Customer Reviews

Soldiers of Destruction

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Soldiers of Destruction is a scholarly examination of the 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf, perhaps the most controversial of all the SS divisions. Charles Sydnor does an excellent job of tracing the origins of Totenkopf from its origins in the concentration camp system to crack fighting unit.

Perhaps the one personality who permeated the division was Theodor Eicke, the first commander of Totenkopf and its major personality whose influence was felt even after his death in combat in 1943. Eicke's struggles with Himmler and the Wehrmacht to gain respect and much needed supplies as well as the various machinations within Nazi Germany's hierarchy are well detailed. Eicke was to the Totenkopf what Sepp Dietrich was to the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler and Paul Hausser to the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich: a father figure revered and respected by his men, but also feared (Eicke often punished his men by sending them to the camps as inmates but made sure his men had enough rations and winter clothing in Russia).

The Totenkopf Division fought primarily on the Eastern Front and gained a reputation as steadfast in defense. While the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler and Das Reich divisions were the spearheads of the Waffen-SS and took the forefront in the attack, it was the Totenkopf that held the line in Russia and gained respect from notable army generals such as Erich von Manstein and Maximilian Von Weichs.

Even with its enviable reputation in battle, the Totenkopf was a unit of contradictions. Some of the officers and men who were worthy soldiers included Otto Baum( holder of the Knights' Cross with Swords and Oakleaves-no Diamonds, even though he deserved them and Sydnor says that he won them), the only man to command three different divisions of the SS and one of the youngest corps commanders when he took temporary command of Das Reich along with the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division "Gotz von Berlichingen", Georg Bochmann, also a holder of the Swords and a commander of two different divisions, Karl Ullrich, commander of the combat engineer batallion, holder of the Oakleaves, and the last commander of the 5th SS Panzer Division "Wiking", and Fritz Christen, the first enlisted man in the SS to win the Knights Cross and at the age of 20 the youngest soldier to be awarded the Ritterkreuz. Totenkopf was awarded 11 Knight's Crosses for actions in the Demyansk pocket, the most Knight's Crosses awarded to a single unit in one battle. Despite such brave officers and men, Totenkopf had an unsavory reputation for atrocities and a number of war criminals did serve in the unit. Totenkopf was responsible for the execution of English prisoners of war and French colonial troops in France in 1940 and was alleged to ahve committed numerous war crimes on the Russian Front. Sydnor notes that three Totenkopf officers who later beccame division commanders were alleged to have been responsible for major war crimes in the West: Heinz Lammerding for the massacre at Oradour while commanding Das Reich in 1944, Hermann Priess for actions during the Battle of the Bulge while serving as corps commander of the LAH, and Max Simon for killing Italian civilians in 1944 and executing German civilians in 1945. Sydnor traces this to the instituion of the camps and the mentality that resulted from them and the indoctrination of Eicke which makes for an intersting study and refutes the claim made by some SS members that they were soldiers like the rest of the German military.

The final fate of the Totenkopf was in many ways a Goetterdammerung: Totenkopf managed to surrender to the Americans in Austria, but its members were handed over to the Soviets supposedly because it did almost all of its fighting in the East, a fate not shared by the LAH and Das Reich because they fought extensively on the Western Front. Few Totenkopf members survived Soviet captivity.

An interesting read and a definite must for those interested in the German military. Perhaps Professor Sydnor could do a study on the LAH and Das Reich.

Dr. Syndor presents us with what appears to be an academically honest, truthful account of the development of the SS Totenkopf division. He traces its indisputable origins from the concentration camp system into an elite Waffen SS combat Division.

Syndor captures the facts regarding the effect that Theodor Eicke had on creating the division from his hand picked staffs in the concentration system. Thus creating a combat division led and manned by individuals already hardened to cruelty to the "enemy behind the wire". Syndor presents a detailed account of Eicke's rise through the concentration camp system, his immense political connections, the origins of the Totenkopf division under Eicke's guidance.

The author is clearly impressed by the combat performance of the Waffen SS and the Totenkopf division in particular; however, he presents facts and adequate footnotes for anyone to investigate. The truth speaks for itself, the Waffen SS, with the esprit of the troops and the political indoctrination, were elite combat units. They fought at times to the last man and withstood hardships and casualty rates beyond what most other troops would endure. They also committed acts that carried the political will of the Fuhrer and the Reichsfuhrer SS to the occupied territories and the front.

This is NOT an apologist's book about the Waffen SS, nor does it state that every SS trooper was a criminal. The truth, as usual, is somewhere in between. It does paint the SS and the Waffen SS as the criminal organizations that they were. It also details the combat performance of this elite combat unit. The last half of the book is sketchier on details of the Totenkopf's combat records, but this was due to the loss of many of those detailed records to the war waged upon Germany.

This is an excellent book, my only criticism is that it does not have enough photo's and statistics (specifically, after action reports).

With "Soldiers of Destruction", Sydnor has managed to write a military account of the infamous SS Death's Head Division that is both lively and engrossing. Sydnor delves into the history of the division, their actions in combat and their involvement in the concentration camp system. He does all this without getting bogged down in statistics (like so many other books on the Wermacht or SS). He does however, provide massive amounts of footnotes for those who wish to do further research.

The writing style is smooth and engaging, and I found myself completely engrossed in the book. My only complaint about "Soldiers of Destruction" is the heavy-hand Sydnor blankets over the Totenkopf Division. As you read along you'll find that Sydnor has a seemingly great amount of respect and awe for the fighting capabilities of the SS, but he almost always counters his praise with derogatory mention of their fanaticism and loyalty to National Socialist ideology; two factors that molded them into what they were. You get the sense he feels obligated to negate their achievements.

That aside, Sydnor does a great job of bringing the Division to life. You'll feel as though you know the commanders and soldiers personally.

The subject matter of this book is not for everyone. The SS Totenkopf Division personified Himmler's absolute ideal of the SS. It could be argued that they were the most politically indoctrinated of all the SS divisions. They were brutally efficient soldiers who were indifferent to hardship. Defeat was an unacceptable option for Totenkopf soldiers in combat. It is no wonder that on several occasions the division fought until almost total decimation. Victory of annihilation was the order of the day. Numerically outnumbered almost 6 to 1 on the Eastern Front, the Totenkopf soldiers of the SS managed to rout entire Soviet armies. They were constantly thrust into the most dangerous of situations on the front. Even today the United States Marine Corps and the U.S. Army mimic some of the combat tactics developed and perfected by SS divisions like the Totenkopf on the Eastern Front.

I summary: If you like military history you'll love this book. Your WWII collection will not be complete without Sydnors' book!

Charles W. Sydnor's Soldiers of Destruction has been out for some time. First published in 1977, it remains a unique work among World War II histories. Essentially the book is a history of the formation (especially the politics involved) and personnel policies of the SS Totenkopf Division from 1933-45. Those looking for a history of the battles, in which SSTK fought, especially during 1943-45, will have to look elsewhere.

In addition to the other strengths of this work let me point out two that I have not seen mentioned in any of the other reviews:

First the author provides very interesting information on the comings and goings of SSTK officers and men between the division and other SS authorities, especially the concentration/extermination camps. From the SS ideological perspective both organizations, the Waffen SS at the front and the camp guards were performing the same function, fighting the same merciless enemy. It is interesting that the SS stressed from the very beginning of the war that "guard duty in the camps was no less soldierly or important than service in the front lines. The SS Totenkopf units guarding and running the camps were depicted as heroic detachments filled with exemplary SS men performing an invaluable service by protecting Germany from the internal enemies" behind the wire (see footnote p 324). For the SS the fanatical enemy faced in Russia which supposedly hoped to destroy Germany was the same as the helpless inmates being driven to the gas chambers of Auschwitz, killing either in as great of numbers as possible guaranteed not only Nazi victory, but the physical survival of the German race in its death struggle with the "Jewish-Bolsheviks". As an explanation for the unexplainable this attitude along with the terrible experiences of the SSTK on the Eastern Front does much to answer the question as to how such slaughter of innocent civilians was possible. Today such simplistic thinking seems ludicrous, but we should not underestimate the effect of racist or other type of exclusionist ideology on young minds that are indoctrinated over a period of years from figures in authority (not to mention specially-selected fanatics) that they trust. An indication of the power of their persuasion is the fact that in May 1940 only four men in the entire division had not publicly renounced Christianity (see footnote p 85).

The second point, which comes out in the book was the wastefulness of such units as SSTK for the German war effort. The author mentions repeated complaints of German Army commanders as to the high battle casualty rates among the SSTK, rates due in many cases to incompetent officers. Also due to the stringent selection process that Eicke maintained men who could have served as officers or NCOs in other formations, served as privates in the SSTK. This was a trait common to all the Waffen SS formations, the Army's Grossdeutschland Division and all the Luftwaffe ground formations. Germany, facing so many enemies, could simply not afford wasteful misuse of men or material. It would have been far better to have utilized such men in the regular Army formations insuring that they received the proper replacements, qualified leaders and equipment rather than concentrating these scare resources in a handful of elite formations to the disadvantage of the army in general. In the case of the SS and Luftwaffe this wasteful policy was clearly due to internal Nazi political considerations. Of course such elite units provide interesting history. . . Compare this to the Soviet practice of combat units earning a "Guards" designation for success in combat.

All in all this is a very worthwhile book for those interested in World War II or Holocaust history in general and those interested in the history of the SS in particular.

Theodore Eicke was the original, pre-war commander of the concentration camp system. At the start of WW2, he formed the Totenkopfverbande as a unit for occupation duty in Poland (primarily "Final Solution" executions and the like), which became a combat unit in the invasion of France, and ultimately became one of the foremost tank divisions on the eastern front. Their rise came primarily from their resolute defense of a wooded area near Leningrad, which was instrumental in convincing Hitler to expand the Waffen SS at the expense of the army in 1942. SS Totenkopf became a fire brigade sent in to stabilize the front where it seemed on the verge of collapse. They were known more for their resolute determination to fight to the last man, rather than for any tactical brilliance. This served them well in many unwinnable situations in the latter part of the war.

The book provides a far more balanced picture of Theodore Eicke than is available elsewhere. Most other books portray him as a raving lunatic sprung from a straight jacket (literally) to command the concentration camps. This book shows Eicke's original commitment to a mental institution to have been entirely political. During his reign in the camps, he made a lot of connections, which enabled him to do remarkably well at requisitioning equipment (much of which was produced in the camps, or stored in warehouses adjacent to them). Eicke had a great rapport with his men, but was extremely brutal with those who got on his wrong side.

In another book, "Wenn Alle Bruder Schweigen", there is a reference to Felix Steiner being the commander of Totenkopf after Eicke's death. However, "Soldiers of Destruction" makes no reference to Steiner. I am not sure what to make of this.

This book is an excellent account of the TotenkopfDivision from its inception to its destruction during WWII. It was very engrossing and I couldnt put it down. Very well written with an extensive bibliography. It certainly eliminates many doubts about whether the Waffen SS was linked to the Concentration Camp system when in fact many of the senior commanders of various divisions saw action with the Totenkopf Division both in the front and behind it. Made me want to look further into the history of this unit and the Waffen SS as a whole.

Charles W. Sydnor Jr's, "Soldiers of Destruction" is a wonderful piece of historical literature. This book represents Dr. Sydnor's Ph.D. dissertation and as such is based on significant research - this is historical prose by a historian! However, having said that, this does not imply that "Soldiers of Destruction" is merely an academic book with facts that is dry to read, quite the opposite. "Soldiers of Destruction" is a pleasure to read - well-crafted prose and flow - and contains lots of facts. This dissertation is not meant to represent a study of the whole Waffen SS, but rather an in depth look at one component - Third SS Panzer Division Totenkopf (Totenkopfdivision) - as an individual and somewhat isolated case. That said, it is fair to say that whether you are an airchair historian looking for a good read or a serious student of history interested in the Waffen SS and issues associated with the fighting arm of the SS, "Soldiers of Destruction" might be what you're looking for.

Dr. Syndor begins his story with a discussion of the development of the Totenkpfdivision as an outgrowth from the SS Totenkopfverbande (Deaths Head Division) and the concentration camp guard system. Central to this development was Theodor Eicke, who put his aggressive, fanatical NSADP stamp on the system. He organized the concentration camp guard system and from that the initial Totenkopfdivision, making this Waffen SS unit one with a particularly rabid Nazi makeup, at least at its inception. By bringing the formation of the Totenkopfdivision into focus provides important perspective for Syndor and the reader to assess the actions of the division in its military exploits, including charges of brutality. Simply put, are actions seemingly askew from other battle units, such as murder of POWs, ultimately unexpected given the personalities and ideological "training" of the division? Syndor does not use this analysis to excuse the actions but rather to provide clarity for greater understanding in a historical context.

The passages dealing with combat of the Totenkopfdivision (most of which occurred against the Soviets) are fascinating and highly enlightening. Syndor has does a great job brining to life these years of the division and balancing the highly effective and laudable (from a military perspective) battle actions of the Totenkpdivision with the criminal activities that followed the division. The reader can easily separate these issues and then place the latter in context given the introductory material. This is in fact what Syndor attempts to do (quite effectively I believe) in the last section of the book, entitled: Ideology, Personality, Criminality.

In the end this is a wonderful book, both from a mere historical and a reading enjoyment standpoint. Syndor conveys a clear history of a single element of the Waffen SS that is both significant and fair. Highly recommended reading - five stars!

This is a terrific book. As Sydnor points out, it has had a long life, & justly so. I found it very hard to put down. The author does an excellent job of placing you beside the action. His information on Eicke himself is equally impressive. It was fascinating reading about the care & amazing effort Eicke put into the division seemingly 24 hours a day. The entire book is meticulously researched & it has tons of great footnotes. To my knowledge it is the only sole work on the

Totenkopfdivision. It definitely must be on the shelf of everyone interested in the Waffen SS or Wehrmacht. Although opinions of the SSTK's conduct may vary from the author's, thank you Mr. Sydnor for such a great study.

While I don't agree with the SS ideology, I still have a interest in the German view of the war. Syndor's book is a great work on the tale of the SSTK Division. Syndor shows the inception of the division from men of the concentration camp system, describes its fight for respectability among its army peers, and reviews its record as a crack fighting division. The book reads very well. The only negative criticism I do have is that the maps could be better and detailed more. This not withstanding this is a must for anyone who wishes to know and understand the combat arm of Hitler's personal army of destruction

The death's head SS division, created in october 1939, was one of the oldest Armoured formation of the III rd Reich. Thus, this unit achieved great military successes, mainly on the eastern front.

Sydnor, in his talented study, details, the initial developments with the incorporation of 6500 concentration camp guards (to whom were added several thousands of middle-aged Allgemeine SS reservists), the first fights in the western campaign where, the division occured some victories but also setbacks and finally, the military operations on the east...

The "SS Totenkopf division", created by Theodor Eicke, former chief of the death's head batallions (camp unit guards), maintained close ties with the concentration camp system until the end of the war. Sydnor demonstrates that with documents. However, with the growing losses the unit suffered in its hard battles, Its recruitment became similar to the other waffen ss major formations...

Sydnor also shows, the fundamental influence Eicke had over the formation's fighting spirit and thus, some of the consequences on the ground... But he doesn't contest the military value of this elite division, illustrating that by numerous examples. That's why many generals of the german army were pleased to have the SS Death's Head division under their command... This book is a must read !