21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg ( 1st Albanian ) The 21st " Waffen " Mountain Division of the SS " Skanderbeg " ( 1st Albanian ) was a German mountain infantry division of the " Waffen - SS " , the armed wing of the German Nazi Party that served alongside , but was never formally part of , the Wehrmacht during the Second World War . The division was developed around the nucleus of an ethnic Albanian battalion which had briefly seen combat against the Yugoslav Partisans in eastern Bosnia as part of the 13th " Waffen " Mountain Division of the SS " Handschar " ( 1st Croatian ) . Composed of Muslim Albanians with mostly German and Yugoslav " Volksdeutsche " ( ethnic German ) officers and non - commissioned officer s , it was given the title " Skanderbeg " after medieval Albanian lord George Kastrioti Skanderbeg , who defended the region of Albania against the Ottoman Empire for more than two decades in the 15th century . " Skanderbeg " never reached divisional strength , being at most a brigade - sized formation of around 6 , 000 to 6 , 500 troops . In May 1944 , members of the division arrested 281 Jews in Pristina and handed them over to the Germans , who transported them to the Bergen - Belsen concentration camp , where many were killed . The division itself was better known for this action and for murdering , raping , and looting in predominantly Serb areas than for participating in combat operations on behalf of the German war effort . Its only significant military actions took place during a German anti - Partisan offensive in Montenegro in June and July 1944 . Following those operations , the unit was deployed as a guard force at the chromium mines in Kosovo , where it was quickly overrun by the Partisans , leading to widespread desertion . Reinforced by German " Kriegsmarine " personnel and with less than 500 Albanians remaining in its ranks , it was disbanded on 1 November 1944 . The remaining members were incorporated into the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division " Prinz Eugen " . After the war , divisional commander " SS - Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen - SS " August Schmidhuber was found guilty of war crimes by a court in Belgrade and executed in 1947 . History . Background . On 7 April 1939 , five months prior to the outbreak of the Second World War , the Kingdom of Italy invaded the Albanian Kingdom . The country was overrun in five days , and the Italian King , Victor Emmanuel III , subsequently accepted the crown offered by the Albanian parliament . The Royal Albanian Army was incorporated into the Royal Italian Army and a viceroy was appointed to administer the country as a protectorate . After the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia on 6 April 1941 , Italian Albania was expanded to include adjacent parts of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia incorporated mainly from the Yugoslav " banovinas " ( regional subdivisions ) of Vardar and Morava . Kosovo was annexed to Albania , and in the beginning , Albanians living there enthusiastically welcomed the Italian occupation . Although officially under Italian rule , the Albanians in Kosovo controlled the region and were encouraged to open Albanian language schools , which had been banned by the Yugoslav government . The Italians also gave the inhabitants Albanian citizenship and allowed them to fly the Albanian flag . Kosovo Albanians then sought retribution against Serbs and Montenegrins settlers in the region for the oppression that Albanians had experienced at the hands of the Serbs during the Balkan Wars , the First World War , and under Yugoslav rule . The Italians subsequently cleared the area of most Serbs and Montenegrins who had settled in Kosovo during the inter - war period . The local Albanians took advantage of their changed circumstances by taking revenge against their Serbian neighbours and burning the homes of as many as 30 , 000 Serb and Montenegrin settlers . Albania remained occupied until Italy surrendered to the Allies in 1943 . In August of that year , faced with the imminent collapse of the Italian war effort , Nazi Germany deployed the 2nd Panzer Army to the Balkans to take over areas previously occupied by Italy . One of the Italian areas seized by the Germans was Albania , where the XXI Mountain Corps of " Generaloberst " ( General ) Lothar Rendulic ' s 2nd Panzer Army had been deployed . A Wehrmacht plenipotentiary general , and a special representative of Heinrich Himmler , SS - " Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen - SS und Polizei " Josef Fitzthum , were both based in the Albanian capital of Tirana . The Germans took control of all Albanian forces that had been collaborating with the Italians prior to their capitulation , including the " Balli Kombëtar " , an anti - communist and nationalist militia . The Germans strengthened the Albanian army and gendarmerie , but quickly decided those troops were unreliable . That year , a number of Albanians from Kosovo and the Sandžak region were recruited into the 13th " Waffen " Mountain Division of the SS " Handschar " ( 1st Croatian ) , a " Waffen - SS " division composed largely of Bosnian Muslims and Croats with mostly German officers . For about six months the division included about 1 , 000 ethnic Albanians from Kosovo and the Sandžak who made up the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Regiment ( I / 2 ) , which later became the 1st Battalion of the 28th Regiment ( I / 28 ) . The formation of an Albanian " Waffen - SS " division was Fitzthum ' s idea , initially opposed by the German Foreign Ministry representative Hermann Neubacher and the head of the " SS - Reichssicherheitshauptamt " ( Reich Main Security Office ) " SS - Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei " ( Lieutenant General ) Ernst Kaltenbrunner , who influenced Himmler to shelve it . But the Albanian government supported the idea ; in the face of increasing difficulties Himmler soon changed his mind , and in February 1944 the idea received Adolf Hitler ' s approval . Formation . In February 1944 , Hitler approved the creation of an Albanian " Waffen - SS " division that was to serve only inside Kosovo , and was intended to protect ethnic Albania but remain under German control . It was meant to be one of three Muslim " Waffen - SS " divisions serving in the Balkans , the other two being the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar ( 1st Croatian ) and the 23rd Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Kama ( 2nd Croatian ) . Himmler ' s goal was to expand " Waffen - SS " recruiting in the Balkans and form two corps of two divisions each , with one corps to operate in the region of Bosnia in the Independent State of Croatia and the other in Albania . These corps would then be combined with the " Volksdeutsche " 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division " Prinz Eugen " and together would form a Balkan " Waffen - SS " mountain army of five divisions . In March 1944 , Bedri Pejani , the chairman of the Second League of Prizren , an organization created after the Italian surrender to advance the interests of Kosovo Albanians , proposed to Hitler that a force of 120 , 000 to 150 , 000 Kosovo Albanian volunteers be raised to fight the Yugoslav and Albanian Partisans . Pejani asked the German leadership to give the Albanians equipment and supplies to fight the communist insurgency , and requested the expansion of the borders of the German puppet state of Albania at the expense of the German - occupied Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia and the German puppet state of Montenegro . These requests were not fulfilled , but in April 1944 Himmler ordered the establishment of a new Albanian volunteer division , which was subsequently named after the medieval Albanian warrior George Kastrioti Skanderbeg . The SS had initially envisioned a force of 10 , 000 – 12 , 000 men , and Himmler saw the Muslim Albanians as a potential source of manpower in Germany ' s war against the Yugoslav Partisans , who faced significant difficulties in recruiting Kosovo Albanians to join their ranks . The Germans found that Kosovo Albanians were more cooperative than Albanians in Albania itself , mainly because they feared a return to Yugoslav rule , and many of the division ' s recruits were Albanians from Kosovo . The quality of most of these recruits was poor , with only 6 , 000 being considered suitable to receive training . Those that were accepted were a combination of about 1 , 500 former Royal Yugoslav Army prisoners of war , elements of the failed Albanian army and gendarmerie , volunteers from both pre - war and expanded Albania , and conscripts from families that had more than two sons . On 17 April 1944 , the Albanian battalion of the 13th SS Division was transferred via rail directly from combat in Bosnia to Kosovo to form part of the " Skanderbeg " division . The head of " Waffen - SS " recruitment , SS - " Obergruppenführer " Gottlob Berger , reported to Himmler that the Albanians " . . . were quite sad about leaving . " On 23 May , Fitzthum reported the failure of Albanian units used in operations against the Partisans , and that he had dissolved four Albanian battalions organized by the Wehrmacht . He described most Albanian army and gendarmerie officers as " totally corrupt , unusable , undisciplined and untrainable . " Operations . The division was founded as the " 21 . Waffen - SS Gebirgsdivision der SS Skanderbeg ( albanische Nr . 1 ) " on 1 May 1944 as part of the XXI Mountain Corps . Most or all of the division ' s officers , non - commissioned officer s ( NCOs ) , and specialists were German , and were mainly provided by the 7th and 13th SS Divisions , which noticeably weakened those formations . The divisional artillery regiment was formed from the 1st Albanian Artillery Regiment . The division was placed under the command of SS - " Standartenführer " ( Colonel ) August Schmidhuber , who was promoted to SS - " Oberführer " ( senior colonel ) in June . Estimates of the size of the division range from 6 , 000 to 6 , 500 men . Members took a religious oath using the Quran , pledging " " jihad " against unbelievers . " The division was originally equipped with captured Italian Carro Armato M15 / 42 tank s , which proved to be unreliable . Its garrison was located in the town of Prizren . Early on , it became clear that most of the division ' s Muslim Albanian members seemed to be interested only in settling scores with their Christian Serb adversaries and numerous atrocities were committed . The Germans had to disarm battalions of the division in the towns of Peć and Prizren and arrest the Albanian officers , with one commanding officer even being sent to prison in Germany . On 14 May 1944 , members of the division raided Jewish homes in Pristina and arrested 281 Jews and handed them over to the Germans , who sent them to the Bergen - Belsen concentration camp , where many were killed . In general , units of the division were better known for murdering , raping , and looting , mainly in ethnic Serb areas , and for arresting Jews , than for participating in combat operations on behalf of the German war effort . In addition to indiscriminately killing Serbs and Montenegrins , the division was responsible for the expulsion of up to 10 , 000 Slavic families from Kosovo as new Albanian settlers arrived from the poor areas of northern Albania . The arrival of these Albanians was encouraged by Italian authorities , and it is estimated that as many as 72 , 000 Albanians were settled or re - settled in Kosovo during the war . In June 1944 , the division engaged in large - scale field manoeuvres between the towns of Berane and Andrijevica in Montenegro , and participated in Operations " Endlich " ( Finally ) and " Falkenauge " ( Hawkeye ) in June and July , as well as " Draufgänger " ( Daredevil ) , during which it was the main force used by the Germans . These operations were focused on the destruction of strong Partisan forces in the Đakovica , Peć and Mokra Gora areas . According to Neubacher , the division was carelessly committed to fighting in the early stages of its training and performed poorly . By the end of August 1944 , the Germans had decided that the division was only of use for basic guarding duties . Subsequently , some members were charged with guarding chromium mines near Kosovo before the area was overrun by the Partisans . In the ensuing clashes , one of the division ' s regiments lost more than 1 , 000 men and many Albanians deserted , some after Serb Partisan attacks on areas northeast of Gusinje . Army Group E claimed that the performance of the division showed that it had " absolutely no military value . " On 1 September 1944 , troops of the division in Tetovo and Gostivar mutinied , killing their German officers and NCOs . By this time , the division numbered fewer than 7 , 000 men , which was less than one - third of its intended strength . Within two months of its initial deployment , 3 , 500 men had deserted . Himmler brought in 3 , 000 to 4 , 000 " Kriegsmarine " ( German navy ) personnel from Greece to make up the numbers , but this had little effect on the division ' s fighting ability . By the beginning of October 1944 , the division ' s strength had fallen to about 4 , 900 men , fewer than 1 , 500 of whom were fit for combat . Schmidhuber held his men in contempt , and he , his superiors , and Fitzthum explained their failure to create an effective security force by denigrating the Albanian culture and military reputation . Later , less - involved members of the Wehrmacht stated that the principal issue regarding the unit ' s reliability may have been that the Germans did not work closely with the Albanians at the local level . In mid - October , it was engaged in heavy fighting around Đakovica . By this time , desertions had significantly affected the division ' s strength and its 86 officers and 467 NCOs were left with a force of only 899 men , about half of whom were Albanian . On 24 October , " Generaloberst " Alexander Löhr , the commander of Army Group E , ordered that all Albanian members of the division be disarmed and released . On 1 November 1944 , the division was disbanded . At the same time , Albanians in Kosovo took up arms against the Partisans when they learned that the region would not be unified with Albania after the war , despite earlier Partisan promises . Atrocities occurred when 30 , 000 Partisans were sent to Kosovo to quell Albanian resistance in the region . Thousands of Kosovo Albanians were killed in the ensuing violence , with estimates ranging from 3 , 000 to 25 , 000 . Claims that the number of Albanians killed were as high as 36 , 000 – 47 , 000 have been described by historians such as Noel Malcolm as greatly exaggerated . Aftermath . The remaining German troops and former naval personnel were reorganized as the regimental " Kampfgruppe Skanderbeg " under the command of SS - " Obersturmbannführer " Alfred Graaf . The unit withdrew from the Kosovo region in mid - November along with the rest of the German troops in the area . Many Serbs and Montenegrins then took revenge against the region ' s ethnic Albanians , especially collaborators and those who had been members of the division . When " Kampfgruppe Skanderbeg " reached Ljubovija on the Drina river , it was placed under the command of the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division " Prinz Eugen " , which was securing the river crossings in that area . " Kampfgruppe Skanderbeg " held the towns of Zvornik and Drinjača during the first half of December 1944 as part of the Ljubovija bridgehead . It withdrew across the Drina and fought its way northward , towards Brčko on the Sava river , where it relieved the Wehrmacht forces holding the town . In late December the assault gun battery of " Kampfgruppe Skanderbeg " was committed to the Syrmian Front at Vinkovci , and the remainder of the " Kampfgruppe " was deployed to Bijeljina . In January 1945 , the handful of naval personnel that survived were transferred to the 32nd SS Volunteer Grenadier Division 30 Januar , and the remnants of the former division were reorganized as II Battalion of the 14th SS Volunteer Mountain Infantry Regiment of the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division " Prinz Eugen " . On 21 January 1945 , Schmidhuber was promoted to SS - " Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen - SS " ( brigadier ) and placed in command of the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division " Prinz Eugen " . After the war , he was found guilty of war crimes and was hanged in Belgrade on 27 February 1947 . The men from II Battalion fought with the " Prinz Eugen " until February 1945 , when they were sent north to defend the Oder - Neisse Line . That month , the battalion was disbanded altogether and its remaining manpower was assigned to the German police regiment near Zagreb . The division itself was considered to have been a military failure , and not one of its members was ever awarded an Iron Cross while serving in it . Overall , it was better known for committing atrocities than for contributing to the German war effort . Its role in deporting Jews from Kosovo has been questioned by Albanian historian Shaban Sinani , who claims that the division did not participate in any deportations on behalf of the Germans . Prior to the outbreak of the Kosovo War in the 1990s , American journalist Chris Hedges alleged that some of the leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army ( KLA ) were directly descended from members of the division and that they were ideologically influenced by it and other Albanian right - wing elements . This claim has been challenged by British historian Noel Malcolm . Insignia . The division ' s identification symbol was the Albanian double - headed eagle . Despite its short existence , a collar patch depicting a goat - crested helmet was manufactured for the division but there is no evidence that it was ever used . Photographs exist of a machined - woven cuff band with the title " Skanderbeg " , but this was awarded to the 14th SS Volunteer " Gebirgsjäger " Regiment of the 7th SS Division in autumn 1944 , and not to this division . Members of the cadre staff were photographed wearing an Albanian arm shield depicting a black Albanian double - headed eagle on a red field . Many of the division ' s Muslim members wore traditional grey - coloured skull cap s instead of the standard SS field cap . Order of battle . The principal units of the division were :