Is there any way that, after 1848, the Hapsburgs could've created their own proto-version of the WAFFEN SS foreign legions for the purposes of cementing unity amongst the disparate ethnic groups of the A-H Empire ?
Is there any way that, after 1848, the Hapsburgs could've created their own proto-version of the WAFFEN SS foreign legions for the purposes of cementing unity amongst the disparate ethnic groups of the A-H Empire ?
Was the waffen SS goal to unite disparate ethnic groups? Yeah maybe unite them in the gas chamber. Is this a joke? I'm pretty sure they only let in "racially reliable" groups join up.
The Waffen SS was all about recruiting "good stock" from occupied areas, and put the idea of a united Europe high in their propaganda arsenal, and made a point to recruit enthusiastic volunteers everywhere. The idea of Europe's common battle against communism drew quite a few volunteers, and the chivalry-inspired ideals of the corps was enticing as well. Its important to keep in mind that there wasn't this big stigma on anything SS back then yet, and also that the various parts of the SS were not all equally implicated in war crimes. There are enormous differences between say, the Waffen SS - essentially just a well-trained, all-volunteer, pan-european army - and say, the Eizengruppen.
Considering that the Waffen SS had korps from every European country, including volunteers from neutral nations and even a few British P.O.Ws who turned coat to fight the Soviets, there are still people today well outside the far-right who argue that the group can still claim to have been the first modern "European", rather than national, fighting force.
differences between say, the Waffen SS - essentially just a well-trained, all-volunteer, pan-european army - and .