July 1942. The main office was in Paris, but recruitment took place across France. By the end of 1942, the section consisted of one company of 200 men; by the end of the war, seven companies had been raised. The men had to sign up for two years of service. The French NSKK was originally attached to the Luftwaffe, although members wore the standard NSKK uniforms and used its rank system. Members wore their own arm badge with the colors of the French flag. The first version had "NSKK" in black letters across the top of the shield; the second bore the word "France" in black letters across the top of the shield. The original unit was officially known as NSKK Gruppe Luftwaffe and a second one was known as NSKK Transportgruppe Todt. At Melun, the NSKK had its own driving school for French recruits and those from other European countries. Before the Schutzstaffel (SS) began openly recruiting members into the Waffen-SS, Frenchmen used the NSKK as a "back door" to get into the Waffen-SS to fight on the Eastern Front against the Soviet Union. Some French NSKK men were sent to the Eastern Front in a group known as NSKK Einsatzgruppe Russland. In September 1944, the Waffen-Grenadier-Brigade der SS "Charlemagne" was formed from the Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism (LVF) and the SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade France. Joining them were French collaborators fleeing the Allied advance in the west, as well as Frenchmen from the German Navy, the NSKK, the Organisation Todt and the detested Milice security police. In February 1945, the Waffen-Grenadier-Brigade der SS "Charlemagne" was officially upgraded to a division and became known as the 33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne (1st French). End of the NSKK The NSKK was disbanded in May 1945 and declared a "condemned organization" at the Nuremberg Trials (though not a criminal one), due in part to the NSKK's origins in the SA and its racial membership requirements. See also Ranks and insignia of the National Socialist Motor Corps Paul Nieder-Westermann Notes References Organizations established in 1930 1930 establishments in Germany Organizations disestablished in 1945 1945 establishments in Germany Nazi Party organizations Automobile associations Paramilitary organisations based in Germany Anti-communist organizations