Being there . . . . for the first in a two-volume set of more than 100 biographical sketches of themost senior Waffen-SS commanders in World War II. And, military buffs, enthusiasts, andaficionados must admit, no matter how or which way they cut it, units of the WAFFEN-SS weresome of the most successful and influential combat formations produced by any warring nationin the past century. Their abilities and accomplishments in defense, offense, and, yes, evensystematic murder, are supposed to be “legendry“. Virtually, all insisted they fought fair underthe Geneva Convention. Yet the Convention was rarely recalled, leading to the worst crueltiesand most horrific-notorious killings, as vivid today, 8-9 decades later, as when they were firstperpetrated, lest the world forget. At last, thanks to renown historian-author, Mark C. Yerger,and, of course, the equally exalted editors of famed SCHIFFER MILITARY HISTORY, we learn notonly the details of each man’s pre-Third Reich era service in civil and military posts, includingpromotions, assignments and decorations, but also the 1939-1945 official documentedrecollections of his combat actions that resulted in the bestowal of the highest awards, theKnight’s Cross and German Cross in Gold. Heavily documented, their individual stories, aided byvoluminous numbers of photos, continue until all the commanders’ eventual fates are revealed.In a subsequent review, this reviewer will introduce Volume 2. Imagine the joy of the WWIIreader-bibliophile opening a heavy, 50-pound Christmas gift to find Volumes 1 and 2 for hispersonal library.Reviewed and very highly recommended as a special WWII Christmas gift by Don DeNevi“WAFFEN-SS COMMANDERS – – The Army, Corps and Divisional Leaders of a Legend, Augsbergerto Kreutz”, by Mark C. Yerger. SCHIFFER MILITARY HISTORY, Atglen, PA: originally published in1997, republished, 2024, 376 pages, 8 ¾” x 11 ¼”, several hundred b & w photos each, $59.95.Visit, www.schifferbooks.com, ph: 610-593-1777.Of course, serious readers know the SS (Schutzstaffeln, or Protection Squad) became from 20July 1934 to the bitter end an independent organization within the German National Socialist,or Nazi Party (NSDAP). Like no other institution of the Third Reich, the SS represented the utterarrogance of Nazi ideology and the criminal nature of Hitler’s regime. Of all the activities of theSS, the Black Order, penetration into the military prerogative of the Army (Wehrmacht), whileunspectacular at first, eventually had the greater impact on the German war effort. By the timeof the suicide of Hitler, May 1945, there were 800,000 men formed into 38 divisions, 25 % ofwhom sooner or would be later be killed in battle. The Waffen units-formations fought on allbattle fronts with the exception of North Africa under Rommel. In this Volume, and theforthcoming Volume 2, are revealed and examined the many divisional commanders who hadpreviously remained unknown except by the men they led. Included are the commanders whohad risen through the ranks upon graduating from the SS officer school system. Along withnumerous private archive sources in the U.S, and Europe, more than a dozen former divisionalcommanders still alive contributed information and personal photos (400+ of them). Order ofbattle charts with an explanation of symbols provided detail the units themselves. With apriceless Foreword by Otto Kumm, the highly decorated final commander of the“Leibstandarte”, this absorbing initial volume fills a significant knowledge-void in virtually no
information on the middle-level commanders of the Waffen SS. Better to order it now before
the tinselly period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day arrives, before both volumes are
all spoken for.
