A THREE-PART CASEMATE-SCHIFFER SERIES EYEWITNESSING THE MANY SIDES Of HITLER’S WAR
Reviewed and highly recommended by Don DeNevi
Part One, Monday
“Twelve Years with Hitler – – A History of 1. Kompanie Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, 1933-1945”, by the 1. Kompanie LAH Veteran’s Association, edited by Hans Quassowski. Distributed by Schiffer Military History: 383 pages, maps, 100+ photos; $69.95.
“Those They Left Behind . . . World War II Photographs of German Soldiers with their Wives, Families, and Sweethearts – – Kriegsmarine, Heer, Luftwaffe, NSDAP, SS, Polizei, SA, HJ”, by Frank Holford and Branislav Radovic. Schiffer LTD Military History: 210 pages; $60.
Hey, literate World War II insomniac, if you’re the sort of reader who relishes unusual Nazi war subjects with surprising, usually shocking, drama written by those with fresh, unsuspecting eyes for unsparing detail, preciseness of facts, and economy of words and language, consider the two titles above, as well as four other titles over the following two day. Detachment with little or no emotion, for or against, is impossible when perusing, for example, “THOSE THEY LEFT BEHIND – World War II Photographs of German Soldiers with their Wives, Families, and Sweethearts”.
This book records in hundreds of photographs, personal and studio, some tinted, the weddings of Germans during the Third Reich period. Some are groups of family and friends. Many of the photos are of weddings by proxy where the marriage ceremony is conducted near the fighting front lines with a picture of the bride, and, on the home front, with a photo of the groom. Often a real helmet was used in place of photograph in the home front weddings. To marry, several requirements had to be met. For example, racial purity had to be proved by examination of the family tree, permission had to be given to marry a foreigner (auslander). In short, the state had to be satisfied and a law was passed in Nuremberg to achieve this.
Of course, ranks and qualifications are shown, as well as changes in uniforms as the war continued. Documents, thank-you letters, brides’ dresses, photos of Hitler’s personal guard assigned to attend, pages from the NSDAP Wedding Service Guides, SS applications to marry documents, and charts illustrating the Nazi Party View on marriages and procuration are presented amid others. When the reader gazes upon the crystal clear-photos of the men and their loved ones, one can’t help but reflect they are real people with hopes, fears, and joys, not just uniforms. They are photographs of the other side of the enemy combat soldier. Very few of the grooms returned to their new brides.
With so little information available on the history in photographs of the 1. Kompanie Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, between 1933 and 1945, “Twelve Years with Hitler” is a welcomed reference source of valuable information and photos for further research since so little is known.
The original cadre of the later Waffen-SS was formed in March 1933 as the “SS Headquarter Guard Berlin.” From the first 117 volunteers emerged more than fifty senior SS officers, all of whom received high decorations for bravery in the 38 Waffen SS divisions that were formed later. Twenty former members of this command alone won the Knight’s Cross and several of them received higher grades of this decoration. In the years of peace, the 1st Company of this elite force took part in the most important functions of the Third Reich as an honored formation. Says author Hans Quassowski, “In World War II, these men fought bravely, sacrificially and loyally on virtually every front. This very impressive book was organized and written by the surviving members,
For Tuesday’s column, Part Two:
“TIGER BATTALION 507”, edited by Helmut Schneider, Foreword by Robert Forczyk.
Greenhill Books, dist. by Casemate: 274 pages; $34.95.
“PANZER ACE – The Memoirs of An Iron Cross Panzer Commander, From Barbarossa to Normandy”, by Richard Freiherr Von Rosen, Foreword by Robert Forczyk. Greenhill Books, dist. by Casemate: 392 pages; $35.
American poster issued July 1943: “KEEP IT UP BROTHER This War’s Not Won By A Damn Sight!”
Being there . . . to acknowledge, applaud, and value honest Word War II reportage, Allied or German . . .
A THREE-PART CASEMATE-SCHIFFER SERIES EYEWITNESSING THE MANY SIDES Of HITLER’S WAR
Reviewed and highly recommended by Don DeNevi
Part One, Monday
“Twelve Years with Hitler - - A History of 1. Kompanie Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, 1933-1945”, by the 1. Kompanie LAH Veteran’s Association, edited by Hans Quassowski. Distributed by Schiffer Military History: 383 pages, maps, 100+ photos; $69.95.
“Those They Left Behind . . . World War II Photographs of German Soldiers with their Wives, Families, and Sweethearts - - Kriegsmarine, Heer, Luftwaffe, NSDAP, SS, Polizei, SA, HJ”, by Frank Holford and Branislav Radovic. Schiffer LTD Military History: 210 pages; $60.
Hey, literate World War II insomniac, if you’re the sort of reader who relishes unusual Nazi war subjects with surprising, usually shocking, drama written by those with fresh, unsuspecting eyes for unsparing detail, preciseness of facts, and economy of words and language, consider the two titles above, as well as four other titles over the following two day. Detachment with little or no emotion, for or against, is impossible when perusing, for example, “THOSE THEY LEFT BEHIND – World War II Photographs of German Soldiers with their Wives, Families, and Sweethearts”.
This book records in hundreds of photographs, personal and studio, some tinted, the weddings of Germans during the Third Reich period. Some are groups of family and friends. Many of the photos are of weddings by proxy where the marriage ceremony is conducted near the fighting front lines with a picture of the bride, and, on the home front, with a photo of the groom. Often a real helmet was used in place of photograph in the home front weddings. To marry, several requirements had to be met. For example, racial purity had to be proved by examination of the family tree, permission had to be given to marry a foreigner (auslander). In short, the state had to be satisfied and a law was passed in Nuremberg to achieve this.
Of course, ranks and qualifications are shown, as well as changes in uniforms as the war continued. Documents, thank-you letters, brides’ dresses, photos of Hitler’s personal guard assigned to attend, pages from the NSDAP Wedding Service Guides, SS applications to marry documents, and charts illustrating the Nazi Party View on marriages and procuration are presented amid others. When the reader gazes upon the crystal clear-photos of the men and their loved ones, one can’t help but reflect they are real people with hopes, fears, and joys, not just uniforms. They are photographs of the other side of the enemy combat soldier. Very few of the grooms returned to their new brides.With so little information available on the history in photographs of the 1. Kompanie Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, between 1933 and 1945, “Twelve Years with Hitler” is a welcomed reference source of valuable information and photos for further research since so little is known.
The original cadre of the later Waffen-SS was formed in March 1933 as the “SS Headquarter Guard Berlin.” From the first 117 volunteers emerged more than fifty senior SS officers, all of whom received high decorations for bravery in the 38 Waffen SS divisions that were formed later. Twenty former members of this command alone won the Knight’s Cross and several of them received higher grades of this decoration. In the years of peace, the 1st Company of this elite force took part in the most important functions of the Third Reich as an honored formation. Says author Hans Quassowski, “In World War II, these men fought bravely, sacrificially and loyally on virtually every front. This very impressive book was organized and written by the surviving members,
For Tuesday’s column, Part Two:
“TIGER BATTALION 507”, edited by Helmut Schneider, Foreword by Robert Forczyk.Greenhill Books, dist. by Casemate: 274 pages; $34.95.
“PANZER ACE – The Memoirs of An Iron Cross Panzer Commander, From Barbarossa to Normandy”, by Richard Freiherr Von Rosen, Foreword by Robert Forczyk. Greenhill Books, dist. by Casemate: 392 pages; $35.American poster issued July 1943: “KEEP IT UP BROTHER This War’s Not Won By A Damn Sight!”
