3. SS-Panzer-Division Totenkopf was formed Oct 1939 from concentration camp guards of the SS-Totenkopfverbände with the addition of officers from the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT) and men from SS-Heimwehr Danzig. 

It was initially held in reserve during the campaign in the west, but was soon sent to the front in Belgium. They suffered heavy losses compared to other units but managed to keep up the advance. It later fought in France seeing its only real action against colonial troops at Tarare.

It took part in the invasion of the USSR attached to Heeresgruppe Nord and advanced through the Baltic states and towards Leningrad.

Generalmajor Otto Lancelle, commander of 121. Infanterie-Division, on 5 July 1941 made an official complaint to LVI Panzerkorps about the behaviour of SS-Totenkopf-Infanterie-Regiment 1 during the capture of Kraslau (Krāslava), including looting and unprofessional behaviour during the assault itself leading to unnecessarily high losses among the German troops.

It remained in the Leningrad area until the Soviet counteroffensive pushed the Germans back and it was encircled at Demyansk January to March 1942 when it broke out. It remained on the front until it was transferred to France October 1942 where it regrouped. It was sent back to the Eastern front where it fought at Kursk and Kharkov. It was sent to Hungary December 1944 where it took part in the failed attempt to relieve Budapest.

It surrendered to US forces in Austria, but was promtly turned over to the Soviets and few survived.

Known war crimes
Soldiers from SS-Totenkopf-Infanterie-Regiment 1 killed 92 civilians in Aubigny-en-Artois in France 22 May 1940.

45 civilians in Vandelicourt / Berles-Montchel were killed by soldiers from SS-Totenkopf-Infanterie-Regiment 2 22 May 1940.

Soldiers from SS-Totenkopf-Infanterie-Regiment 1 and SS-Pionier-Bataillon Totenkopf killed 48 civilians in Beuvry 24 May 1940.

On 27 May 1940 at Le Paradis 4th company of the 2nd regiment, commanded by SS-Obersturmführer Fritz Knöchlein, killed 100 Brittish POWs.

Soldiers from Totenkopf were involved in the killings of black French colonial POWs at Lyon during the invasion of France 1940.

Generalmajor Otto Lancelle, commander of 121. Infanterie-Division, on 5 July 1941 made an official complaint to LVI Panzerkorps about soldiers of SS-Totenkopf-Infanterie-Regiment 1 looting the town of Kraslau (Krāslava) after it was captured by the German forces.

Manpower strength (7 April 1945)
  44 Officers
  87 NCO
  873 Soldiers
  6 Operational tanks

Honor titles
“Totenkopf” means “death’s head” and this division was named after the concentration camp guards of the Totenkopfverbände (= death’s head units), from which it was built, with the addition of new recruits and transfers from SS-VT units.

One regiment within this division was also named:
SS-Pz.Gren. Regt. 6 „Theodor Eicke“
SS-Obergruppenführer Theodor Eicke (17 Oct. 1892 – 26 Feb. 1943) was infamous as one of the architects of the concentration camp system. The commandant of the Dachau concentration camp and later inspector of concentration camps and death’s head units, he was also in charge of the forming of the Totenkopf-Division, which he commanded until killed on the Eastern Front when his observation plane was shot down near Michailowka.

SS-Pz. Gren. Regt. 5 is often incorrectly listed with the title „Thule“
The Thule-Gesellschaft (= „Thule Association“) was a neo-Germanic, racist and anti-semitic nationalist organization founded in 1918, which used the “sunwheel” swastika, combined with a dagger, as its symbol and was somewhat involved in the founding of the Nazi Party. The name “Thule” as such refers to a mystical, ancient Nordic high culture, which figured largely in the Nazi belief system.

Holders of high awards
Holders of the Close Combat Clasp in Gold (33)
Holders of the Commendation Certificate of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army (4)
  Meguscher, Johannes, 18.04.1942 (907), SS-Unterscharführer, Nachr.-Staffel Stb./Kradsch.Btl. SS-Totenkopf-Div.
  Rademacher, Theo, 25.05.1942 (1000), SS-Oberjunker, SS-Inf.Rgt. “Totenkopf”
  Schulz, Eberhard, 18.04.1942 (935), SS-Sturmann, 1./SS-Inf.Rgt. 3 “Totenkopf”
  Zollhöfer, Emil, 15.07.1942 (1096), SS-Sturmbannführer, Kdr. I./SS-T Inf.Rgt. 1
Holders of the Commendation Certificate of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army for Shooting Down Aircraft (2)
  Appel, Hans, 28.11.1942 (298), SS-Sturmmann, 4./SS-Totenkopf-Aufkl.Abt.
  Hütt, [first name not listed], 21.08.1944 [Date of Action] (534), SS-Unterscharführer, 4./SS-Pz.Gren.Rgt. 5
Holders of the German Cross in Gold (125)
Holders of the German Cross in Silver (2)
  Schuster, Friedrich-Wilhelm, 15.03.1945, SS-Obersturmbannführer, Div.Ing. K (V) 3. SS-Pz.Div. “Totenkopf”
  Stutz, Dr. Hans, 28.02.1944, SS-Sturmbannführer, Feldlazarett/3. SS-Pz.Div. “Totenkopf”
Holders of the Honor Roll Clasp of the Heer (22)
Holders of the Knight's Cross (55)
Unit-Level Commendation Certificate of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army for Shooting Down Aircraft (7)
  1./SS-Totenkopf-Aufklärungs-Abteilung
    Date/Place of Downing: 14.09.1941 bei Tschitschilowo
    Award Date: 29.11.1941 (30)
  III./SS-Totenkopf-Infanterie-Regiment 3
    Date/Place of Downing: 18.01.1942 bei Beglowo
    Award Date: 16.05.1942 (84)
  2./SS-Totenkopf-Infanterie-Regiment 1
    Date/Place of Downing: 28.02.1942 bei Demjansk
    Award Date: 19.06.1942 (157)
  1./SS-Totenkopf-Infanterie-Regiment 1
    Date/Place of Downing: 16.03.1942 bei Jeruschkowo
    Award Date: 19.07.1942 (170)
  4./SS-Totenkopf-Infanterie-Regiment 1
    Date/Place of Downing: 06.05.1942 bei Jeruschkowo
    Award Date: 19.07.1942 (172)
  4./SS-Totenkopf-Artillerie-Regiment
    Date/Place of Downing: 13.08.1942 bei Kukuj (2 aircraft)
    Award Date: 28.11.1942 (276/277)
  SS-Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 3
    Date/Place of Downing: 09.03.1944 bei Pantschewo
    Award Date: 01.08.1944 (509)

Order of battle (fall 1939)
SS-Totenkopf-Infanterie-Regiment 1
SS-Totenkopf-Infanterie-Regiment 2
SS-Totenkopf-Infanterie-Regiment 3
SS-Totenkopf-Artilerie-Regiment
SS-Totenkopf-Aufklärungs-Abteilung
SS-Totenkopf-Panzer-Abwehr-Abteilung
SS-Totenkopf-Pionier-Bataillon
SS-Totenkopf-Nachrichten-Abteilung

Order of battle (1941)
SS-Totenkopf-Infanterie-Regiment 1
SS-Totenkopf-Infanterie-Regiment 2
SS-Totenkopf-Infanterie-Regiment 3
SS-Totenkopf-Artilerie-Regiment 3
SS-Panzer-Abteilung
SS-Totenkopf-Aufklärungs-Abteilung
SS-Totenkopf-Nachrichten-Abteilung
SS-Totenkopf-Panzer-Abwehr-Abteilung
SS-Totenkopf-Sturmgeschütz-Batterie (mot)
SS-Totenkopf-Flak-Abteilung 3
SS-Werfer-Abteilung
SS-Totenkopf-Kradschützen-Bataillon 3
SS-Pionier-Bataillon Totenkopf
SS-Sanitäts-Dienste
SS-Totenkopf-Nachubdienste
SS-Totenkopf-Verpflegungsdienste
SS-Totenkopf-Div.-Verwaltungsdienste
SS-Totenkopf-Feld-Ersatz-Bataillon

Order of battle

SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 5 (often incorrectly named Thule)

SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 6 Theodor Eicke

SS-Panzer-Regiment 3

SS-Panzer-Artillerie Regiment 3

SS-Panzerjäger-Abteilung 3

SS-Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 3

SS-Flak-Abteilung 3

SS-Werfer-Abteilung 3

SS-Panzer-Nachrichten-Abteilung 3

SS-Panzer-Aufklarungs-Abteilung 3

SS-Panzer-Pionier-Bataillon 3

SS-Dina 3

SS-Feldlazarett 3

SS-Kriegsberichter-Zug 3

SS-Feldgendarmerie-Trupp 3

SS-Feldersatz-Bataillon 3

Notable members

Richard Baer (commandant of Auschwitz)

Fritz Biermeier (usually credited with 31+ destroyed tanks but the exact number is unknown)

Fritz Christen (Credited with singlehandedly destroying 13 Soviet tanks with a 50mm anti-tank gun 24 September 1941 after the rest of the crew had been killed, received the Knight's Cross on 20 October 1941 as the first Waffen-SS enlisted man)

Theodor Eicke (former Inspector of Concentration camps and commandant of Dachau)

Jürgen Stroop (infamous for his role in the crushing of the Warsaw uprising)

Officers serving in the Einsatzgruppen and Concentration Camps
Concentration Camps 159
Einsatzgruppen 1
(includes officers serving in the Einsatzgruppen or Concentration Camps either prior to or after service in this unit)

Insignia

The "Totenkopf" cuff title was authorized for this unit 1 September 1942.

The "Theodor Eicke" cuff title was authorized for SS-Panzergrenadier Regiment 6 Theodor Eicke in March 1943.

The "Thule" cuff title was authorized for SS-Panzergrenadier Regiment 5 1942. It was ordered to be discontinued in 1943 but was used until the end of the war.

A totenkopf collar was initially worn by all members of the division, in vertical format until May 1940 and then in horizontal format.

Photo © The Ruptured Duck

SS-Obersturmführer Walter Gerth wearing the vertical pattern collar tabs

(Courtesy of Bundesarchiv/Wikimedia, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 Germany)

SS-Hauptsturmführer Max Seela wearing the horizontal pattern collar tabs and the totenkopf-cuff title which was used by SS-Totenkopfverbände, not the Totenkopf division

(Courtesy of Bundesarchiv/Wikimedia, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 Germany)

Other militaria
SS-Hauptsturmführer tunic
SS-Obersturmführer tunic

In fiction

The novel "SS General" by Sven Hassel depicts SS-Obergruppenführer Theodor Eicke, the commander of the Totenkopf Division, conducting a rather implausible inspection of the 6. Armee at Stalingrad.

The 2004 board game "Clash Along the Psel: The Battle of Kursk 1943" designed by Ray Tapio and published by Critical Hit focus on the fighting on the Psel.

BMW R12 of the Totenkopf division in the USSR 1941

(Courtesy of PJ)

Artillery crew of the Totenkopf division

(Courtesy of Die Deutsche Wochenschau/Ivan)

Kübelwagen of the Totenkopf Division in 1941

(Courtesy of Bundesarchiv/Wikimedia, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 Germany)

Totenkopf soldiers in the outskirts of Charkov

(Courtesy of Bundesarchiv/Wikimedia, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 Germany)

Tanks of the Totenkopf division in a town on the Eastern Front 1944

(Courtesy of Bundesarchiv/Wikimedia, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 Germany)

Footnotes
1. SS-Obergruppenführer Theodor Eicke was wounded 7 July 1941 by a Soviet mine that blew up his command car.
2. SS-Obergruppenführer Theodor Eicke was killed 26 February 1943 when his Fieseler Storch aircraft was shot down by Soviet ground fire.

Published sources used

John R. Angolia - Cloth insignia of the SS

Roger James Bender & Hugh Page Taylor - Uniforms, Organization and History of the Waffen-SS, vol 2

Georges M. Croisier - Waffen-SS (PDF)

Terry Goldsworthy - Valhalla's Warriors: A history of the Waffen-SS on the Eastern Front 1941-1945

Dr. K-G Klietmann - Die Waffen-SS: eine Dokumentation

Peter Lieb - Konventioneller Krieg oder NS-Weltanschauungskrieg?: Kriegführung und Partisanenbekämpfung in Frankreich 1943/44

Kurt Mehner - Die Waffen-SS und Polizei 1939-1945

Marc J. Rikmenspoel - Waffen-SS Encyclopedia

Raffael Scheck - Hitler's African Victims: The German Army Massacres of Black French Soldiers in 1940

Raffael Scheck - “They Are Just Savages”: German Massacres of Black Soldiers from the French Army in 1940, Journal Modern History 77, Nr. 2 (2005), pp. 325-344

George H. Stein - The Waffen-SS: Hitler's Elite Guard at War 1939-1945

Charles W. Sydnor - Soldiers of Destruction: The SS Death's Head Division, 1933-1945

Frank Thayer - Waffen-SS unit collar insignia (in The Military Advisor, Vol 5 No 2)

Gordon Williamson & Thomas McGuirl - German military cuffbands 1784-present

Gordon Williamson - The Waffen-SS: 1. to 5. Divisions

Mark C. Yerger - Waffen-SS Commanders: The Army, corps and divisional leaders of a legend (2 vol)

Reference material on this unit

Massimiliano Afiero - Totenkopf: la divisione 'Testa di morto' della Waffen SS

Herbert Brunnegger - Saat in den Sturm: Ein Soldat der Waffen-SS berichtet

Roger Hunt - Death’s Head: Combat record of the SS Totenkopf Division in France, 1940 (translation of a book published 1942)

Cyril Jolly - The vengeance of Private Pooley

Chris Mann - SS-Totenkopf: The History of the 'Death's Head' Division 1940-45

Martin Månsson & Charles Trang - Thule: SS-Infanterie Regiment 9

Wolfgang Schneider - Tiger der Division 'Totenkopf'

Jacek Solarz - Totenkopf 1939-1943

Charles W. Sydnor - Soldiers of Destruction: The SS Death's Head Division, 1933-1945

Paul Thomas & Stephen Andew - March of the Death's Head Division

Charles Trang - Totenkopf

Karl Ullrich - Like a Cliff in the Ocean: The History of the 3. SS-Panzer-Division "Totenkopf"

Karl Ullrich - Wie ein Fels im Meer: Bildband

Vopersal - Soldaten, Kämpfer, Kameraden (9 vol)