“Kameradenwerk Korps Steiner e.V.”
As far back as the formation of the 11th Panzergrenadier Division “Nordland” in April 1943 under General Felix Steiner, there has been a special esprit de corps and sense of solidarity among the soldiers of this corps.
At that time, a “friendship” organization emerged, which immediately after the war developed into one of the first and strongest veterans’ associations.
The association stood, and still stands today, behind social events in support of the bereaved and as a social network for dealing with war trauma.
Here is a glimpse of an event (2010), where veterans, relatives, and people with an interest in history meet and discuss the horrors and everyday realities of war. In this way, some history enthusiasts have been given access to first-hand accounts.
At the top right, Kurt Meyer receives the association’s honorary emblem in gold (he is wearing the DKiG).
At the larger annual events, which at their peak attracted up to 1,000 participants (a number that over the years has declined to just under a hundred), an entrance ticket/sticker was required (as proof of participation fee payment).
Similarly, emblems were produced indicating multi-year membership, as well as honorary pins for work within the organization or for historical work related to participation in the war.
The association publishes a magazine, “Neues,” which features short articles and accounts directly from fellow soldiers, as well as, in earlier times, often requests for information about missing comrades and witnesses to events, etc.
The association also provides financial and social support for aid work under Volksbund/VDK. However, the organization has, among other things in Estonia, independently been responsible for establishing a memorial park and restoring an older Estonian cemetery that had been erased by the Russians. In the area today, there is also a memorial stone from Wallonia, from Estonia, from Norway, and from Denmark.