In 1942, New Year's Eve, Adolf Hitler approved the addition of two new SS divisions. Subsequently, 9th SS Hohenstaufen was formed in France in February of 1943 right next to its sister unit 10th SS Frundsberg. The name Hohenstaufen came from the Hohenstaufen dynasty which lasted between 1138 and 1254. The most notable emperor from the Hohenstaufen dynasty was Fredrich II which happened to be Hitler's favorite historical figure which also became the reason that the 9th SS Panzergrenadier Division was granted the title Hohenstaufen 19 March of 1943.

 

Because the 9th and 10th SS divisions were formed late into the war, it became exceptionally hard to find quality soldiers to fill their ranks. For Hohenstaufen, they forced a big percentage of men from the Reichsarbeitsdeinst also known as the National Labor Service to "volunteer" their service. After that, they focused their attention on finding quality and battle-hardened NCOs to train and lead these "volunteers." They decided to pull NCOs from the 1st SS Leibstandarte or Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH). The rest of the ranks were filled with ethnic Germans from Hungary. In early February of 1943, 9th SS gained the leadership of SS-Brigadefuhrer Willhelm Bittrich. The division hadn't finished it's training when the call to action came.

 

In late March of 1944, the division made it to the Eastern Front in order to relieve the trapped 1st Panzer Army in what became known as the Podolsky Pocket. 9th SS suffered large amounts of casualties within a few months and on June 12 after the Allied Invasion of Normandy, the division moved out to the Western Front to defend Caen. 9th SS suffered, even more, casualties in Caen; around 1,200 KIA casualties. On the 10th of July, the division was pulled out of Caen until it was put back in under heavy pressure from the British. Hohenstaufen began to defend Hill 112, taking the position over from Frundsberg. By 15 July, the division suffered, even more, losses and was pulled from the front lines and it's remaining forces were merged to from Panzergrenadier Regiment Hohenstaufen. Hohenstaufen managed to find more action against the British during the British offensive named Operation Goodwood. Hohenstaufen suffered much more losses but managed to hold it's position. Despite its heavy losses, Hohenstaufen managed to find itself in more fighting following the Canadian offensive of Operation Totalize. During the Canadian offensive, the division performed a tactical withdrawal and managed to escape the Falaise Pocket despite even more losses. When the Battle of Normandy was over, the unit was now commanded by Obersturmbannfuhrer Walter Harzer and Hohenstaufen was given orders to Arnhem to rest and refit. By the time Hohenstaufen was in Arnhem, the unit had roughly 7,000 troops from the original 15,900.

 

On the 17th of September that year, the Allies launched Operation Market Garden and only Hohenstaufen and Frundsberg were available to defend. Hohenstaufen was ordered to defend one of the bridges from the British's Roten Teufel Parachute Regiment (Red Devils). Hohenstaufen's Reconnaissance Battalion lead by Hauptsturmfuhrer Viktor Grabner was sent across the bridge to secure Nijmegen. Grabner's element was destroyed by the British 1st Airborne Division and lost 12 vehicles out of 22 and 70 soldiers including Grabner. This attack has been immortalized by the movie A Bridge Too Far.

 

Later, on 12 December, the unit was given orders to become a reserve force for the 6th SS Panzer Army in order to be a part of the Ardennes offensive. Hohenstaufen was involved in heavy fighting against the Americans at Bastogne and subsequently took heavy casualties and lost much of its equipment. On January 7th of 1945, Hitler canceled off the operation. By the end of February, the unit was sent to Hungary to be a part of Operation Frulingserwachin (Spring Awakening) under the 6th SS Panzer Army. The operation was meant to free up encircled troops in Budapest. Unfortunately, when the attack started, the unit wasn't able to reach its position due to road conditions. As a result, the operation came to a stand still and was met with a brutal Soviet counter-attack. Hohenstaufen then became involved in a desperate struggle to escape encirclement by the Soviet Red Army. On the 5th of May, Hohenstaufen ended their war by surrendering to the Americans in the Enns-Steyr-Amstetten area.

 

Hohenstaufen gained a favorable reputation for itself by the time the war ended. They proved themselves to be a worthy opponent who at any cost would carry out their orders to the death. Even when their manpower is fading, the soldiers of Hohenstaufen fought with great determination and dedication to their country. Many Waffen-SS soldiers have gone on to say that by the war's end, they believed that if they lost then the retaliation for Germany's atrocities will be severe.

 

One of the most notable aspects of Hohenstaufen's reputation is that the unit has zero legitimate war crime accusations against itself. In fact, the British commended the unit for its willingness to allow a two-hour ceasefire at Arnhem. The ceasefire allowed the British to move their dead and wounded. Hohenstaufen even provided help in the form of medics and able bodies to help the British. Of course, once the ceasefire ended the two forces started the fighting again.