WAFFEN-SS AT WAR

by A.J. Barker

Despite the passing years, World War II still casts a giant shadow over the present day, even over those too young to have experienced the conflict. This fact is reflected in the continued publication of books on a variety of World War II topics and battle units. Among the many military formations of the period there is one that, justifiably, arouses particularly strong emotions, the Waffen-SS. Feared as ferocious adversaries and despised as war criminals, the fighting arm of the SS seems to sum up all that was evil in Hitler's Nazi regime. It was a major reason why almost unquestioningly the Waffen-SS became the Nazi's instrument in a number of horrific atrocities, which saw the SS branded as war criminals at the Nuremberg trials.

This book does not attempt to analyze the rights and wrongs of the arguments or to glorify the Waffen-SS. It is a record of the formation's campaigns, training and equipment, illuminated by first-hand accounts and a superb collection of photographs from the files of the Historical Research Unit.

128 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1982

About the author

Lieutenant Colonel Arthur James Barker

Reviews

[Robert Hepple · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published in 1982, 'Waffen SS At War' is one of many in the 'At War' series of military books originally published by Ian Allan. This volume looks at the various WW2 campaigns in which the Waffen-SS were involved in the fighting, with a basic text summary and accompanied by over 150 well chosen, though indifferently captioned photos. The text seems to try hard to minimise dwelling on the various atrocities attributed to the Waffen-SS during their military activities with a few small exceptions. To me, this seems like a blatant case of ignoring the 'Elephant in the Room'. Nevertheless, in other respects it makes interesting reading.