Armenische Legion
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Armenische Legion Armenian Legion |
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patch worn by the Armenian Legion
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| Active | 4 July 1942 – 8 June 1944 |
| Allegiance |
 Nazi Germany
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| Branch |
 Wehrmacht
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| Size | 11,600 – 33,000 |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Ceremonial chief | Drastamat Kanayan |
The Armenian Legion, also known as the 812th Armenian Battalion (German: Armenische Legion; Armenian: Հայկական լեգիոն Haykakan legion) was a military unit in the German Army during World War II. Consisting mainly of Soviet Armenian prisoners of war, the Armenians opted to fight for German forces rather than be sent to the Nazi POW camps or killed. The legion was led by former Defence Minister of Armenia General Drastamat Kanayan, who fought against the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front. Kanayan was among the minority in the legion who volunteered, under the hope of freeing Armenia from Soviet control.
The total number of Armenians serving in the German armed forces during the war reached 33,000. Of these, 14,000 were placed in field battalions, while another 7,000 served in logistical and other non-combat units. The legion participated in the occupation of the Crimean Peninsula and the Caucasus. Several Jewish soldiers captured as POWs were saved by some of the Armenians in the Legion and there were several instances of Jews being sent to the battalion to evade detection by the Nazis. Towards the end of the war, many of the legion deserted, defected or revolted.
In spite of Nazi Germany acknowledging the Armenians as an Aryan people, Adolf Hitler personally did not trust them. The Armenian battalion was mainly stationed in the Netherlands as a result of Hitler's distrust.
The short-lived First Republic of Armenia established in 1918 by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF, Dashnaks) was conquered by the Russian Bolsheviks in 1920, and ceased to exist. During World War II, some of the Dashnaks tried to counter Turkish propaganda which falsely portrayed Armenians as a Semitic people close to the Jews to ensure their genocidal destruction should Soviet Armenia fall under Nazi rule. To fight Turkey's anti-Armenian politicking, the Dashnaks entered into negotiations with Berlin, and reluctantly agreed to participate in the formation of the legion. The majority of the soldiers in the legion were former Soviet Red Army prisoners of war, who had opted to fight for German forces rather than face the genocidal conditions of the Nazi POW camps. Some Berlin-based representatives of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, though repudiated by the official party organs, made an agreement with the Nazis in 1942 to support the Germans against the Soviet Union.
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