SA Generals and Rohm books

[darrenbate]

Has anyone read the following books and are they worth paying the money for?
SA Generals The Rise of Nazism
The Ernst Rohm Memoirs
Hitler's Gay Traitor The Story of Ernst Rohm
Thanks

[chrischa]

Hello.

The SA Generals an Rise of Nazism is good information to the heirachy of the SA. There is real depth to where these men came from and how they became leaders.

For me though, not enough anecdotal content and perhaps too much statistical content.

I'm still glad to have it in my personal library.

Chris.

[chrischa]

BTW, Jill Halcombs 'The SA, a Historical Perspective' is quite good for SA history (as the name suggests!).

Some say it has a few mistakes in it, but never what the mistakes are. I think it is more in relation to insignia.

Chris.

[darrenbate]

BTW, Jill Halcombs 'The SA, a Historical Perspective' is quite good for SA history (as the name suggests!).

Some say it has a few mistakes in it, but never what the mistakes are. I think it is more in relation to insignia.

Chris.

Thanks Chris. Copies of the Halcomb SA book go for about £50 these days!
Is it worth forking out serious cash for?

[Dmv]

Thanks Chris. Copies of the Halcomb SA book go for about £50 these days!
Is it worth forking out serious cash for?

If you're into insignia: Yes!

[chrischa]

Hello.

£50? That is a lot. I bought mine on the estand before Christmas for £20.

I think if you're after it for insignia, I'd save and buy Cloth Insignia of the NSDAP and SA, but this is going for around £100 - £120 at the moment.

Don't overlook the Osprey Men at Arms SA book. I know it's pretty basic but covers the essential information.

Regards,
Chris.

[Erich B.]

I would not recommend the Halcomb book unless you can find it for a low price. The history section is not particularly accurate and is very general, a la Wikipedia. I bought it for the photos of Dick Deeter's sleeveband collection. The other useful aspects are the flag section, which has some good photos, and the SA group map in the back.
Chris's comments on the Osprey book and SA Generals book are spot on. A new set of references by Mike Miller about the SA Generals is forthcoming (I'm not sure when but it should be within a year from what I understand) and will surely be an indispensable addition to any SA collector's library.
Erich

[darrenbate]

We really are in need of a new concise SA book without a doubt. This impotant Third Reich organization seems to be woefully under represented in the book publishing world.

[darrenbate]

There is a new SA book listed on amazon coming this October.
Stormtroopers:A New History of Hitlers Brownshirts
504 pages by Daniel Siemens from Yale University Press.

He wrote the book on Horst Wessel. Anybody get/read that one - was it any good?
Thanks.

[Erich B.]

Daniel Siemens' Horst Wessel book is the first and last word on Wessel, his history, the background, his family, his death, the investigation, the murderers, etc. I can't see how any book will ever be able to top this one on the subject.
I knew he was working on an SA history but he wasn't sure if or when when it would be completed, so I'm very glad to hear he has wrapped it up. The new book should be a must have for anyone interested in the SA. I'm hopeful that it will include a decent amount of information about the post 30. June 1934 SA but I suspect the bulk of the volume will cover primarily up to the period immediately after the purge.
Erich

[squidney86]

I have not heard of Siemens' Horst Wessel work until this thread. I will definitely be finding a copy now. I am on the boat as Erich in hopes that his latest work will have more information of the post purge SA. For whatever reason, the SA is written off in works after that point.

I have learned in my few years of collecting SA that in the sense of making a publication on SA insignia alone would be a very tough job. Early regulations changes often. It would probably need to be a multi volume sort of work. Hopefully one day some new material will come.

Sydney

[chrischa]

I have not heard of Siemens' Horst Wessel work until this thread. I will definitely be finding a copy now. I am on the boat as Erich in hopes that his latest work will have more information of the post purge SA. For whatever reason, the SA is written off in works after that point.

I have learned in my few years of collecting SA that in the sense of making a publication on SA insignia alone would be a very tough job. Early regulations changes often. It would probably need to be a multi volume sort of work. Hopefully one day some new material will come.

Sydney

Hello Sydney.

The Siemen book is a must if you have an interest in Wessel in my opinion. Do a search on Hans Westmar on this site, there's a bit about the book in that thread.

Cheers
Chris.

[darrenbate]

Thanks everybody. I think that I will buy a copy of his Horst Wessel book now as well.

[darrenbate]

Purchased the book Hitler's Sormtroopers: The SA The Nazis Brownshirts 1922-1945 by Jean-Denis Lepage and wish that I had not. Very lightweight overview with numerous errors and drawings of uniforms, medals and daggers etc. The worst £15 that I have spent in a while - serves me right for buying blind. Still waiting for a good book on the SA.

[Erich B.]

If you are looking for a book that is about the history of the SA, there is a new one coming out by Daniel Siemens, who wrote the definitive (IMO) biography of Horst Wessel. It can be pre-ordered through Amazon and is called:
Stormtroopers: A New History of Hitler's Brownshirts.
I haven't seen it but it's by one of the authors whose books I would buy sight unseen.
The books (volume 2 will be available soon) by Michael D. Miller (who is a member here) and Andreas Schulz : "Leaders of the Stormtroops" are the definitive works (again, IMO) for biographical information about the highest leaders of the SA. The amount of research done is incredible.
Erich