1st Mountain Division: Wehrmacht Unit Behind Massacres in Greece and the Balkans

World History: True Stories of the 20th Century · Apr 28, 2026 · 14m

The 1st Mountain Division, known as the Edelweiss Division, was a German Wehrmacht unit responsible for mass atrocities across Europe during World War II. The 1st Mountain Division—also known as the Edelweiss Division—was one of the most notorious units of the German Wehrmacht in World War II. Formed in 1938 and originally trained for alpine warfare, the division gained infamy not for its military achievements but for a trail of brutal atrocities that spanned from Poland to Greece. Initially part of the invasions of Poland and France, its soldiers were involved early on in the killing of…