conflict into it, and generally makes people think you're a bit of an arm-waver.

I was hoping an organiser would say that at some point. Hard enough to have our friends and loved ones understand us dressing up and playing soldier - even harder if you do a German impression.

We have said it elsewhere and TBH I can't see any of the names of this thread wanting to do BFC , just thought it worth posting again for newcomers reading this forum . Andy sums it up best for me , who'd want to impersonate tihs bunch of losers ?

Their were several Waffen SS units that commited "War Crimes", look at the massacre of the POW's (Glouser's I think) on the retreat to dunkirk, for example.

IMHO, if you want to get a set impression, and it may have "controversiol Insignia" as part of it, were a comma oversmock, and most peeps wont see it. Personally I would avoid any SS unit if I could, but thats just me.

i was based at hidesheim, (the same town the BFC were at)
no one Ever mentioned it

the whole group were doomed to faliure, the Quater master sergant in the free corps was actually a british spy reporting back to the UK, thats how they were aready known at the end of the war, when most of them claimed to be ESCAPED POWs

, HOWEVER

in answer to ches question,
as someone who loves to oppose the system, and the state, i have a feeling i WOULD have joined up if approached in the 1940s,
the coice is :rot in a pow camp , or cushy number, i know which id have took,

and remember "Other ranks" pow camps were nothing like as good as officers camps, if you didnt work , you got starvation rations.

so i pretty much know, id have joined the BFC.

also the promise was to fight bolseviks, NOT FELLOW ENGLISHMEN.

again, i wouldnt fight my own country, but would fight another (USSR)

(in the modern day, id never fight against england, no matter how much i hate forign policy, but id have no objection in fighting against other countrys who are fighting the so called, "war on terror" or the "war for OIL" as i prefer to call it)

i guess this dosnt say much about my charicter, , and a lot of you may not like me for this, but i say it how i see it, and my personal opinion,(just my opinion, i dont try and convince others) is no the BFC volenteers did nowt wrong, as long as they didnt fight the british

I DONT think BFC should be reenacted, as they didnt fight, unless you were just reenacting drinking, shagging prostitutes, and being lazy bastards (hm , maybe this is why id have volenteered)

Yellow hat firmly on head of course, and I also suspect tongue firmly in cheek .

i suppose im just a rebel at heart, i ALWAYS suport the underdog, im always up for a laugh, and i always look for the "easy way"

one of my officers once told me, "if you spent as much effort working as you do looking for ways out of it, youd be a corperal by now"

i replyed "but a very hard worked corperal sir! "

so its offical, im a lazy , un patriotic ,TURD

There are BFCs troops in a Sven Hassel book carnt remember which and they were anti-communist and thoght it was a better option than staying in a POW camp.

When you said 'England' 2396 time in your last but one post, did you mean 'the UK'. I'm sure you did...

I Agree, you 3 toothed idiot. The BFC volunteers, in the majority of the cases the BFC who joined up can be excused, although there are the 3 guys that were well and truly Nazi

Run 'em through a spell checker first Syd