11th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division Nordland (Ger. 11 SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Division "Nordland" ) began to be formed in March 1943 among volunteers mainly from northern European countries (hence the name of the division), but also based on the SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment "Nordland" from the 5th SS Panzer Division. After several months of training and formation, the division was transferred to Yugoslavia at the end of 1943, where it was responsible for combating communist guerrillas. From the beginning of 1944, the unit fought on the Eastern Front - precisely in the Leningrad region, and shortly later in the struggle with the Red Army on the Narva River. In the summer of 1944, during Operation Bagration, the division operated in what is now Estonia, defending itself against Soviet offensive operations on the so-called Tannenberg line. In September-October 1944, she was expelled from Estonia to Latvia. In January 1945, she was transferred to Pomerania, and at the end of that month she was assigned to the units to defend the eastern borders of today's Germany and the western borders of today's Poland. At this stage of the war, the unit contained many volunteers serving in the Waffen-SS from other countries than the Scandinavian ones, including: France or Hungary. The unit took an active part in the Berlin operation. Some of it capitulated to the Soviet troops in April / May 1945, and some broke through to the west and capitulated by the Americans.
