Herbert Otto Gille Speaks at HIAG Meeting

Former general of the Waffen-SS, Herbert Otto Gille, gives a speech on the 16th of November in 1952 during a meeting of the "Hilfsgemeinschaft auf Gegenseitigkeit der Angehörigen der ehemaligen Waffen-SS e.V." (short: HIAG, translates as: "Mutual Help Association of Former Waffen-SS Members") in Gelsenkirchen. The HIAG fights for juristical and societal separation of the Waffen-SS and the Allgemeine-SS, which were on duty in the concentration camps of the Nazi period. In an article by Otto Kumm, former General of the Waffen SS, which appeared in Der Freiwillige, he notes that the origin of HIAG goes back to 1949. Kameraden of the former 7. SS-Freiwilligen-Gebirgs-Division "Prinz Eugen" got together in Hamburg to form a group with the objective to assist ex-Waffen SS members in prison and in financial need and to combat the defamation of the Waffen SS by the Nuremberg trials. This small group grew quickly from 50 to 100. They decided on the name Hilfsgemeinschaft auf Gegenseitigkeit (HIAG): Fellowship for Mutual Support. In the following months the numbers grew to 700-800 men. In 1951 the number of members in the club were 1500 to 1700. The HIAG movement mushroomed all over Germany. The spread of information came from the original publication "Ausweg" which was later replaced by "Wiking Ruf" (published by Herbert Otto Gille). In the 50s and 60s the HIAG was quite active organizing meetings and get-togethers (Tagungen). The meetings and get-togethers with the marches always attracted a lot of mostly negative publicity. As the key leaders of HIAG died the HIAG movement lost its impetus and is no longer active. The HIAG movement was only partly successful in clearing the Waffen SS reputation (the motto being that they were soldiers like any others). In a way, HIAG was the final chapter of the history of the Waffen SS.

Source :
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=37769&p=793729&hilit=gille#p793729
https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/former-general-of-the-waffen-ss-herbert-gille-gives-a-news-photo/1063490854