Soldiers of Destruction: The SS Death's Head Division, 1933-1945

[Rolf D.]

Hey all! I'm reading this book right now for my WWII History class at college and just wanted to let everyone know that it's a great read.

The 3rd SS division was one of the many divisions to fight in Army Group North under Leeb, but the seem to be the toughest of the group losing nearly half their fighting strength but holding out against the suicidal Russian attacks.

When I'm done, I can give a full review.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask, I'll answer them as best I can.

I also got a 97% on my midterm-50 out of 50 for my essay and 47 out of 50 for my short answer identification questions! I kicked that mid term in the butt!

Anyways, so far its a good read and I'm arriving at the chapter dealing with the Demyansk Pocket.

Are there any other similar books out there dealing with the Nederland division or perhaps Heer groups?

[Adrian Stevenson]

It is many years since I read it but I can certainly recommend this book. Although it is very dated now.

Cheers, Ade.

[behblc]

Like Ade.

Like Ade . it is a long time since I read it - back then I used to write the date on books I bought - have stopped doing that pretty much , lets see ..... September 1984 .

Ade. , what were you doing in September 1984 ?
( I was working in Belfast City Hospital ).

As I recall it was a good read , must admit I have not used it in some time - I have another here "Like a Cliff in the Ocean" also on "Totenkopf" but as yet it has not been read.I have found that as I have "aged" I tend to read less in isloation , only thing is its bloody expensive .
My youngest girl is now doing "A levels" ( or whatever they are now called ) , quite a bit of Dad's "junk" is now proving useful to her.

Well done on the exam results .

[Mark Mac]

Yes, a very good book. I recently read it (within the past year). I was struck by the severity the discipline that was given for apparently such minor infractions in the Division. I assume, from the book, that it was pretty harsh as compared to the other formations of the Waffen SS and Heer.

[Mark C. Yerger]

Has more fact mistakes (and glaring errors) than any other SS book I've seen, and was never corrected. Wrong formation unt numbers and base level knowledge mistakes (Otto Baum not a Diamonds winner). Author does ride his "author of" banner with it on the history channel though far better books done on 3SS in the decades since it was released. Its for kids compared to more recent efforts.

Mark C. Yerger

[behblc]

In the late 1970's when it first came out it was one of the few Divisional histoires around in english as Mark says some of the content may need to be reviewed - one I have not openned in some years.

[Larry deZeng]

Has more fact mistakes (and glaring errors) than any other SS book I've seen, and was never corrected. Wrong formation unt numbers and base level knowledge mistakes (Otto Baum not a Diamonds winner). Author does ride his "author of" banner with it on the history channel though far better books done on 3SS in the decades since it was released. Its for kids compared to more recent efforts.
Mark C. Yerger

Professor Charles Sydnor went on to greater glory too, becoming an "expert" witness for the Justice Department's Office of Special Investigations (OSI) in deportation hearings back in the late 1980s and through the 1990s. He was the OSI's "big gun" in convincing the courts of the "bottomless evil" of anyone who had ever belonged to SS-Totenkopf or to any other SS units that were part of that lineage, especially the SS-Totenkopf-Btle. that guarded the camps. As a result of his testimony - both in person and in depositions - more than several of the naturalized Americans who were targets of the OSI were deported.

--Larry

[Bcarver]

btt

I have to agree with Mark, this book is full of glaring mistakes and outdated. IMO the author makes it clear he has an axe to grind with the SS-T div. He reminds me of someone who regurgitates the same "history" that was fed to him, then calling it research.

[Andy Harris]

It was one of the first books i read on the Waffen-SS. I was fairly uninformed at the time, so did not notice any of the innaccuracies.

[Mark C. Yerger]

As I wrote, he uses the "author of" constantly on the History Channel where he seems to be an "expert" on most anything. There are lots of people more qualified, and more advanced in their research, to comment on topics he undertakes. But he is a "scholar" and used the book's manuscript as a university thesis. As I've said, if "Totenkopf" is your interest you can spend you money better elsewhere on various aspects of the unit.

[stgeorge64]

I read this book in the mid 1980's and as rightly pointed out, at the time in the pre-internet days, it was considered a good account of the T-Div.

However, as time has moved on and research tools improved beyond belief from those days, it is inevitable that it has become outdated.

A comprehensive update would be welcome, although more accurate accounts are already in print.

Regards Richard.

[Bobwirtz]

Yes, a very good book. I recently read it (within the past year). I was struck by the severity the discipline that was given for apparently such minor infractions in the Division. I assume, from the book, that it was pretty harsh as compared to the other formations of the Waffen SS and Heer.

The Totenkopf Division was so harsh that many men volunteered to go other duties. The SS-Fallschirmjager-Battalions 500/600 were penal units, which were filled by VOLUNTEERS from the Totenkopf Division, including it's commanding officer. Must be pretty bad when people volunteer to units in which the survival rate was so low.

To me the title of the book smirks of somebody who has already taken a stand or position. I think that Chris Ailsby does the same thing... take history that has already been beaten to death, finds a few new photographs, which by the way have incorrect captions, and publishes them. This leads everybody to the conclusion that he is an authority on the subject matter. He just is selling book after book for the money, much unlike the late Mike Beaver who published because he loved this stuff. I'm betting that Mark Yerger does the same thing... Mark, I'm betting that Ailsby is making more money on his inaccurate rehashing old history than your brilliant pieces!

Bob

[Larry deZeng]

Bob wrote:

He just is selling book after book for the money, much unlike ........

Don't forget the old supply and demand graph, Bob. If there was no demand, there would be no supply. The fast buck shysters like Ailsby and hundreds of others could and should be stopped before their slop hits the presses, but most publishers today are so busy trying to keep their heads above water that they will publish just about anything if they think it will sell. So I put as much blame on the publishers for not vetting the pseudo authors before going to press as I do on the authors themselves. Down 12% worldwide since 1990, the publishing industry is rapidly regressing and not a good place to be today. Still, that's no excuse for deceiving the public, is it?

--Larry

[Mark C. Yerger]

In most books you get what you pay for. Trust me, there is no financial profit in the detailed type I do if material costs, time, etc are factored into what is paid. But I never did anything for the money. Never will, its not enough motivation for all the time and effort to detail anything. As for Aislby and others: no comment. As for the book mentioned in this thread: as I said other texts are superior on various aspects of "Totenkopf." But many readers simply aren't aware of them. For battle aspects of the Waffen-SS, first 2 books I'd buy are by George Nipe. Nobody is more accurate or corrects more old mistakes than he does. His 3rd should be out in 2008.

[Rolf D.]

I'm reading it because it was an assigned reading. If there are any other books that would be better on the topic, I'd appreciate knowing so I can inform my professor.

Part of the thing though is he wanted us to get a scope of what the fighting cost in human lives and amount of destroyed equipment.