3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf

The 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf (Skull and Crossbones), also known during its existence as the 3rd SS Panzergrenadier Division Totenkopf or the 3rd SS Division Totenkopf, was one of 38 divisions of the Waffen-SS – the armed wing of the National Socialist German Workers' Party that served alongside the Wehrmacht army during World War II without being formally part of it. Prior to achieving division status, the formation was known as Kampfgruppe (battlegroup) "Eicke". Most of the division's initial enlisted men were SS-Totenkopfverbände (concentration camp guards), and others were members of German militias that had committed war crimes in Poland. Due to its insignia, it was sometimes referred to as the "Death's Head Division".

3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf

The 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf (Skull and Crossbones), also known during its existence as the 3rd SS Panzergrenadier Division Totenkopf or the 3rd SS Division Totenkopf, was one of 38 divisions of the Waffen-SS – the armed wing of the National Socialist German Workers' Party that served alongside the Wehrmacht army during World War II without being formally part of it. Prior to achieving division status, the formation was known as Kampfgruppe (battlegroup) "Eicke". Most of the division's initial enlisted men were SS-Totenkopfverbände (concentration camp guards), and others were members of German militias that had committed war crimes in Poland. Due to its insignia, it was sometimes referred to as the "Death's Head Division".