Customer Reviews

Hitler's Enforcers: The Gestapo and the SS Security Service in the Nazi Revolution

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Hello,

This is an expensive book. Is it worth it? I thought so. Why? The research the author had done is not available anywhere else. The writing is clean and concise.

Why I liked it. If you are reading this review then you probably have an interest in World War II, the SS, and the Holocaust. I read this book because I am interested in the formation of the einsatzgruppen and the men who ran them. I was interested in what the author had to say about the interaction between the SD, SS, and Police during this period.

This book is really two parts. The first part discribes the formation an nazification of the German police. His descriptions of the people involved and how it happened is excellent. This is also a great source for what was required in the way training, their case closure rate, etc. before the war. It also mentions career paths, and what was required both pre 1933 and post 1936 when Himmler gained control of the entire police/security apparatus.

The second part is a description of the SD. What type of men were attracted, how the recruiting was done, and what their role was. I had thought I knew a fair amount about this but the author constantly surprised me with the depth and detail of his research. Once again I was confronted with the fact that the men involved with the Holocaust can not be easily stereotyped. Also, I came away with an even greater knowledge of how fractured the Nazi security system was with its fiefdoms, overlapping responsibilities, and the drive to gain power an Hitlers attention.

Nazism - you can either look upon this subject fondly or not so fondly. This is a great book for both causes. I started reading this book not knowing what to think and I have come out thinking in two seperate directions. I feel that, of course, Adolf Hitler was in the wrong yet he had motives behind his actions. This is a great book to set your mind clesr of any old myths.