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The 17th Infantry Division was a infantry division of Nazi Germany, active before and during the World War II. Formed in 1934, it took part in most of the campaigns of the Wehrmacht and was decimated in January of 1945. Reconstituted in Germany, it surrendered to the Allies in May of that year.

Note: A German 17th Infantry Division also existed in the army of the German Empire before 1914 and took part in the First World War.

History

The unit was formed in October of 1934 in Nuremberg under the designation Wehrgauleitung Nürnberg. Shortly after its creation it took a cover name Artillerieführer VII. Although created as en cadre division from the very beginning, both names were intended to suggest a much smaller units, as Germany was at the time restricted by the Treaty of Versailles which was to limit its rearmament. After Adolf Hitler renounced the treaty and officially announced the creation of Wehrmacht in October of 1935, the unit was renamed to 17th Infantry Division.

The organic regimental units of this division were formed by the expansion of the 21st Bavarian Infantry Regiment of the 7th Infantry Division of the Reichswehr. The division participated in the annexation of Austria in March of 1938. During the Polish September Campaign it was reinforced by the infamous Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler and attached to the German Eighth Army of Gen. Johannes Blaskowitz. Under command of Gen. Herbert Loch, the division took part in heavy fights in Silesia, then in the vicinity of Łódź. At Pabianice it faced elements of the Polish 28th Infantry Division and the Wołyńska Cavalry Brigade. During the war against Poland, the division was involved in a number of atrocities.

War Crimes

Soldiers from the German 17th Infantry Division have taken part in atrocities during World War II. In a war crime investigation after the World War II, authorities in Poland established that between September 3, 1939 and September 4, 1939, in the town of Złoczew circa 200 people were murdered by soldiers from the division. Both ethnic Poles and Polish citizens of Jewish background were killed. Only 71 victims have been identified. The rest were refugees, and their identity was impossible to establish by the Polish authorities after the war. German investigators refused to prosecute those responsible, claiming that it was impossible to determine exact units of the division who took part in the massacre. Another case includes the murder of 10 villagers from the village Grojec Wielki on 3rd of September

Quote on the massacre in Złoczew

During the day of 3rd of September a German unit came to Złoczew. Soldiers were riding on bicycles and motorcycles. A German HQ established itslef in residence of Tyszkiewczów. On that day it was calm. During the night between 3rd and 4th of September the Germans started to set fire to the buildings in the town and begun executions of the people. I didn't sleep because I had to go to one of the houses to take items we left there. They were at least 100 refugees from neighbouring places: Lututowa, Wielun and others. When the shooting begun, I and another women manage to escape through the window and went to hide ourselves in the currant berry bushes. I saw how German soldiers started to shoot the refugees. Most of them were killed or wounded. Among the wounded was a teenage girl, shot in back in such way that her inner organs could be seen. On top of her body a small child was crawling, it looked like 1,5 years old. When I took the child into my arms, one of the German soldiers smashed the head of this baby with his rifle butt. I remember yet another thing, that I will see till I die. One women-Józefa Błochewska from Złoczew-was wounded in her hand. When she started screaming, one of the German soldiers pushed her by force into one of the burning houses. She was burnt alive. I want to mention that German soldiers weren't shooting only at the refugees, about who I told earlier, but to everybody they had seen, on the streets, roads, backyards. The shooting lasted till evening. Only at evening the wounded and the dead were collected, I helped at this as I could. Afer collecting the wounded, they were 200 dead bodies in the city. Among the killed were both Poles, Jews, women, men and children. German soldiers threw some of the dead bodies into burning buildings, and buried some of the rest. On this day Germans burned 80 % of the buildings in Złoczew. Fires lasted for days. Testimony of Janina Modrzewska, citizen of Złoczew, witness of the massacre, taken from Zbrodnie Wehrmachtu-Wrzesień 1939, by professor Wiktor Kulesza, prosecutor of the Institute of National Remembrance, in Polish IPN Bulletin, Issue 8-9(August-September) 2004,

After the Invasion of Poland

After the war against Poland, the unit was withdrawn to Germany and then took part in the battle of France, as part of XIIIth Corps. Afterwards, in the summer of 1940, the division trained for taking part in the abortive invasion of England. In 1941 it participated in Operation Barbarossa as part of Army Group Center. In the fall of 1941 it took part in the Battle of Moscow. After sustaining heavy losses, it was withdrawn to France in June, 1942. The division returned to the Eastern Front in April, 1943, fighting around river Mius, Nikopol, Uman, Kishinev and Jassy. In August, 1944 the unit was shifted to Poland and fought to contain Soviet bridgeheads on the Vistula river, around Warka and Radom. It remained in this sector until it was heavily damaged in the course of the Soviet Vistula-Oder offensive in January, 1945. The division was then reconstituted from its remnants and fought in April and May of 1945 in the area around Görlitz. At the end of the war it was located in the Riesengebirge mountains (today Karkonosze).

Order of battle

• Infanterie-Regiment 21
• Infanterie-Regiment 55
• Infanterie-Regiment 95
• Artillerie-Regiment 17
• Aufklärungs-Abteilung 17
• Panzerjäger-Abteilung 17
• Pionier-Bataillon 17
• Nachrichten-Abteilung 17

References and footnotes

1. Literally artillery commander No. 7, a covert name for the commander of artillery of former 7th Infantry of the Reichswehr who took command of the newly-formed unit of the Wehrmacht and after whom the unit was named in order to conceal its size.
2. Witold Kulesza – Zbrodnie Wehrmachtu w Polsce – wrzesień 1939. Biuletyn Instytu Pamięci Narodowej nr. 8-9(August-September) 2004.

External links

• Pipes, Jason. "" Retrieved November 30, 2005.
• Polish IPN Bulletin, Issue 8-9(August-September) 2004.

• German infantry divisions
• German World War II divisions
• World War II crimes