Henri Fenet

Henri Joseph Fenet
Born	11July 1919 Ceyzériat, France
Died	14 September 2002(2002-09-14) (aged 83) Paris, France
Allegiance	France Nazi Germany
Service/branch	French Army Waffen-SS
Years of service	1939–40, 1943–45
Rank	Hauptsturmführer
Unit	33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne (1st French)
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Iron Cross 1st Class Iron Cross 2nd Class Wound Badge in Black Croix de Guerre

Henri Joseph Fenet (11 July 1919 – 14 September 2002) was a French volunteer during World War II who was awarded both the Croix de Guerre by France, and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross by Nazi Germany.

French service

Fenet was born on 11 July 1919 in Ceyzériat, Department of Ain, France. Prior to World War II he studied literature at the Sorbonne University in Paris. At the outbreak of war he volunteered for the French Army and was commissioned as an officer with the rank of lieutenant. He fought in numerous battles and was awarded the Croix de Guerre after being wounded twice. Upon his release from prisoner of war camp in November 1942, he joined the Milice, a paramilitary force tasked with rounding up Jews for deportation and suppressing the resistance in Vichy France.

Waffen-SS

In July 1943 Paul Marion, the Vichy Propaganda Minister, began a massive nationwide recruitment for the Waffen-SS in France. The Comité des Amis de la Waffen S.S. (Committee of the Friends of the Waffen-SS) was established by the minister and proceeded to actively recruit men who were between the ages of 20–25, "free of Jewish blood," and physically fit. Roughly 3000 applied to the assorted offices in the first few months, many of them college students. The organization also spent much time trying to recruit experienced French officers, like Fenet, to the organization. In October 1943, Fenet volunteered for the Waffen-SS and was sent to the SS officer school at Bad Tölz.

In March 1944 he received the rank of Obersturmführer (first lieutenant) in the Waffen-SS and was given command of the 3rd Company of the newly formed 8th SS Assault Brigade Frankreich, and was again wounded during fighting in the Carpathian Mountains and awarded the Iron Cross 2nd class.

In September 1944, Fenet and his company were sent to Konitz, West Prussia, where they joined other French recruits to form the 33rd Waffen Grenadier Division Charlemagne, and in February 1945 Fenet was named the commander of the 1st Battalion, 57th SS Regiment Charlemagne.

In March 1945 the French SS unit was surrounded by the Russians. Fenet was able to break out and return to the German lines with his battalion almost intact, for which he was promoted to Hauptsturmführer (captain) and awarded the Iron Cross, 1st Class.

Berlin

On 23 April 1945, the Reich Chancellery in Berlin ordered SS-Brigadeführer Gustav Krukenberg to proceed to the capital with about 350 men from the remains of the Charlemagne division who had chosen to go to Berlin. The men had been reorganized as Sturmbataillon ("assault battalion") "Charlemagne" and was attached to the 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland.

In the days which followed, fighting was very heavy and by 28 April, one-hundred eight Soviet tanks had been destroyed in the southeast of Berlin within the S-Bahn. The French squads under the command of Fenet accounted for "about half" of the tanks. Fenet, who was now wounded in the foot, withdrew with the battalion to the vicinity of the Reich Aviation Ministry in the central government district under the command of SS-Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke. Fenet, now wounded, remained with his battalion as they were withdrawn to the area of the Reich aviation ministry. For the success of the battalion during the Battle of Berlin Fenet was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 29 April 1945 by Mohnke.

On 2 May 1945, the surviving Frenchmen were captured by the Russians. Fenet had been wounded and was first sent to a hospital before being imprisoned by the Soviets. He was then handed over to the French government.

Later life

On the 10 December 1949, Fenet was convicted of being a collaborator and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment with hard labour. He was freed at the end of 1959.

After Fenet was released, he appeared in several documentary films and television programmes. He also ran a small independent auto business. Henri Joseph Fenet died in Paris on 14 September 2002.

Awards

• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 29 April 1945 as Waffen-Hauptsturmführer and commander of the assault battalion in the 33. SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Division "Charlemagne"

References

Bibliography

• Beevor, Antony (2002). Berlin: The Downfall 1945. London: Viking-Penguin Books. ISBN 0-670-03041-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
• Forbes, Robert (2010) [2006]. For Europe: The French Volunteers of the Waffen-SS. Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-3581-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
• Trigg, Jonathan (2015). Hitler's Gauls: The History of the 33rd Waffen-SS Division Charlemagne. The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-6711-2. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)