Legion of Free Arabia
The Free Arabia Legion ( Arabic جيش بلاد العرب الحرة) was a legion of volunteers from the Middle East , Islamic parts of North Africa and Southeast Europe who fought for the Wehrmacht .
In the Balkans in particular , Muslim men were drafted from 1943 onwards . Some later deserted .
By April 19, 1943, more than 20,000 mostly Muslim volunteers volunteered for the German Reich .
The majority of the Arab members were of the Islamic faith, but there were also numerous Arabs of the Greek Orthodox faith among the Arab nationalists .
The Grand Mufti Hajj Mohammed Amin al-Husseini supported the Free Arabia Legion by recruiting Muslim volunteers.
African soldier and two other infantrymen of the Free Arabia Legion as part of the German occupation forces in Greece , 1943.
See also
- Foreign volunteers of the Waffen SS # Croatia and Albania
- List of Turkish, Caucasian, Cossack and Crimean Tatar associations in the Axis Powers
Web links
Commons : Legion "Free Arabia" - Collection of images, videos and audio files
