8th SS Cavalry Division “Florian Geyer”

The 8th SS Cavalry Division “Florian Geyer” was a Waffen-SS mounted infantry and cavalry division formed in 1942, named after Florian Geyer, a 16th-century Franconian knight and leader of the German Peasants' War. Initially built around the SS Cavalry Brigade, it included SS and police units and was primarily tasked with anti-partisan operations in the occupied territories of the Soviet Union, particularly in Belarus and Ukraine. These operations often involved severe reprisals against civilians and are associated with war crimes. The division was composed mainly of ethnic Germans (Volksdeutsche), some regular German recruits, and later absorbed remnants of other units.

Uniforms followed standard Waffen-SS field gear, with some cavalry-specific items such as riding boots, leather breeches, and sometimes mantel capes. Collar tabs bore the SS runes, and members wore the “Florian Geyer” cuff title. The division was often mobile and operated in forested or rural areas, making use of horseback patrols even into the later years of the war.

By 1944–1945, the division was committed to the defense of Hungary, participating in heavy urban fighting during the Siege of Budapest, where it was encircled and ultimately destroyed in early 1945. Very few of its members escaped. Its legacy is one of brutality in anti-partisan warfare and fierce resistance in the final months of the war.