As Political Soldiers We Face Moscow's Hordes: Dutch Volunteers in the Waffen-SS

As Political Soldiers We Face Moscow's Hordes: Dutch Volunteers in the Waffen-SS

Author: Evertjan van Roekel

Publisher: Vernon Press

Published: 2021-12-06

Total Pages: 396

ISBN-13: 9781648893728

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During the Second World War, approximately 25,000 Dutchmen served within the ranks of the military branch of the German SS: the Waffen-SS. They volunteered to fight to secure the victory of Nazi Germany. These Dutch volunteers fought mainly on the Eastern Front, and to a lesser extent, within their own national borders. After the war, the Allied victors regarded them as part of a criminal organization and jointly responsible for the atrocious transgressions of the Nazi regime. In the Netherlands, these men were reviled, branded as traitors and became pariahs in their own country. Those who had devoted themselves to the Nazi regime caused so much grief to the Netherlands that they had to be held accountable. Despite their military achievements, their reputation was damaged forever. The Netherlands supplied the largest contingent of SS soldiers from the occupied North-western European territories. Who were these people? What led them to enlist, and what were the consequences of their choice? An important part of this study involves the autobiographical texts of nineteen Dutch volunteers in the Waffen-SS. These ego-documents recount their own immediate experiences and are mainly fragments from diaries, but there are also letters, individual notes, and memoirs. The ego-documents are placed within the larger historical context to provide an answer to the question of whether these men were only ideologically motivated and unconditional Nazi sympathizers, and for this, their criminal records are also researched. Among other topics, the book discusses their choice to enlist, their experiences at the front, and their involvement in genocide, providing a new perspective on the Eastern Front.


As political soldiers we face Moscow’s hordes: Dutch volunteers in the Waffen-SS

As political soldiers we face Moscow’s hordes: Dutch volunteers in the Waffen-SS

Author: Evertjan van Roekel

Publisher: Vernon Press

Published: 2022-01-04

Total Pages: 396

ISBN-13: 1648893341

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During the Second World War, approximately 25,000 Dutchmen served within the ranks of the military branch of the German SS: the Waffen-SS. They volunteered to fight to secure the victory of Nazi Germany. These Dutch volunteers fought mainly on the Eastern Front, and to a lesser extent, within their own national borders. After the war, the Allied victors regarded them as part of a criminal organization and jointly responsible for the atrocious transgressions of the Nazi regime. In the Netherlands, these men were reviled, branded as traitors and became pariahs in their own country. Those who had devoted themselves to the Nazi regime caused so much grief to the Netherlands that they had to be held accountable. Despite their military achievements, their reputation was damaged forever. The Netherlands supplied the largest contingent of SS soldiers from the occupied North-western European territories. Who were these people? What led them to enlist, and what were the consequences of their choice? An important part of this study involves the autobiographical texts of nineteen Dutch volunteers in the Waffen-SS. These ego-documents recount their own immediate experiences and are mainly fragments from diaries, but there are also letters, individual notes, and memoirs. The ego-documents are placed within the larger historical context to provide an answer to the question of whether these men were only ideologically motivated and unconditional Nazi sympathizers, and for this, their criminal records are also researched. Among other topics, the book discusses their choice to enlist, their experiences at the front, and their involvement in genocide, providing a new perspective on the Eastern Front.


For Russia with Hitler

For Russia with Hitler

Author: Oleg Beyda

Publisher: University of Toronto Press

Published: 2024-08-30

Total Pages: 325

ISBN-13: 1487556519

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The Bolshevik takeover of Russia created an alternative Russia in exile that never laid down its arms. For two decades, expelled White Russians sought ways to retaliate against the Soviet Union and return home. Their irreconcilability was galvanized by a superstructure, the dominant military organization, the Russian All-Military Union (ROVS). Eventually, militant anti-Bolshevism led the exiled Russians into alliance with Nazi Germany, despite the latter’s anti-Slavic stance. For Russia with Hitler tells the story of how thousands of White Russian émigrés joined the German invasion of the Soviet Union as soldiers, translators, and civilian workers. Oleg Beyda investigates and contextualizes émigré collaboration with National Socialist Germany, explaining how it was possible for Russians to fight against the Russians. The book reveals that the exiles, although united ideologically by Russian nationalism in a general sense, did not establish one single, clear-cut political solution for a future “liberated Russia.” Drawing on wide archival material, For Russia with Hitler details the background and ideological framework of the émigrés, how they rationalized their support for Nazism, and what they did on the Eastern Front, including their reactions to life in occupation, war crimes, and the Holocaust.


Joining Hitler's Crusade

Joining Hitler's Crusade

Author: David Stahel

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 457

ISBN-13: 1316510344

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A ground-breaking study that looks at why European nations sent troops to take part in Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union.


Building a Nazi Europe

Building a Nazi Europe

Author: Martin R. Gutmann

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2018-12-20

Total Pages: 255

ISBN-13: 1316608948

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A compelling account of the men who worked and fought for Nazi terror organization, the SS, during the Second World War.


Voices of the Waffen SS

Voices of the Waffen SS

Author: Gerry Villani

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2019-03-15

Total Pages: 271

ISBN-13: 035949689X

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The Waffen SS were Hitler's elite forces during WWII. They were the forces that were feared by the enemy and praised by their allies. During the Nuremberg Trials, the Waffen SS was condemned as part of a criminal organization, however, the Nuremberg Trials exempted conscripts from that condemnation. On several occasions, the Waffen SS was criticized by Heer commanders for their reckless disregard for casualties while taking or holding objectives, however, the Waffen SS divisions eventually proved themselves as capable soldiers. The poor initial performance was mainly due to the emphasis on political indoctrination rather than proper military training before the war. Despite this, the experience gained from the Polish, French, and Balkan campaigns and the peculiarly egalitarian form of training soon turned Waffen SS units into elite formations. These are the stories of the men that once were part of this elite force, not to glorify the Nazi regime or crimes committed by them, but to give them a voice too.


KL

KL

Author: Nikolaus Wachsmann

Publisher: Macmillan + ORM

Published: 2015-04-14

Total Pages: 637

ISBN-13: 1429943726

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The “deeply researched, groundbreaking” first comprehensive history of the Nazi concentration camps (Adam Kirsch, The New Yorker). In a landmark work of history, Nikolaus Wachsmann offers an unprecedented, integrated account of the Nazi concentration camps from their inception in 1933 through their demise, seventy years ago, in the spring of 1945. The Third Reich has been studied in more depth than virtually any other period in history, and yet until now there has been no history of the camp system that tells the full story of its broad development and the everyday experiences of its inhabitants, both perpetrators and victims, and all those living in what Primo Levi called “the gray zone.” In KL, Wachsmann fills this glaring gap in our understanding. He not only synthesizes a new generation of scholarly work, much of it untranslated and unknown outside of Germany, but also presents startling revelations, based on many years of archival research, about the functioning and scope of the camp system. Closely examining life and death inside the camps, and adopting a wider lens to show how the camp system was shaped by changing political, legal, social, economic, and military forces, Wachsmann produces a unified picture of the Nazi regime and its camps that we have never seen before. A boldly ambitious work of deep importance, KL is destined to be a classic in the history of the twentieth century. Praise for KL A Wall Street Journal Best Book of 2015 A Kirkus Reviews Best History Book of 2015 Finalist for the National Jewish Book Award in the Holocaust category “[A] monumental study . . . a work of prodigious scholarship . . . with agonizing human texture and extraordinary detail . . . Wachsmann makes the unimaginable palpable. That is his great achievement.” —Roger Cohen, The New York Times Book Review “Wachsmann’s meticulously detailed history is essential for many reasons, not the least of which is his careful documentation of Nazi Germany’s descent from greater to even greater madness. To the persistent question, “How did it happen?,” Wachsmann supplies voluminous answers.” —Earl Pike, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)


Waffen-SS

Waffen-SS

Author: Adrian Gilbert

Publisher: Da Capo Press

Published: 2019-06-25

Total Pages: 589

ISBN-13: 0306824663

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From an award-winning and bestselling historian, the first comprehensive military history in over fifty years of Hitler's famous and infamous personal army: the Waffen-SS. The Waffen-SS was one of the most feared combat organizations of the twentieth century. Originally formed as a protection squad for Adolf Hitler it became the military wing of Heinrich Himmler's SS and a key part of the Nazi state, with nearly 900,000 men passing through its ranks. The Waffen-SS played a crucial role in furthering the aims of the Third Reich which made its soldiers Hitler's political operatives. During its short history, the elite military divisions of the Waffen-SS acquired a reputation for excellence, but their famous battlefield record of success was matched by their repeated and infamous atrocities against both soldiers and civilians. Waffen-SS is the first definitive single-volume military history of the Waffen-SS in more than fifty years. In considering the actions of its leading personalities, including Himmler, Sepp Dietrich, and Otto Skorzeny, and analyzing its specialist training and ideological outlook, eminent historian Adrian Gilbert chronicles the battles and campaigns that brought the Waffen-SS both fame and infamy.


The Hamilton Phenomenon

The Hamilton Phenomenon

Author: Chloe Northrop

Publisher: Vernon Press

Published: 2022-07-05

Total Pages: 252

ISBN-13: 1648894224

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'The Hamilton Phenomenon' brings together a diverse group of scholars including university professors and librarians, educators at community colleges, Ph.D. candidates and independent scholars, in an exploration of the celebrated Broadway hit. When Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical sensation erupted onto Broadway in 2015, scholars were underprepared for the impact the theatrical experience would have. Miranda’s use of rap, hip-hop, jazz, and Broadway show tunes provides the basis for this whirlwind showcase of America’s past through a reinterpretation of eighteenth-century history. Bound together by their shared interest in 'Hamilton: an American Musical', the authors in this volume diverge from a common touchstone to uncover the unique moment presented by this phenomenon. The two parts of this book feature different emerging themes, ranging from the meaning of the musical on stage, to how the musical is impacting pedagogy and teaching in the 21st century. The first part places Hamilton in the history of theatrical performances of the American Revolution, compares it with other musicals, and fleshes out the significance of postcolonial studies within theatrical performances. Esteemed scholars and educators provide the basis for the second part with insights on the efficacy, benefits, and pitfalls of teaching using Hamilton. Although other scholarly works have debated the historical accuracy of Hamilton, 'The Hamilton Phenomenon' benefits from more distance from the release of the musical, as well as the dissemination of the hit through traveling productions and the summer 2020 release on Disney+. Through critically engaging with Hamilton these authors unfold new insights on early American history, pedagogy, costume, race in theatrical performances, and the role of theatre in crafting interest in history.