World War II Reenacting to Honor Those Who Served
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World War II Reenacting to Honor Those Who Served |
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REENACTMENT UNIT HISTORY AND GENERAL INFORMATION |
The unit formed in 1995 and at first we were going to do the British Free Corps attached to the 11th SS Nordland Division but those with the unit charter for Nordland quit reenacting and gave up the charter. So we became Nordland and became a chartered unit in the World War Two Historical Reenactment Society at the end of 1995. During this time we averaged 12 members with three doing a BFC impression. By the end of 1997, no one in the unit was doing the BFC impression and all members were doing Nordland only. The unit is made up of collectors and historians from all walks of life. We have law enforcement officers, government employees, store owners, a lawyer, and a doctor. We have members in the following states: Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Alabama, and others. For this reason we do not have unit meetings. We stay in touch by e-mail, telephone, letters, and at reenactment events. A unit member is not required to attend any certain number of events, they do have to join the World War Two Historical Reenactment Society and after their first year of membership pay $5.00 voluntarily annual unit dues. We are non-political and do not condone or tolerate any raciest, anti-Semitic, or anti-American beliefs. No one who does can or will be a member of the reenactment unit. We reenact to keep alive and preserve the history, traditions, uniforms, weapons, and equipment of the WW2 soldier. Our mission is to do this as well as educate the public and Honor Those Who Served. The unit’s very first activity was to set up a display at the Kansas City International Military show in 1995. Our first battle was a public display battle at the Kirksville, Missouri Air Show in 1996. Since then we have been at numerous events in several different states and have continually improved our impressions, equipment, and uniforms. Many who have reenacted with us refer to my unit as the friendly SS as we strive usually to get along with everyone. We also remember that this is a hobby and we are not real WW2 soldiers. Some of our best friends are guys who do Allied impressions. We also have members doing the Spanish Blue Legion and Spanish SS for more information on the Spanish impression Please contact Dustin Strong at dustinrstrong(at)hotmail.com During 2000 & 2001 we averaged 18 + members and had the British Free Corps out of Ohio join us as an auxiliary unit. The BFC unit commander is a real nice guy named Edwin Dyer. Many of our unit do Allied impressions also. Some of the activities that members of Nordland are involved in are, but not limited too are: SCHOOL DISPLAYS AND DEMONSTRATIONS You might ask why we chose to do Nordland. We choose it because of its unique history as being one of the regiments to form the 5th. SS Wiking Division in 1941, and then when it was made a division in 1943 it became the first truly international Waffen SS Division. So far in my study of Nordland I have found no information of it as a division committing any war crimes. They were very hard and brave fighting men. Further the majority of the members of Nordland were not nazis, but very devout anti-communist, who wanted to stop the Red Menace from taking over Europe. Further the history of foreign volunteers in the WW2 German Army & Waffen-SS has been an somewhat overlooked subject. It is interesting to study the various reasons these foreign volunteers joined the German army, some where nazis, some forced, some where anti-communist who feared the Russian communist government and viewed it as the real enemy. The 11th. SS Division Nordland, as a division, never fought against the Western Allies, there is some evidence that some members of Nordland were at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, having fought on the eastern front against the Russians until the end of the war. If any of this is of interest to you and would like to become a WW2 reenactor we invite you to come and join us in the fun and excitement of WW2 reenacting. DO NOT JUST READ ABOUT OR WATCH MOVIES ABOUT WORLD WAR TWO. REENACT IT! John Colyer |