The Field Men: The SS Officers Who Led the Einsatzkommandos - the Nazi Mobile Killing Units (Schiffer Military History) [Hardcover]

French MacLean (Author)

Book Description

Series: Schiffer Military History | Publication Date: June 1, 1999

Two thousand nine hundred forty-five men lined up in four motorized columns immediately behind the German Army on June 22, 1941 as it prepared to launch Operation Barbarossa the German attack on the Soviet Union an attack designed to win the war. The

Product Details

• Hardcover: 232 pages
• Publisher: Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.; First edition (June 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764307541
• ISBN-13: 978-0764307546
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,565,268 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Research!, November 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Field Men: The SS Officers Who Led the Einsatzkommandos - the Nazi Mobile Killing Units (Schiffer Military History) (Hardcover)

I'm a little surprised that a review of this excellent book has not been written sooner. French McLean has once again proven his ability to conduct archival research and translate it into a creative and effective reference tool for serious historians. I highly recommend this book--it is a jolt to the senses to see how mainly ordinary bureaucrats could be lured by the "system" into committing the massive-scale murders that they did. This is probably the first book of its kind to present that depth of insight into Heydrich's SD. Well done, French.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars very interesting photo section, March 8, 2007

By 

Torsten W. Krauel "Krauel" (Washington DC, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Field Men: The SS Officers Who Led the Einsatzkommandos - the Nazi Mobile Killing Units (Schiffer Military History) (Hardcover)

Consisting of a long section presenting (very abridged) cv's, and a photo section, the photos are what makes the tome valuable. These pictures aren't to be found elsewhere, and for those who are fond of reading facial features, they make for a very interesting journey into the heinous world of everyday neighbors turned mass murderers. The leaders of the Einsatzgruppen in particular were a crowd of often accomplished lawyers conversant in several languages, so their voyage into the abyss is all the more disturbing.

Not a few of the likenesses shown in this volume might have blended in at any Ivy League law school. Also, note a faint resemblance of one of the most bloodthirsty Einsatzgruppen leaders standing trial in Nuremberg, Paul Blobel, to the Unabomber. (Blobel having been the person who, driving with Albert Speer to Blobel's quarters near Kiev one night in 1941, passed through the Babiy Yar valley. According to Speer, the car headlights illuminated the earth erupting with eerie fog plumes the way the Yellowstone Park earth erupts. Blobel turned to Speer and remarked: "Here, my 30.000 Jews are resting.")

As more information related to the persons shown is to be found on the internet at a mouse's stroke, the cv section is basically just a starter, and could well have been done away with.