The Waffen-SS are commonly regarded as the elite of Germany’s armed forces during World War II. They gained much of this reputation while fighting on the Eastern Front in Russia during Germany’s war against the Soviet Union. They were also called to the fore in an attempt to hurl back the Western Allies’ invasion forces in Normandy, and were used in the last great offensive on the Western Front in the Ardennes and contributed to the final defence of Berlin. In adversity, they were some of the most resilient soldiers that fought for Germany in World War II and were ideologically and politically aligned with Hitler. For over 70 years, many of the manuscripts contained in this book, and sourced from the United States National Archives, have not been scrutinised by modern researchers. This book provides a unique opportunity to publish these records in order to provide an insight into the Waffen-SS. The Waffen-SS was a military organisation that is steeped in the military folklore of being a force capable of incredible military feats, but it was also capable of incredible evil. These records are exceedingly valuable as they are one of the few contemporaneous primary sources of information available in relation to the Waffen-SS.

The Waffen-SS are commonly regarded as the elite of Germanys armed forces during World War II. They gained much of this reputation while fighting on the Eastern Front in Russia during Germanys war against the Soviet Union. They were also called to the fore in an attempt to hurl back the Western Allies invasion forces in Normandy, and were used in the last great offensive on the Western Front in the Ardennes and contributed to the final defence of Berlin. In adversity, they were some of the most resilient soldiers that fought for Germany in World War II and were ideologically and politically aligned with Hitler. For over 70 years, many of the manuscripts contained in this book, and sourced from the United States National Archives, have not been scrutinised by modern researchers. This book provides a unique opportunity to publish these records in order to provide an insight into the Waffen-SS. The Waffen-SS was a military organisation that is steeped in the military folklore of being a force capable of incredible military feats, but it was also capable of incredible evil. These records are exceedingly valuable as they are one of the few contemporaneous primary sources of information available in relation to the Waffen-SS.

While the trial of Hitler's fallen elite at Nuremberg has been thoroughly documented, the interval between the Nazis' capture in May and June 1945 and the start of the actual trial in late November has until now remained shrouded in shadow. With Interrogations, acclaimed historian Richard Overy opens a new window into the Third Reich, providing an intimate glimpse of the savage dictatorship in its death throes. More than thirty transcripts of the interrogations are reproduced here for the first time, allowing us to hear the voices of the newly captured "Hitler gang"-including Göring, Speer, and Hess-as they squirmed under the Allies' glare. Interrogations is the stark and disturbing history of defeat; it lays bare as never before the human weaknesses that made the Third Reich possible.

From an award-winning and bestselling historian, the first comprehensive military history in over fifty years of Hitler's famous and infamous personal army: the Waffen-SS. The Waffen-SS was one of the most feared combat organizations of the twentieth century. Originally formed as a protection squad for Adolf Hitler it became the military wing of Heinrich Himmler's SS and a key part of the Nazi state, with nearly 900,000 men passing through its ranks. The Waffen-SS played a crucial role in furthering the aims of the Third Reich which made its soldiers Hitler's political operatives. During its short history, the elite military divisions of the Waffen-SS acquired a reputation for excellence, but their famous battlefield record of success was matched by their repeated and infamous atrocities against both soldiers and civilians. Waffen-SS is the first definitive single-volume military history of the Waffen-SS in more than fifty years. In considering the actions of its leading personalities, including Himmler, Sepp Dietrich, and Otto Skorzeny, and analyzing its specialist training and ideological outlook, eminent historian Adrian Gilbert chronicles the battles and campaigns that brought the Waffen-SS both fame and infamy.

SS: Hell on the Western Front describes in vivid detail the exploits of the Waffen-SS in Western Europe from 1940 to 1945 including such infamous Waffen-SS divisions as the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, Das Reich, Hitlerjugend and Totenkopf, illustrated with rare photographs.

The Waffen SS were Hitler's elite forces during WWII. They were the forces that were feared by the enemy and praised by their allies. During the Nuremberg Trials, the Waffen SS was condemned as part of a criminal organization, however, the Nuremberg Trials exempted conscripts from that condemnation. On several occasions, the Waffen SS was criticized by Heer commanders for their reckless disregard for casualties while taking or holding objectives, however, the Waffen SS divisions eventually proved themselves as capable soldiers. The poor initial performance was mainly due to the emphasis on political indoctrination rather than proper military training before the war. Despite this, the experience gained from the Polish, French, and Balkan campaigns and the peculiarly egalitarian form of training soon turned Waffen SS units into elite formations. These are the stories of the men that once were part of this elite force, not to glorify the Nazi regime or crimes committed by them, but to give them a voice too.

The second volume of the definitive history of the 14th Waffen-Grenadier Division der SS (Ukrainische Nr 1). The lavishly illustrated concluding volume of the division's history features chapters on its reformation, deployment against Communist-backed partisans in Slovakia, the forced march to Slovenia, anti-partisan action against Tito's partisans in Slovenia and its committal for the final time on the Eastern Front against the Red Army in Austria. It concludes with an investigation into the Division's escape from repatriation a subject which has long been the subject of contention amongst historians. This volume also deals with internment and ends with its unique post war fate including new information about the secret role of MI6 in training former members of the Division for secret espionage activities behind the Iron Curtain. Drawing on an unsurpassed collection of material accumulated over decades of research, the author offers unique photographic sections on all aspects of the Divisions history including uniform details together with much hitherto unseen material featuring recent document discoveries, new veteran testimonies and detailed information on every aspect of the Division.

Accounts of what it was like to command a tank in combat Contains maps, official documents, newspaper clippings, and orders of battle Volume Two follows Michael Wittmann and his unit into Normandy to defend against the Allied invasion. A week after D-Day, Wittmann achieved his greatest success. On June 13, 1944, near Villers Bocage, the panzer ace and his crew attacked a British armored unit, single-handedly destroying more than a dozen tanks and preventing an enemy breakthrough. The exploit made Wittmann a national hero in Germany and a legend in the annals of war. He was killed two months later while attempting to repulse an Allied assault, but the book continues beyond his death until the Leibstandarte's surrender.

A front line soldier from the Wallonian (French-speaking Belgian) volunteer Waffen-SS campaign on the Eastern Front during World War II provides a gripping, blood-drenched and shocking account of his part in the greatest land war in human history. From the opening days of the invasion of the Soviet Union, the drive to the Caucasus in 1942, the encirclement of the Cherkassy Pocket and the desperate fighting retreat across the Ukraine and the Baltics, this book recounts the awful cost paid by both sides in the war. Degrelle, leader of Belgium's Rexist party, volunteered as a private and eventually rose to one of the highest ranks ever held by a non-German in the Waffen-SS. Details of his daring escape to exile in Spain at the end of the war rounds off this work. This book is for anyone interested in the soldier's point of view from the frontline: a raw, bloody, uncensored and brutal account which provides a rare insight into the conflict and is guaranteed to leave the reader emotionally drained-and filled with hope that such a conflict may never again curse any European nation. Contents Introduction Preface by the Author Chapter One: Rush to the Ukraine Chapter Two: Winter in the Donets Chapter Three: The Battle of Kharkov Chapter Four: To the Caucasus on Foot Chapter Five: Dug In on the Dnieper Chapter Six: Surrounded at Cherkassy Chapter Seven: The Epic of Estonia Chapter Eight: The Safety Valve of the Ardennes Chapter Nine: Fight to the Death in Pomerania Chapter Ten: The Agony of the Baltic Chapter Eleven: "Alea Jacta Est." Glossary Footnotes