The 25th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Hunyadi (1st Hungarian) () was a Hungarian

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

 unit of the Waffen-SS

Waffen-SS

The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...

. It was established on November 2, 1944 in Hungary.

The division personnel was formed from Hungarians, mainly army men, youngsters of Levente Institution and recruits. Officers and NCOs were transferred to the division by the German Wehrmacht

Wehrmacht

The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...

 and Waffen-SS as well as the Hungarian Honvédség. Elements of this and the other Hungarian SS division took part in rearguard defence operations around their training base near Neuhammer

Swietoszów

Świętoszów is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Osiecznica, within Bolesławiec County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Prior to 1945 it was in Germany....

 against the Red Army

Red Army

The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...

. The division was still forming when the Red Army reached Silesia

Silesia

Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...

, forcing the division to retreat to Bavaria

Bavaria

Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

 and later to Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

. In Austria it fought against forces from the US Third Army before surrendering 4-5 May near the Attersee

Attersee (lake)

Attersee is the largest lake of the Salzkammergut area of Austria. It extends for about 20 km from north to south and 4 km from east to west. Its water comes from the Seeache, which flows out of another lake, the Mondsee...

.

Commanders

• Oberfuhrer
  Oberführer
  Oberführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party dating back to 1921. Translated as “Senior Leader”, an Oberführer was typically a Nazi Party member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geographical region...
  
  , Thomas Muller
• Gruppenfuhrer
  Gruppenführer
  Gruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA.-SS rank:...
  
  , Jozef Grassy

Order of battle

• Waffen Grenadier Regiment der SS 61
• Waffen Grenadier Regiment der SS 62
• Waffen Grenadier Regiment der SS 63
• Waffen Artillery Regiment der SS 25
• Waffen Ski Battalion 25
• SS Division Füsilier Battalion 25
• SS Panzerjäger
  Panzerjäger
  Panzerjäger was a branch of service of the Wehrmacht during the Second World War which were the anti-tank arm-of-service who operated anti-tank artillery, and made exclusive use of the tank destroyers which were also named Panzerjäger...
  
   Battalion 25
• SS Veterinary Company 25
• SS-Feldersatz Battalion 25
• SS Versorgungs Regiment 25

Chronological History

• November 2, 1944: The division formed on paper by SS-Führungshauptamt
• November 18: 10 000 volunteers moved to area Bruck (Austria
  Austria
  Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
  
  )
• December 12: Finishing transfer to Neuhammer
  Swietoszów
  Świętoszów is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Osiecznica, within Bolesławiec County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Prior to 1945 it was in Germany....
  
   Training Camp
• December 19: Arms distributed to division
• February 5, 1945: Elements of 25th "Hunyadi" and 26th "Hungaria" combine to form "Hungarian SS Alarm Regiment" under Standartenführer Bela Peinlich.
• This numbers between 2450 and 2600 men in 4 battalions
• Alarm Commander: Standartenfuhrer Bela Peinlich
• (Military operations) Chief Officer: Hauptsturmfuhrer Janos Zoltay
• SS I Waffen – Alarm battalion: Waffen - Hauptsturmfuhrer Erno Solti
• SS II Waffen – Alarm battalion: Waffen - Hauptsturmfuhrer Alajos Duska
• SS III Waffen – Alarm battalion: Waffen - Hauptsturmfuhrer Geza Pataki
• SS IV Waffen – Alarm battalion: Waffen - Hauptsturmfuhrer Gyorgy Hermandy – Berencz
• The 4 companies (sharing equally the heavy weapons) are allocated 2,000 rifles, 70 machine pistols (MP40’s?), 4 heavy machine guns, 21 light machine guns, as well as approximately 50 panzerfausts and 500 grenades. Each soldier was given approximately 200 rounds of ammunition.

I and II battalions are mostly from “Hunyadi” and III and IV are mostly from “Hungaria”.

Early May 1945: The ,,Hunyadi” division battle group which has been travelling from Denmark is in Berlin near to the Brandenburg gate and the Spree. They move near the Reichstag

Reichstag (building)

The Reichstag building is a historical edifice in Berlin, Germany, constructed to house the Reichstag, parliament of the German Empire. It was opened in 1894 and housed the Reichstag until 1933, when it was severely damaged in a fire. During the Nazi era, the few meetings of members of the...

to face more Russian divisions. Some men fall in the vicinity of the SS Headquarters at the corner of Berliner Straße and the Kaiserallee. Some of the unit survives by getting out of the city by using the U-Bahn (Underground) but end up getting captured by the Russians. In the fighting 83 men (including 1 officer) were killed. 12 men (including 1 officer) are missing.