The SS Division 30. Januar was one of the last SS-Divisions formed during World War II and was almost entirely composed of training units and 16-18 year old boys (the honorary name 30. Januar was the same date Hitler became Reich chancellor in 1933). First planned as a motorized division, the unit ended up as a normal infantry division because of a lack of fuel. With a final strength of 12,000, they fought on the Oder-front south of Frankfurt/Oder. After the Soviet attack on 16 April 1945 they were wiped out in the pocket of Halbe southeast of Berlin.Rolf Michaelis specializes in books on the Waffen-SS and has written over thirty to date, with many available in English from Schiffer Books. He lives in Berlin.
![The 32nd SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Division: 30.Januar [Hardcover]](/itemImage/2/1/4/4/2_7102745.jpg "The 32nd SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Division: 30.Januar [Hardcover]")