Armenian soldiers of the German Wehrmacht’s Armenische Legion (Armenian Legion) arrive in the south of France to strengthen the coastal defenses on the Mediterranean. Approximately 33,000 Armenian men served in German field battalions, while another 7,000 served in logistical and other non-combat units. The majority of the soldiers in the legion were former Soviet Army soldiers who were taken as POWs by the Germans and opted to fight for the Germans rather than face the appalling conditions of Nazi POW camps. Smaller numbers freely joined the Germans as nationalists who opposed Armenia’s inclusion as a Soviet republic. German military authorities found the Armenians to be poorly trained, poorly motivated and often apt to desert, defect, revolt and aid the enemy. Following the war, soldiers of the Armenian Legion were repatriated to the Soviet Union where most were tried for treason and executed or sent off to die in the gulags. Near Toulon, Var, France. February 1944. Image taken by Erwin Schultz.
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