Following the invasion of Poland and France, Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, commander of the SS, was eager to expand the Waffen-SS for what he termed a the crusade against Bolshevism.
Consequently, a new Nordic formation was constructed, originally organised as the Nordische Division (Nr.5), and its core of men composed of eager Nordic volunteers and ethnic German Waffen-SS personnel. In late 1940 the SS Infantry Regiment Germania of the SS-Verfügungs-Division, which had drafted mainly ethnic Germans into its units, were incorporated into its formation to bolster the newly recreated division.
In December 1940, the new SS division was to be designated as SS-Division Germania. However, in early 1941, its name was changed to SS-Division Wiking. The Wiking division comprised of three motorised infantry regiments, Nordland, Westland, and Germania. In addition to…