Formation The division was formed on 10 February 1940 as part of the eighth
Aufstellungswelle in the
Magdeburg are within
Wehrkreis XI. It initially consisted of Infantry Regiments 516, 517 and 518, as well as Artillery Regiment 295. • Infantry Regiment 516 was formed from the staff of Infantry Regiment 118 and parts of Infantry Regiment 87, both formerly part of the
36th Infantry Division, and Infantry Regiment 193, formerly part of the
69th Infantry Division. On 15 November 1940, the division transferred a third of its personnel to the
321st Infantry Division, part of the thirteenth
Aufstellungswelle. Members of the 295th Infantry Division participated in the
Zolochiv pogrom that took place between 2 July and 4 July 1941. The division's officers were either unable or unwilling to stop the
5th SS Panzer Division Wiking's excess of violence against local civilians. In August 1941, members of the 295th Infantry Division either actively participated or at least in the majority passively stood by during a
massacre of civilians in Bila Tserkva, a Ukrainian settlement close to
Kiev. The divisional first staff officer,
Helmuth Groscurth, was unable to prevent the village's young children from falling victim to the SS. At least 90 were shot by SS units. The division was destroyed during the
Battle of Stalingrad in January 1943.
Redeployment and occupation duty in Norway On 12 February 1943, an order was given to deploy the division, initially at
Kampfgruppe strength, later upgraded to a static division that was deployed in occupied Norway. The static division was ordered to be upgraded to full division strength on 24 January 1945. After the end of World War II, the division was imprisoned by British forces. == Noteworthy individuals ==