38th SS Division Nibelungen The 38th SS Division " Nibelungen " was formed in March 1945 from the staff and students of the " SS - Junkerschule " at Bad Tölz . It was first given the title of the SS - Junkerschule Bad Tölz Division , but was renamed the SS - Division Junkerschule and finally the 38th SS Grenadier Division Nibelungen . This name was selected by the commander of the cadet school Richard Schulze - Kossens and comes from German mythology , where it was the name of a lineage of dwarves who were defeated by Siegfried . Formation . The Division never consisted of more than around 6 , 000 men , the strength of a normal Brigade . Alongside the men of the " Junkerschule " , the division also received some additional units , one being the SS special use " Begleitkommando - SS " and two " Zollgrenzschutz " ( Customs Border Guards ) battalions . Soldiers from the 6th SS Mountain Division Nord , a company from 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen , officers from the 30th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS ( 2nd Russian ) , 600 Frenchmen with their Swiss Major Hersche and a battalion of " Hitlerjugend " ( Hitler Youth ) were also taken on strength . The first Divisional commander was Richard Schulze - Kossens , who at the time was the Commanding officer of the " SS - Brigade Nibelungen " and the " Junkerschule " at Bad Tölz . He was followed by Martin Stange on 12 April , ( Heinz Lammerding and Karl von Oberkamp were also assigned as commanders , but never took up the post ) . The division had two Grenadier regiments ; the 95th , under the command of Sturmbannführer Markus Faulhaber and the 96th , commanded by Obersturmführer Walter Schmidt . The division ' s 38th " Panzerjäger " ( Tank Hunter ) Battalion received the majority of its men from the " Prinz Eugen " division and officers from " Nord " . The " Abteilung " ( detachment ) received about 10 " Jagdpanzer 38 ( t ) " tank destroyers on 15 April , it also had some 75 mm towed " PaK 40 " anti - tank guns ( the " Abteilung " served under 17 . SS - Panzergrenadier - Division Götz von Berlichingen from 17 to 24 April , until it came under its parent division ) . Active service . The 38th SS division was ready for battle on 24 April 1945 , when it entered the ranks of the XIII SS Army Corps on the Danube river Front , facing American forces on the southern bank . The " Nibelungen " was supposed to hold the Corps right wing from Vohburg to Kelheim , but the line was too long for the Divisions ' strength , so it withdrew to a new front on 26 April , which it held until the 28th . On 29 April it had to retreat again across the Isar river to a new position south of Landshut , while coming under strong pressure on its flanks . The next day the Division retreated once again , this time to a defensive line northwest of Pastetten and on 1 May it had to withdraw almost 20 km to Wasseburg . The US 20th Armored Division then breached the division ' s front on 2 May , forcing the " Nibelungen " to retreat once more to Chiemsee . The remains of the division regrouped on 4 May and established a new line west of Oberwoessen . It surrendered to the American forces on 8 May 1945 . The German actor Hardy Kruger was among the members of the Hitler Youth battalion that was incorporated into the division . He was later captured by advancing units of the US Army .