The SS: Hitler's Instrument of Terror

by Gordon Williamson

Book Overview

Non-Fiction

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0760781680
• ISBN13: 9780760781685
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 4.00 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Excellent companion to any WWII History book

Comprehensive, profusely illustrated, reader-friendly, concise, nice size edition and clear in its exposition. In about 250 pages Mr. Williamson covers the whole history of these special troops, in all their aspects. Reviewing all its divisions, commanders, foreign nationalities that were incorporated into them, the weapons, the battles, their most talented fighters, etc and without losing the thread of his story: a most remarkable thing. Of course this is no eulogy of the SS, it tells of the barbarities committed as well as the acts of true heroism in battle by some of their soldiers. This is a great history. One can follow their main divisions from their inception long before the war, and how they grew in size and experience parallel to the national circumstances of Germany herself. The role played by Himmler's crackpot ethnic theories were debunked by sheer necessity of man force: many of its finest soldiers were indeed non-Germans. One feels compelled to read more about this ignominiuos personage, Himmler, as he really was a weird (and evil) guy. On the positive side are outstanding acts of sheer valor and heroism of some soldiers who really deserve to remain in any military history of this war. Some passages of course overlap with the Wehrmacht, since they fought side by side many times, but both the detailed analysis and the wider scope of the SS role are present in this book. Nothing relevant is missing here. A great history book and an engrossing read.

Good basic overview

A 101 course on the history of the Waffen SS. Some good stories about medal-winning actions & good pictures. A very quick read.

... based on Krätschmer's opus

As you might expect with Williamson this slim volume comprises a brief history of the Waffen SS 'im Einsatz' basing its minimalist battle accounts around the exploits of the individual Ritterkreuzträger....this chronology is essentially how Krätschmer has ordered his massive Knights Cross holders book. I rate it a useful primer for those getting into the subject and not a bad read at all.

Very Informative and readable

This book is a must read for anyone interested in world war 2 and the rise and fall of the third reich. Unlike many illustrated world war 2 books this book is very readable. Of particular interest to me was the chapter "Hitler's Foreign Legions" on the foreign component that served in the SS. It may come as a surprise to many to learn that hundreds of thousands of Dutch, Belgian, French, Norwegian, Finnish, Danish, Hungarian, Romanian, Croatian, Serbian, Swedish, Italian, Ukraine, Albanian, Russian, Bulgarian and Bosnian nationalities voluntered and fought for the Germans in the ranks of the waffen SS Divisions. There was even a small contingent of British ex-POWs a few of whom fought in the Third Reich's final cataclysm in Berlin. Odly many of the foreign volunteers were from races distinctly non-aryan - a massive contradiction with the racial politics of Himmler, Hitler and the Nazis. The book outlines the beginnings of the SS through the years of German victories and then of German defeats to the destruction of the SS in the collapse of the Third Reich.

Excellent summary of SS history with good piccies.

An emensely valuable contribution to the scholarship covering the Allgemeine-SS and Waffen-SS. A must for readers with a general interest in the history of this subject and for those with specialist interests. The only fault, from an academic approach, is the lack of footnotes and/or endnotes.