The Secret Archives: Western Front

The dreaded and powerful Nazi SS (or Schutzstaffel) began as the elite corps of bodyguards to Hitler, under the command of the infamous Heinrich Himmler. The SS soon expanded to include an intelligence arm and, from 1940 to 1945, an elite military corps, the Waffen-SS. This book is part of the two-volume The Secret Archives set that chronicles the exploits of the Waffen-SS, using information collected from old albums, as well as from newspaper and divisional archives. It includes a wealth of photographs, many of them previously unpublished, with extensive and informative captions. The authorÂ's account gives a vivid picture of what life was like for HimmlerÂ's so-called storm troopers. Each of the two volumes stands alone as an account of the Waffen-SSÂ's notorious activities, one title concentrating on the Eastern Front; the other on the Western Front. This volume, which focuses on the Western Front, reports on the Waffen-SS attacks into Holland and Belgium in 1940; the recruitment of Waffen-SS soldiers from Nazi-occupied countries; its actions at Normandy; its destruction of the British “Market Garden” operation outside Arnhem, Holland; and its actions against American forces at the Battle of the Bulge. Approximately 250 black-and-white photos plus appendices.

back cover
Contains hundreds of previously unpublished photographs showing the exploits of the Waffen-SS on the Eastern Front in World War II
With extensive, in-depth captions accompanying each image and an introduction to each section
Featuring photographs of such infamous Waffen-SS units as the" Leibstandarte, Das Reich, Totenkopf and "Wiking Divisions
Provides a fresh look at life for the Waffen-SS on the Eastern Front from the point of view of those who took part
front flap
The war on the Eastern Front was a bloody struggle between two conflicting ideologies, and no one organization personified Nazism more than the SS, of which the" Waffen-SS was the military arm
. Using 250 previously unpublished photographs, many of which have come from the albums of individuals who took part in the war, "SS: The Secret Archives--Eastern Front depicts the titanic battles between the "Waffen-SS and the Red Army on the Eastern Front between 1941 and 1945. The photographs convey an impression of the life of an SS stormtrooper in the frontline during Hitler's crusade against communism.
The book illustrates such key battles in the lore of the "Waffen-SS as Operation Barbarossa, Demyansk, Kharkov, Kursk, Cherkassy, and Budapest. As the end drew near, many "Waffen-SS soldiers chose death over defeat and surrender.
Featuring the actions of such famous "Waffen-SS divisions as the" Leibstandarte, Adolf Hitler, Das Reich, Wiking, and "Totenkopf, SS: The Secret Archives--Eastern Front is a through pictorial study of the "Waffen-SS in combat on the Eastern Front. The book will appeal to any reader with an interest in the exploits of these hardened elite soldiers ofthe Reich.