Free Corps Denmark
| Free Corps Denmark | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Active | 1941–43 |
| Country | Denmark |
| Allegiance |
 Nazi Germany
|
| Branch |
 Waffen-SS
|
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | 6,000 |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Christian Peder Kryssing, Christian Frederik von Schalburg, Knud Børge Martinsen |
| Insignia | |
| Free Corps Denmark Armshield |  |
Free Corps Denmark (Danish: Frikorps Danmark) was a Danish volunteer free corps created by the Danish Nazi Party (DNSAP) in cooperation with Germany, to fight the Soviet Union during the Second World War. On June 29, 1941, days after the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the DNSAP's newspaper Fædrelandet proclaimed the creation of the corps. Its formation was subsequently sanctioned by the democratically elected Danish government which authorized officers of the Danish Army to join the unit. The corps was disbanded in 1943. During the course of the war, approximately 6000 Danes joined the corps, including 77 officers of the Royal Danish Army.
Denmark had signed a treaty of nonaggression with Nazi Germany in 1939. Germany invoked this treaty on April 9, 1940, when it ordered the military occupation of Denmark under the guise of protecting the Danes from British invasion. Faced with potential German aerial bombing, King Christian X and the Danish government accepted "protection of the Reich" and permitted the "peaceful occupation" of the country in return for nominal political independence. The Danes began a policy of collaboration that included diplomatic and economic support of Germany. Cecil von Renthe-Fink, a German diplomat, was accredited to the Danish King and Cabinet as Reichsbevollmächtigter ("Imperial Plenipotentiary") and charged with the duty of supervising Danish government.
At the outset of the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Germany asked Denmark to form a military corps to fight with the Germans against the Soviets. On June 29, 1941, seven days after the invasion had begun, the Danish Nazi Party newspaper Fædrelandet ("The Fatherland") proclaimed the creation of the Free Corps Denmark. Danish Foreign Minister Erik Scavenius entered into an agreement with the Reichsbevollmächtigter that officers and soldiers of the Danish Royal Army wishing to join this corps would be given leave and allowed to retain their rank. The Danish Cabinet issued an announcement stating that "Lieut. Colonel Christian Peder Kryssing, Chief of the 5th Artillery Regiment, Holbæk, has with the consent of the Royal Danish Government assumed command over Free Corps Denmark. Free Corps Denmark was one of "four national legions" established by the Waffen-SS in 1941. The original number of accepted recruits in 1941 was 1,164 men.
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