5th SS Panzer Division Wiking

5th SS Panzer Division Wiking
5. SS-Panzerdivision Wiking
Unit insignia
Active1941–45
Country Nazi Germany
Branch Waffen-SS
TypeInfantry
Panzer
RoleArmoured warfare
SizeDivision
EngagementsEastern Front
Commanders
Notable
commanders

The 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking (German: 5. SS-Panzerdivision Wiking) or SS Division Wiking was an infantry and later an armoured division among the thirty-eight Waffen-SS divisions of Nazi Germany. During World War II, the division served on the Eastern Front. It surrendered on 9 May 1945 to the American forces in Austria.

The division contained small contingents of foreign volunteers from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Iceland, the Netherlands and Belgium. These contingents were elevated in wartime propaganda and postwar mythology, including from the former German officers of the division, to give the Wiking Division the reputation of a pan-European force. In truth, the division was at all times equipped with a vast majority of German personnel.


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