Ss: Hitler's Foreign Divisions : Foreign Volunteers in the Waffen Ss 1941-45

The divisions of the Waffen-SS were the elite of Hitler's armies in World War II, but the most fanatical of them were not even German. SS: Hitler's Foreign Divisions is an in-depth examination of the approximately 350,000 foreign volunteers from German-occupied countries. Despite their non-Germanic background, the Norwegians, Dutch, Danes, Belgians, Swedes, Swiss, Ukrainians and other nationalities, often motivated by an extreme anti-Communist zeal, fought hard on the Eastern Front for the Nazi cause, even when their position was hopeless. The book explores the background to their recruitment and describes on a unit-by-unit basis their structure and combat record in the war. Boxes provide insight into key events, insignia and personalities attached to each unit. Often treated badly by their German commanders, the foreign SS units were not all excellent combat formations, however. Some, like the British and Indian volunteers, were of use for propaganda value only, while others such as the notorious Dirlewanger Brigade were murderous criminals in uniform. Illustrated with rare photographs, and with an authoritative text, SS: Hitler's Foreign Divisions is a definitive history of the foreign units who fought for Hitler and Germany in World War II.