The
3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf (Skull and Crossbones), also known during its existence as the 3rd SS Panzergrenadier Division
Totenkopf or the 3rd SS Division
Totenkopf, was one of 38
divisions of the
Waffen-SS – the armed wing of the
German Nazi Party that served alongside the
Wehrmacht army during
World War II without being formally part of it. Prior to achieving division status, the formation was known as
Kampfgruppe (battlegroup) "Eicke". Most of the division's initial enlisted men were SS-
Totenkopfverbände (SS
concentration camp guards), and others were members of militias that had committed war crimes in Poland. Due to its insignia, it was sometimes referred to as the "Death's Head Division". Members of the division committed several
war crimes.