Waffen-SS divisions were the elite of Hitler's armies. Of these units, one of the most famous was the SS-Totenkopf, or "Death's Head" division. This illustrated history explores the SS-Totenkopf's formation, the men it recruited, key leaders, and its organization, as well as specialized training, uniforms, and insignia. Completely illustrated with photographs from European archives, the book also provides full combat and casualty records for the division, which fought on both of the Eastern and Western Fronts. Outlined are the unit's involvement in the fall of France, its service on the Russian Front, its fruitless attempt to relieve Budapest, and its eventual destruction by Allied forces.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Cursory at best,
By
This review is from: Ss-Totenkopf: The History of the 'Death's Head' Division 1940-45 (Hardcover)
As another reviewer says, this book offers absolutely nothing new about the division or the men of the division. As typical of those critical of the Waffen-SS, it mostly focuses on and over exaggerates either the political indoctrination or attrocities. Especially with the 'Totenkopf' division the constant reminder that the origin of the division was in the concentration camps and the division should be guilty by association. However, only about 1/3 of the original personnel at time of activation were from the SS-Totenkopfverbande, the organization that ran the camps. Besides offering nothing new, there are historical inaccuracies throughout. For example, the author on page 126 uses the Soviet account of the battle of Prochorovka (part of the battle of Kursk and largest tank battle of all time) which claims that the SS Panzer Divisions have Panther tanks. None of the SS Divisions had Panther tanks at the time of the battle of Kursk and they did not get them until later in 1943 or early 1944. Moreover, on page 188 there is a table of 'Totenkopf' tank inventory for the battle of Kursk and there are no Panther tanks, only Panzer III's, IV's or Tigers. Not to mention the 'Totenkopf' division did not take part in the battle of Prochorovka, it was holding the Psel bridgehead. The only part that the book offers that is good is at the end of the book. There are short descriptions of the weapons used by the division. The tables are good too for quick reference. The one table gives the division's war service with what corps, army, and army group it was attached to and the location for that time period. If you want good information about the 3. SS Panzer Division 'Totenkopf,' there are definately better books out there. Charles Syndor's "Soldier's of Destruction" is excellent for the development and combat record of the division for the first half of the war, for the period of 1943-1945 the details are flawed at some points. The two books under the title "Wie ein Fels im Meer" or "Like a Cliff in the Ocean" by Karl Ullrich are excellent. One volume is the divisional history published by veterans of the division, and the other is a photo album with tons of great photos. The best book about the 'Totenkopf' division is Wolfgang Vopersal's 8 volume history of the division titled "Soldaten - Kämpfer - Kameraden. Marsch und Kämpfe der SS-Totenkopf-Division," however it is in German and hard to aquire. Hope that helps.
13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Who, What, When and Where......,
By Gary K. Stoedter (Port Byron, IL USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Ss-Totenkopf: The History of the 'Death's Head' Division 1940-45 (Hardcover)
This book is about the SS-Totenkopf Division, a WWII German front line unit originally formed from concentration camp guards. The author has done a great job of laying down the basic facts of the Totenkopf Division-its origins, battle history, commanders, equipment and atrocities. The story follows the division's exploits from the invasion of France to the Eastern Front to the final battles in Hungary. The author explores the character of the Totenkopf's founding father, Theodor Eicke, in detail. The author credits Eicke's leadership and methodology for the division's success in combat. That methodology included desensitizing the men to violence by encouraging brutality in the camps and demanding that orders be obeyed without question. Other commanders and heroes of Totenkopf are covered, but Eicke, by far is given the most thorough examination. This 'praise' of Eicke is tempered by a discussion of the atrocities committed by the division and by it's former members. The book wraps up with a chapter on weapons of the Totenkopf, where everything from small arms to tanks is briefly described. I found the book easy to read. Although the book lacks the detail that an advanced reader on the subject would demand, I would recommend it as an introductory book for anyone wanting to learn more about the SS formations
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not such a bad book after all.,
This review is from: Ss-Totenkopf: The History of the 'Death's Head' Division 1940-45 (Hardcover)
When I initially read the reviews posted here, I was hesitant to waste my time reading this book. Now that I have done so, however, I find that most of the complaints are unfounded.
The purpose of _SS-Totenkopf_ is to provide an overview of the development, formation and behaviors of the SSTK, as well as provide some good pictures to gawk at. It is not supposed to be an exhaustive chronical, so it naturally lacks some of the details of other works on the subjects. So yes, if you want a more thorough examination of the topic, Syndor's _Soldiers of Destruction_ is the way to go -- but if you really couldn't care less what Eich said to so-n-so on such-n-such about the supply of heavy artillery in 1941, then this book isn't such a bad way to go. What I find a bit unsettling about the criticisms here though, are the ones that complain that Mann has exaggerated or overstated the record of Nazi indoctrination and atrocity that is associated with the SSTK. I find this to be not only innaccurate, but actually somewhat apologist. Once frequently finds among historical enthusiasts of the Waffen-SS a tendancy to take the old SS veteran's oft-repeated statement of "we were soldiers, just like any other" at face value...though in fact, it is often not true at all, and especially not for the SS Totenkopf Div. In actual fact, the SSTK were deeply indoctrinated by the their fanatical Nazi commander, Theodor Eich, for the explicit purpose of being merciless guardians of the concentration camp system, which they were founded to support. Time after time, their record in combat reveals that this practiced cold-bloodedness resulted in astonishing willingness to commit war crimes and massacres against POWs and civilians (to such a degree that during the invasion and occupation of Poland, the Wehrmacht commanding generals tried to have them removed from the field on account of their atrocious behavior toward civilian Jews and Poles). Indeed, a considerable number of SSTK served in the murderous Einsatzgruppen, and were revolved freely through the Nazi concentration camp system even while that mechanism became a vast killing machine directed at Hitler's racial enemies. This is not mere conjecture on the part of Mann, but established fact, expounded upon in great detail by none other than Charles Syndor's _Soldiers of Destruction_ itself, a book which many of the critics here recommend as an alternative read to this one! In short, if you are looking for a brief overview of the SSTK, with some decent pictures of the division in action, I would take the criticisms here with a grain of salt, and give Mann's book a chance.
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