Waffen SS: Hitler's Elite Guard at War, 1939 1945

I am at the end of this book and have come away with more knowledge in regards to the Waffen-SS and it's volunteer divisions. It was very interesting to hear about all the different nationalities that have served in the Waffen-SS. Technically they weren't the 'standard' of the Waffen-SS. They weren't racially pure. Very interesting that they had to resort to recruiting even 'sub-human' slavs. That the last units protecting berlin were 300 french 'charlemagne' soldiers and a latvian division. Anyways, a really good read. (Also a good bargain). Well worth it!

"Waffen SS-Hitler's Elite Guard at War, 1939-1945" by George H. Stein is a fabulous work of historical literature. Many an author, popular and academic, has tackled the topic of the SS and Waffen SS but very few have done so in an objective fashion like Stein. Far too many presentations of the Waffen SS have been from apologist and revisionist authors who fail to recognize and/or admit the complicity of portions of the Waffen SS in the atrocities committed in the name of the NSDAP and Adolf Hitler. At the other end of the spectrum are those authors, again large in number, who simply paint ALL that served in the Waffen SS with broad strokes of guilt. Stein captures a story that falls between the extremes and thus is more realistic and truthful, and thus more historically accurate with clear lack of hysterics. "Waffen SS" begins with a historical perspective on the establishment of the SS [initially the Allgemeine (General)-SS] and formation of the earliest incarnations of the armed SS - initially from the units such as the Leibstandarte SS "Adolf Hitler" (Hitler's Chancellery Guard) and the SS-Totenkopfverbande (Death's Head Units, early concentration camp guards), to organization of the Waffen SS as war approached. This presentation provides considerable information that allows the reader to connect (or disconnect as appropriate) various components of Himmler's greater SS. This is critical to the process of a reader drawing objective conclusions about guilt of the Waffen SS in non-combatant war crimes. Stein then spends considerable time discussing the military exploits of the Waffen SS, both early and oft strained integration into the Wehrmacht during the initial phases of the war up to the defeat of France and the AEF, as well as their later fierce and destructive battles fought east across the Soviet Union and their return west in defense. Stein's prose does not fail to convey a picture of a fanatical and determined fighting force. Clearly the Waffen SS (especially the early incarnations that were still volunteer and elite) was an accomplished "army". Stein also discusses how the elite Waffen SS was in later years of the war converted through conscription (mostly) into a hodge-podge of a force that often was worth very little and sometimes more trouble than it was worth. In the third major section of "Waffen SS" the author presents a clear and concise (without simply rehashing particular atrocities covered in depth elsewhere) description of crimes that can be connected to the Waffen SS, whether directly or indirectly. While crimes can clearly be attributed to battle formations, both combatant- and non-combatant-related, it is also clear from Stein's presentation that a majority of Waffen SS units were not likely involved in such events. This is not to say that Stein presents an apologist view, quite to the contrary - he presents an honest assessment of guilt - the Waffen SS was guilty but it is unfair to claim all units were simpl

This literary work provides a comprehensive yet concise historical narrative of the Waffen SS - the elite Nazi militarized wing of the vast Armed Forces of Germany. When on the offensive, the Waffen SS spearheaded Nazi Germany's military victories. Subsequently, in Germany's years of defeat, the idealogical fanatics of the Waffen SS fought to the bloody and bitter end to defend their Fuhrer and Fatherland. One dominant fact emerges overall from George Stein's book; and that is the fact of the existence of the thorough military professionalism of the Waffen SS and its soldiers and officers.

I strongly recommend "Hitler's Elite Guard at War" as a measured, unbiased account in a field which is typically dominated by neo-Nazi literature and apologist "history" books. Anyone interested in the bizarre mechanics of the Waffen-SS but wary of the fact that most books on the subject are written by Nazi sympathizers will be pleased to find a serious, professional study of all aspects of the Waffen-SS, including creation, organization, volunteer composition, and war crimes. A good book on a particularly dark chapter of history indeed.