Dataset on Letters, Case Studies, and Tagging - The foreign soldier's transnational experience in the Nazi military (sphere) – A biographical study of conscripts and volunteers from BeNeLux and their military and individual experience in WWII

This dataset is part of the TransWarSoldierWWII project, funded under the European Commission’s Horizon Europe program (Grant agreement ID: 101063708, DOI: 10.3030/101063708). It provides an overview of wartime letterswritten by non-German volunteers and conscripts from Belgium (BE), the Netherlands (NL), and Luxembourg (LU) who served in the Waffen-SS during World War II.

The dataset does not contain full letter texts but includes structured metadata, case study overviews, and thematic tagging, enabling researchers to analyze the letters’ historical context and content without direct access to sensitive personal writings.

Dataset Components

1. Overview of Letters & Case Studies

This dataset provides a structured index of letters, listing the documents used in the research along with key metadata, including:

Document ID

Case Study (BE, NL, LU)

Date of the Letter

Language

Archival Call Number

2. Tagging & Thematic Categorization

Tags have been assigned to the letters based on their content, enabling text analysis and structured research. The thematic categorization includes:

Military Service & Structure (e.g., duty, training, military draft)

Combat & Frontline Experiences (e.g., battle, hardship, endurance)

Emotions & Psychological Impact (e.g., fear, hope, Siegesgewissheit / certainty of victory)

Ideology & Propaganda (e.g., Nazi greetings, loyalty to Germany)

Home Front & War Society (e.g., letters to family, no support from home)