13th Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (Ger. 13. Waffen-Gebirgs-Division der SS "Handschar" ) was formed in the spring of 1943 from Muslim volunteers from Bosnia and Croatia. It was the first "non-Aryan" unit in the Waffen-SS structure, and its Muslim character was emphasized by both the headdress (fezy) and the special diet without pork. From the summer of 1943 to February 1944, the unit was stationed in France, where it underwent specialist training. Interestingly, the soldiers of the division came into conflict with their instructors and some of them organized a revolt, which was quickly and bloodily suppressed by the Germans. After the training, the 13th Mountain Division of the SS was transferred to Yugoslavia, where it conducted anti-partisan activities and conducted numerous pacification operations. The soldiers of the formation were also responsible for numerous massacres on the Serb population. In October 1944, in the face of numerous desertions, the division was disbanded. Interestingly, many deserters from this division later fought in the communist guerrillas.
The first paramilitary unit to have the abbreviation SS (German: Schutz Staffel) in its name was the personal protection of the dictator of the Third Reich called Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, which was officially formed in 1933. From 1934, the SS was an independent formation headed by Heinrich Himmler. With time, further SS units were formed, including the SS-Totenkopfverbände and the SS-Verfügungstruppe. It is worth adding that the latter was trained similarly to regular Wehrmacht infantry units. On a relatively small scale, SS units were used in combat during the fighting in Poland in 1939 and in the French campaign in 1940. The first units intended from the beginning to fight at the front were created in mid-1940, giving them the name of the Waffen SS. Initially, they were recruited on a voluntary basis, also among non-German people, but over time, compulsory recruitment began to apply. Within the Waffen-SS, many divisions of different combat value were formed. Nevertheless, a few of them (e.g. the 1st SS LAH Panzer Division, the 2nd SS Das Reich Panzer Division or the 12th SS Hitlerjugend Panzer Division) can be considered elite units, with very high combat value and often equipped with the best available equipment. They demonstrated their considerable advantages not only on the Eastern Front (1941-1945), especially during the battles near Kharkiv in 1943, but also during the battles in France in 1944. Another thing is that the quality of the commanding staff of these units was in many cases debatable, and many Waffen-SS soldiers committed war crimes during World War II.