The 29th ITALIAN SS DIVISION

29. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (ital. Nr. 1) 

The formation of the Italian SS Division, officially designated the 29th SS Grenadier Division, took place within the chaotic context of the end of World War II in Italy. It all began on September 8, 1943, when the Kingdom of Italy signed an armistice with the Allies, triggering the German occupation and, consequently, the creation of the Italian Social Republic (RSI) led by Mussolini, sealing the country's division.

To counter the massive desertion of Italian soldiers (nearly 600,000 disarmed men), the Germans devised a recruitment program, approved by Mussolini on October 2, 1943. The recruits were primarily drawn from former Fascist "Blackshirts," repentant deserters, and other pro-Axis militants. 

On October 18, 1943, the "Italian SS Legion" was officially created in Münsingen, Germany. Thirteen battalions of Italian militiamen took the oath on November 23, 1943, and were subsequently transferred to the SS training school in Italy. Renamed the "1st Italian Volunteer Assault Brigade" in March 1944, the unit was deployed to the Anzio-Nettuno front in April, then outside Rome.

This formation illustrates the desperate collaboration of a faction of Italians with the Third Reich amidst a bloody Italian civil war.