In Good Faith: The History of the 4th SS-Polizei-Panzer-Grenadier-Division

[ErichK]

Thinking of getting the 2 vol. set.
Has anyone read them yet?
are they worth the investment?

[Mil-Archive]

Thinking of getting the 2 vol. set.
Has anyone read them yet?
are they worth the investment?

Yes they are well worth it, I thought they are fantastic. Among the best books on WW2 I have read. The maps are a little tough to follow and I found some passages needed to be read over again but they are absolutely fantastic.

Throughout the books the author Friedrich husemann (who is a SS POl Div Veteran) makes use of other veterans stories so that every couple of dozen pages it breaks into first person narration from one veteran or another telling some incredible anecdote. This means that in addition to the more higher level overview of the progression of the Division there is an nitty gritty view of the day to day realities. The only drawback for me (speaking of the English language version) is the lack of an index, so for example if you want to find a particular Pol.Btl in say Kampfgruppe Jeckeln this is mentioned in the books but not indexed.

[pasoleati]

Excellent books, I'd say with one issue: that Pole Waldemar Trojca should never be allowed to edit and design another book in his life! He also screwed up JJF's TK-Tigers book.

[chrischa]

I have them both.

I agree with the above, the translation leaves a lot to be desired (why use one word when you can use eight!).

I would have preferred more anecdotal content to break up the acedemic text but that is my opinion. I would also have preferred more divisional history such as more detail on police careers, how the division was formed, etc.

Maybe I missed some of this but the index would certainly help.

[MarcRikmenspoel]

I recommend both volumes. There's very good detail you won't find elsewhere in English on several battles. In particular, the Volkhov Pocket, the three Battles of Lake Ladoga, and the fighting around arad and Timisoara in the autumn of 1944.

The Osprey Campaign volume on the Siege of Leningrad is particularly helpful for following the various battles in that sector, which can be a bit confusing in the Polizei Division history. Also, there's a photo volume that was originally published as the third volume of the divisional history. It's German-only, but worth tracking down for anyone who enjoys the text volumes.

[ErichK]

Thanks for the feedback, I've gone ahead and ordered both volumes.