Multiple roles of Waffen-SS non-commissioned school(s). Activities of SS- und Waffen-Unterführerschule Laibach in Slovenia, 1943–45

Abstract

This article, based on the analysis of archival documents and literature, deals with the hitherto unknown history and activities of the SS- und Waffen-Unterführerschule Laibach, which was one of the non-commissioned officers’ schools of the Waffen-SS, garrisoned in Ljubljana (Slovenia). The main function of the school was to train future non-commissioned officers of the Waffen-SS, with attendees from Germany and other countries from Western, Northern, and Eastern Europe. At the same time, the school organised courses for the training of Slovenian Home Guard personnel. As one of the largest German Military institutions, permanently stationed in Slovenia, the school also played an important role as an occupational force and was used to fight Slovenian Partisans during the war, before surrendering to the British forces in Klagenfurt (Austria).