Customer Reviews

SS Panzergrenadier: A True Story Of World War II

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I believe this book needs to be read with an open mind, and an awareness that is increasingly lacking in the freeworld - of our own insidious propoganda. In my opinion, only that knowledge of self, will help to understand others better. As a patriotic Englishman who lost relatives in the war, having read the book, I have mixed feelings about the author and the book's content. Much he wrote (and I have checked out) surprisingly dispelled many of the negative myths that are common about the SS, and Schmidt exposes much allied hypocrisy and double standards about the war that are as valid today as they were then. Many of his comments really strike home, and provide valuable insights that the Victor's population rarely of ever get's to hear of: such as the lack of allied deaths in German POW camps, the SS relief of the wounded at the Bridge to Far that saved the lives of 2000 allied troops, and other rather good examples that illustrate the honour code that most, of the most disciplned army of the war, abided by. He also makes very good arguments for the lack of knowledge of the Holocaust by the great mass of the German people, such as; if it were such common knowledge, why wasn't it written about or known in the freeworld, or used in the Allied radio propoganda broadcasts, until they were actually found - never mind in a dictatorship with absolute media control. The same principle works the other way around, even in todays ideal western "democracies" with a free press, satelite communications and the Internet. A good and current example being, the "truth" about Saddam's WMD, which took several countries to war! Also, we continue to see just how simple it is to demonise an entire nation and it's army - AKA, check out the Arab "Street" opinion after the Abu Graib prisoner photos! There are many further good examples throughout the book that makes me glad to have read it. On the flip side, I think he manifestly misunderstands why the German's were so hated by the Allied soldiers - and for me that is relatively simple. It wasn't a war they asked for - and when, against your wishes, you are drafted away from home and hearth to see your mates killed - you are not going to be best happy with those you see as the cause of it all. Also, in the use of his language, I can't help but feel he harbours a latent hatred of the Jews that for all the (very) good arguments he makes about much of the war, it's cause and certain infamous incidents - detracts from (in my opinion) a very good case for the normalcy of good relations between men and countries, and the integrity and discipline of the average German soldier. And maybe, just maybe - in both cases, that is why there was a war! Judge for yourself...

In a world where the SS, including the Waffen-SS, is portrayed as nothing but bloodthirsty murderers, most of the uninitiated jump on the bandwagon of the media and join them in their claim that the aforementioned statement is true. Hans Schmidt, Panzergrenadier of the 1. SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, is not one of them.

As a member of the Waffen-SS, he would know far more about how these soldiers really behaved in battle and in peace. Not only does he describe this in his memoirs, but he also relates (rather chillingly) some of the socio-economic and social conditions that abounded in the Third Reich to some that are occuring in America today. He provides the (true) story of the so-called "Malmedy Massacre", backed up by comments by GI's who were there, and exposes the injustices of the Nuremberg Trials. As it was written very recently, he provides his comments on such things as September 11, the Mazar-i-Sharif prison riot in Afghanistan, Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers, current American politics, and other current matters. It begs the question that perhaps we really aren't that different after all... He also goes to great lengths to expose ALLIED war crimes and how Americans were not the best soldiers the world has ever seen, something that few have the courage to do.

The one flaw in this book is the lack of actual combat (not his fault, as he spent a lot of time in the rear as a messenger) and the fact that he says that the Holocaust never happened. Granted, we as American students receive way too much Holocaust history when similar things are going on in Africa as we speak, and we committed similar atrocities against the American Indians, but to say that it didn't happen just because some concentration camp inmates he saw "looked fatter than he did" doesn't mean that it didn't happen. The book is also full of racism towards the Jews, and interestingly enough he came to the decision to distrust them not because of indoctrination that he received during WWII but because of his own conclusions that he came to after the war.

All in all, I would say that one should read this book not so much as to hear about the combat experiences of a former SS soldier but to delve into his postwar thoughts and opinions. For anybody, that should be fascinating enough.

This is a very readable book. It is not a dry historical narrative nor an endless recounting of bloody combat experiences. Rather, it is a very personal account of one individual's story that fits into a larger history. Sitting next to a pretty girl on a troop train, taunts from a soon-to-be freed Russian POW, walking through a recently bombed German village are all relayed with remarkable candor.

The book is definitely written from a German perspective and contains some revisionist elements that made me somewhat uncomfortable. Although, some of these issues, like Eisenhower's horrendous treatment of German POW's and intentional Allied air attacks against civilians, have become pretty widely accepted during the past decade.

I was surprised that there was so little anti-semitism in the SS training experience although I was not particularly surprised at the emphasis on the German way of life and German Military History---in that way it had some parallels with my USMC training experience. There are a few grammatical errors but he writes better than most of the people I was with in graduate school. Further, I assume that English was not his first language. It was entertaining, informative and gave me a very different perspective on an otherwise familiar topic (WWII). I recommend it.

I have read many books concernig WWII and this was one the toughest books to write a review for. This book is many things and it represents many other things to those who read it. So it is up to you, the reader to classify how this book has affected you and how much of it do you wish to relate to and how much do you really think is plain rubbish. As some other previous reviewers have written about this book.

I don't think its rubbish, I think it's a very well written book about Herr Schmidt's experiences in WWII but most importantly it is what happened afterward that this book shines more than others. The book in its essense does not have too many facts about the authors' experiences during the war he clearly states that he doesn't remember all of the facts and all of his experiances. Where this book comes into its own is when the author explains his training before joining the Waffen SS, his feelings, the country's mood and his personal thoughts about the current situation. That is the best thing this book does. If you are looking for a war memorial this is not it. Thia book are about the views of the author, some of which are un-popular and some of which are far fetched to say the least. But they are his clear and frontal views and for writing them he should be at least heard. He shows a lot of Geman pride.

One of the main topics in the book is what happened to the German soldiers who surrendered to the Allies. Since it is well known that all German POW's the Russians had were put to work rebuilding Mother Russia, where most died it is a good question to simply ask what of the POW's in the Allies hands? Herr Schimdit tells it all here and writes it in a simple manner and explains to us what the German people and soldiers had to endure after the war had ended. It wasn' pretty and I would think most who read it will be suprised and than the question again arises, didn't they deserve it?? Read the book and ask yourself.

It is easy for anyone to say they derserved it. People would have a million reasons as to why it should have been. At the same time it is fair to say that the Allies came in with ideals and since it was proved that Germany was the purest of Evil, they wanted to be seen as the Greatest hope for the world. In all of that they failed. Some other points the author makes are offensive and they should be counted on the overal grade of this book but it is only a very small fraction of the book. For the rest of it, it is a very good book that should be read with an OPEN mind and then afterwards you should ask yourself, did they deserve all of that....

This is one of the best WWII memoirs I have read. I especially liked how the author relates information in his book to current events and circumstances today.
This is not a narrow memoir only of combat or a boastful account of personal exploits. It is focused on setting the record strait about the role of SS soldiers and the German military in WWII.The author also shares personal insights and observations both about the past and today.This is all accomplished throught the retelling of his time in the elite LAS unit during 1944 until the end of the war.
On a side note the book is produced to a very high quality. Good binding and inserts, much better quality than alot of main stream publishers.

As a keen amateur historian, who has researched and read most literature connected with this subject, as well as interviewed (and lived with!) some of the combatants who fought against the German forces, I feel I can make an unbiased and fair judgement regarding the contents of this excellent book. To the uninitiated masses out there, who have been fed an insiduous diet of anti German propaganda from their earliest schooldays, (which interestingly, is probably worse now than its ever been), nothing can be done to reverse the brainwashing spewed out by the media machine, especially in my own country (UK), where the liberal left have "built" a system nothing short of a dictatorship, controlling peoples lives and thoughts to such an extent that intrusion by the state is so commonplace that we now no longer even complain. So to get to the point that I am trying to make, what exactly was ww2 fought for? I would imagine many of the ex combatants living in fear of going out, surviving on meagre pensions and scared to turn up the heating because of the bills must have this thought cross their minds? A land fit for heroes?? The truth of the matter is "He who wins the war writes the history book", and the ammount of dirty dealing and deceit that surrounds the allied powers of this period, even before they "won", makes the German war machine look open and honest. In war, no side is beyond attrocity, but the unpalattable truth is that Germany did for the most part adhere to the Geneva Convention, but alas, to the Allies eternal shame, is the covered up fact of Eisenhowers "Disarmed Enemy Forces" and the deliberate witholding of Red Cross aid to those many thousands of prisoners left to rot in open compounds for months. So Herr Schmidt, be proud of the sacrifices of your comrades, their dignity and honour is evident in every chapter of your book, you fought to preserve a Europe which has nothing at all in common with the EU nightmare of today, perhaps had proud men like my own father, (a veteran of many actions) and your comrades fought together our nations would not be dying as they are now

Having read hundreds of books on WWII and spent my adult life studying this war, I found this book very interesting and unique. It tells what the war was like from the German perspective and also brings into question many of the things we have been taught. War history is written by the victors and always slanted in their favor. This book trys to explain that in this war, crimes and atrocities were committed by both sides. The author ties many of these ideas and themes into current events and tells how WWII continues to hold sway over things, even today. The author questions have caused him trouble in his homeland, Germany, where it is a crime to question many of the events that took place during the war.

Others have described what this book is about, so I will offer my impressions, which are based on personal experience, by the way, such as seeing Eisenhower's open-air post-war POW compounds myself, in which countless numbers died. A present-day neighbor of mine (former DAK) was put in one after being sent back from a stateside POW camp. (As I recall, we who were there are the time were told that the German POWs were 'waiting for processing.') Or was it deliberate, or abysmal planning? As for Mr. Schmidt's candid observations, many shared his opinions and still do, so good for him for expressing himself openly as few do or can do. His descriptions of his training and experiences in the Leibstandarte are of interest. Finally, to my astonishment, I learned a little of what it was like for my close relative--134th of the 35th. I believe they would have found each other good company afterwards.

The book is very well written , easy to read . Its strength lie in its vivid descriptions of the authors feelings, training and action at the end of WWII in Belguim , Hunagary and Austria. Whilst he raises legitimate concerns around the treatment of German POWs and other issues it is marred by some comments such as "the so called holocaust". If one is able to ignore such statements it is a good read , but it was a unfortunate imclusion and distraction for me. But then they are not my memiors

In this book we finally get to see WWII from someone who was there! Yes,it's a German perspective, as "a reader from Rancho Murieta" puts it(without however actually having anything negative to say about the book). So why does the "German perspective" make it worth only 2 stars? Is a German perspective automatically invalid? And the "reader from Laurel, MD USA" also has little to say beyond sweeping generalizations.

It's exactly this kind of attitude that makes Schmidt's book so
necessary. There aren't nearly enough accounts like it, that can go beyond the common kind of narrowminded black and white judgement we see here from two guys who think they are qualified to review an autobiography on such a subject, probably without having any first hand experience of the events. (Yeah, I was there too, on the Russian front in 1944, so I AM in a position to comment on the veracity of Schmidt's "German perspective"!)

Bellyachers such as the readers from Laurel and Rancho Murieta might also do well to consider that their proudly displayed prejudice may only make this book all the more interesting to intelligent people.

K. Hoffman