Spanish volunteers from the 250th Division of the Wehrmacht on the bridge over the Neman in the city of Grodno
Spanish volunteers from the 250th division of the Wehrmacht

 

Spanish volunteers from the 250th Wehrmacht Infantry Division cross the bridge over the Neman River in the Belarusian city of Grodno.
This division was also called the “División Azul” – the “blue division” because of the color of the shirts of the Spanish volunteers the phalangists who voluntarily fought on the side of the Third Reich. The 250th Wehrmacht Infantry Division, among others, occupied the defense of German troops in the Battle of Leningrad.

Formed on June 24, 1941 in Madrid, already on July 13, 1941, a division of 18 693 Spanish volunteers (641 officers, 2272 non-commissioned officers, 15 780 lower ranks), left Madrid and was transferred to Germany for five-week military training at a training ground in Grafenwöhr. The first division commander was civil war veteran Augustin Muñoz Grandes. Starting from Poland, the division advanced to the front on foot. After that, she was transferred to the Wehrmacht as the 250th Infantry Division. By October 20, 1943, the “blue division” was withdrawn from the Eastern Front and disbanded, but some of its troops remained at the front, volunteering for the “German Foreign Legion”. Over the entire existence of the División Azul, more than 40 thousand people have passed through its structure.




Location: Grodno, Belarus, USSR
Photo Time: August 1941
Photo by: Bauer

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