The Waffen SS: Hitler's Elite Guard at War, 1939-45

The Waffen SS: Hitler's Elite Guard at War, 1939-45
by George H. Stein

The Waffen SS: Hitler's Elite Guard at War, 1939-45
List Price: $19.95
Our Price: $14.99
You Save: $4.96 (25%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $8.50 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: George H. Stein
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1984-03-30
ISBN: 0801492750
Number of pages: 366
Publisher: Cornell University Press

Book Reviews of The Waffen SS: Hitler's Elite Guard at War, 1939-45

Book Review: Elite warriors, brutal murderers - deserving of both titles
Summary: 5 Stars

"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 simply butchers. Yet equally unfair would be a claim that the Waffen SS was simply an army free of guilt. When it comes to connections between the Waffen SS and the holocaust the story is one mostly of semantics. As Stein points out it is beyond doubt that the SS represented the system by which Hitler attempted (and nearly succeeded) to murder all of the European jews and other "Untermensch" (subhumans). It is also clear that many of the units involved were, at least on paper, part of the Waffen SS. Moreover, much of the concentration camp staff turn over was between the camps and the front lines. Yet it is not at all clear that fighting units of the Waffen SS were directly involved in these acts. Thus it becomes an issue of semantics because it depends upon how one defines "Waffen SS". Again this is not to say that Stein presents an apologist view or one of strict and total condemnation. In fact Stein presents a picture in which the facts are presented and the reader is free to define the culprits for themselves.

In the final section Stein gives a very concise and extremely well written summary. This section itself is worth the price of the book. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Stein is liberal in his use of sources and yet it also becomes clear that Gerald Reitlinger's "SS: Alibi of a Nation" is one he favors and must feel captures much of the story of the SS (although not in the concise manner in which Stein sets out to do - as he states right up front). This is a five star effort worth a read!!!

Germany Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Germany Books
Hitler 1889-1936: Hubris ImageHitler 1889-1936: Hubris
by Ian Kershaw
E-Penguin; Published: 2002-10-04; Hardcover; Book
Hitler 1889-1936: Hubris Ebook ImageHitler 1889-1936: Hubris Ebook
by Ian Kershaw
E-Penguin; Published: 2001-12-07; Hardcover; Book
Hitler 1936-1945: Vol 2 ImageHitler 1936-1945: Vol 2
by Ian Kershaw
E-Penguin Press; Published: 2002-01-11; Hardcover; Book
The Face of the Third Reich (Pelican) ImageThe Face of the Third Reich (Pelican)
by Joachim C. Fest
Penguin Books Ltd; Published: 1972; Paperback; Book
Dynamics of Nazism (Studies in Social Discontinuity) ImageDynamics of Nazism (Studies in Social Discontinuity)
by Fred Weinstein
Academic Pr; Published: 1980-09; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops: $40.00
Arrows of the Almighty: The Most Extraordinary True Spy Story of World War II ImageArrows of the Almighty: The Most Extraordinary True Spy Story of World War II
by Michael Bar-Zohar
Macmillan Pub Co; Published: 1985-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $39.11
Hitler: the Fuhrer and the People ImageHitler: the Fuhrer and the People
by J.P. Stern
Fontana Press; Published: 1989; Paperback; Book
Foreign Field ImageForeign Field
by Ben MacIntyre
Harper Collins Pb; Published: 2002-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $42.70
History of the German Jews ImageHistory of the German Jews
by Amos Elon
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd; Published: 2002-10-05; Hardcover; Book
Heisenberg's War: The Secret History Of The German Bomb ImageHeisenberg's War: The Secret History Of The German Bomb
by Thomas Powers
Da Capo Press; Published: 2000-08-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops: $27.50
Similar Books and other products
Hitler's Hangman: The Life of Heydrich ImageHitler's Hangman: The Life of Heydrich
by Robert Gerwarth
Yale University Press; Published: 2011-11-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $20.94
Price in other shops: $35.00
Ss-Totenkopf: The History of the 'Death's Head' Division 1940-45 ImageSs-Totenkopf: The History of the 'Death's Head' Division 1940-45
by Chris Mann, Arthur Donaldson
Motorbooks Intl; Published: 2001-03-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $21.99
Price in other shops: $24.95
Heinrich Himmler: A Life ImageHeinrich Himmler: A Life
by Peter Longerich
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2012-01-13; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $20.64
Price in other shops: $34.95
The Forgotten Soldier ImageThe Forgotten Soldier
by Guy Sajer
Potomac Books Inc.; Published: 2001-10-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.91
Price in other shops: $19.95
The SS: Alibi of a Nation, 1922-1945 ImageThe SS: Alibi of a Nation, 1922-1945
by Gerald Reitlinger
Da Capo Press; Published: 1989-03-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.50
Price in other shops: $22.00
Black Edelweiss: A Memoir of Combat and Conscience by a Soldier of the Waffen-SS ImageBlack Edelweiss: A Memoir of Combat and Conscience by a Soldier of the Waffen-SS
by Johann Voss
The Aberjona Press; Published: 2002-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.47
Price in other shops: $19.95
Masters of Death: The SS-Einsatzgruppen and the Invention of the Holocaust ImageMasters of Death: The SS-Einsatzgruppen and the Invention of the Holocaust
by Richard Rhodes
Vintage; Published: 2003-08-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.90
Price in other shops: $17.00
Waffen-SS Encyclopedia ImageWaffen-SS Encyclopedia
by Marc Rikmenspoel
The Aberjona Press; Published: 2004-11-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.40
Price in other shops: $19.95
Soldiers of Destruction ImageSoldiers of Destruction
by Charles W. Sydnor Jr.
Princeton University Press; Published: 1990-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $18.38
Price in other shops: $30.95
The Order of the Death's Head: The Story of Hitler's SS (Classic Military History) ImageThe Order of the Death's Head: The Story of Hitler's SS (Classic Military History)
by Heinz Zollin Höhne
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2001-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.00
Price in other shops: $25.00
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories