The members of the SS and German Police who received the Third Reich's highest military award have received extensive coverage from the earliest years of World War II research, however previous attempts at documenting all the Ritterkreuzträger (Knight's Cross holders) of the Waffen-SS have been highly selective in the degree of coverage allocated to each recipient, with much focus being granted to select luminaries and very little to those deemed more obscure or controversial. These earlier works, the best known of them authored by Waffen-SS veterans, have also largely reflected the political opinions of their authors rather than presenting the facts alone. In this first volume, intended as a handy reference for the use of historians and militaria collectors alike, the author presents rare and useful biographical data, derived primarily from SS personnel files and other contemporary documentation, on 178 SS and Police recipients of the Ritterkreuz. Lavishly illustrated, it contains hundreds of diverse and often striking photographs of the recipients covered. As noted military historian Hugh Page Taylor writes, '[This] fine reference [that] Mike Miller has now made available is a great relief, one I know I share with others seriously, objectively and without bias interested in the men of the Waffen-SS and Police.'

This extensive, two-volume set presents every recipient of the Knight's Cross with Oakleaves, awarded during the Second World War, and presented personally by Hitler from 1940 until 1945. Described inside - and shown with at least one photograph - are each of the 889 recipients from the Luftwaffe, Heer, Waffen-SS, and Kriegsmarine, as well as foreign recipients. This work contains over 1000 photographs, from the author's own collection as well as other private collections. This is first time such a work has been written in the English language and is a must for anyone interested in Germany's highest decoration, as well as anyone interested in the careers of each recipient.

In 1939 a new grade in the Iron Cross series was introduced, the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). It was awarded for a variety of reasons, from skilled leadership to a single act of extreme gallantry, and was bestowed across all ranks, grades, and branches of service. As the war progresed, further distinctions were created for bestowal on existing winners, namely Oak-Leaves (Eichenlaub); Oak-Leaves with Swords (Eichenlaub und Schwertern); and Oak-Leaves with Swords and Diamonds (Eichenlaub, Schwerter und Brillanten). This book, the first in a sequence of four, covers winners of the Knights Cross and the Oak-Leaves distinction in the period 1939-40.

The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, to give it its full name, owes its origins to the Pour le Merite (Blue Max), an imperial award dating back to 1740. The Complete Knight's Cross is the only book to tell the story of all 7,364 men who were awarded it (including all the disputed awards). The book has over 200 photos of holders of the medal and over 100 photos of their graves. Volume One deals with 1939-41 (numbers 1-1267) and is subtitled The Years of Victory. Volume Two deals with 1942-43 (numbers 1268-3685) and is subtitled The Years of Stalemate. Volume Three deals with 1944-45 (numbers 3686-7364) and is subtitled The Years of Defeat. The recipients are listed in the order of the date of award. Each entry starts with the recipients rank and name, followed by details of the action or actions for witch they were awarded it. Other interesting facts and stories are also included for many of them. Finally their burial locations, where known are given. Any higher awards (Oak Leaves, Swords, Diamonds and the ultimate Golden award) are also covered.

A pictorial overview of recipients of Nazi Germany’s military award for bravery. Knight’s Cross Winners of the Waffen-SS details some of the most-decorated personalities of that infamous organization. Rare photos, including a mix of studio portraits and shots taken in the field, portray prominent members of the SS’s military branch during World War II including Sepp Dietrich, who went from serving as Adolf Hitler’s driver and bodyguard to being elected to the Reichstag; Dachau commandant Theodor Eicke; and tank commander Michael Wittmann.

No dictator can effectively govern a nation on his own. This was certainly the case with Adolf Hitler, who had little time for or interest in the day-to-day regional administration of the Nazi Party. For that purpose, he appointed his most loyal, charismatic, and brutal subordinates: The Little Hitlers , officially known as Gauleiters. In this third volume of a series begun in 2012, Michael Miller and Andreas Schulz present, in meticulous detail, the lives, careers, and crimes of 37 such men. Included are several whose wartime career paths took them outside of their home provinces and led to widespread oppression and terror outside the borders of the Reich. Among these were Fritz Sauckel, who presided over the roundup of millions for slave labor in the Reich, Josef Terboven who oppressed the people of Norway with uncompromising brutality for five years, and Gustav Simon who ruthlessly Germanized Luxembourg. Perhaps most notorious of all was Julius Streicher, whose virulent attacks- in writing and at the podium- made him the unofficial face of anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany.

The story of Western Front from a German perspective ranges from the collapse of the Normandy line in the summer of 1944 until the Germans were able to bring the Allied juggernaut to a halt on the borders of the Reich itself.

In the Third Reich, political dissidents were not the only ones liable to be punished for their crimes. Their parents, siblings and relatives also risked reprisals. This concept - known as Sippenhaft – was based in ideas of blood and purity. This definitive study surveys the threats, fears and infliction of this part of the Nazi system of terror.