Formation
After the Norwegian Campaign and the surrender of Norway, Adolf Hitler did not want units of the Wehrmacht (regular army) to guard the new border between occupied Norway and the Soviet Union, created when Joseph Stalin annexed northernmost Finland, so he decided to send units of the SS-Totenkopfverbände (SS-Death's Head Units) formed from concentration camp guards.
The first unit to assemble in Kirkenes, was the SS Battalion Reitz, named after their commander Obersturmbannführer Wilhelm Reitz. The SS 9th "Totenkopf" Regiment, led by Obersturmbannführer Ernst Deutsch soon followed.
They were joined in the Spring of 1941, by the SS 6th and 7th Regiments and moved into positions at Salla in northern Finland. The formation was well equipped but barely trained, and the commanding General Nikolaus von Falkenhorst did not trust their fighting ability.
Read more about this topic: 6th SS Mountain Division Nord
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