Waffen SS: Everything you ever wanted to know....

[ostketten]

In my never ending search of the web for stuff that nobody else knows (or cares) about, I found this PhD Thesis from a guy at Bond University in Australia... "A sociological and criminological approach to understanding evil: a case study of Waffen-SS actions on the Eastern front during World War II" OK, the thesis itself is pretty long winded (over 400 pages) and delves very deeply into the social and moral implications of atrocities, war crimes, etc. of the military arm of what was arguably the largest criminal organization in the history of mankind. This Document is probably only of interest to really serious historians or someone doing research on the Waffen SS, but something else I found that should be of interest to some of the members here is the "Appendices" which is a simply amazing and extremely well put together collection of information on the Waffen SS including tables of rank, insignia, OOB for Waffen SS formations, divisional emblems, recruiting posters for "Freiwillingen" (foreign volunteer) divisions, medals and awards, uniforms, and much, much more. This is simply an outstanding resource for anyone interested in the Waffen SS, and the best part is it's free. Follow the link below, and download the PDF's for the thesis (02whole.pdf) and/or the appendices (03appendices.pdf) near the bottom of the page.

Waffen SS Link Here: http://epublications.bond.edu.au/theses/goldsworthy/

[olifant]

Good find ostketten. Well researched and thought out.

Two things that were not mentioned though:

1) My understanding was Dirlewanger was executed by a German military tribunal for his excesses in '45.
2) My understanding was that einsatzgruppen and anti-partisan work was made up in large part of penal battalions.

No mention of either points was made in his thesis despite many of the books cited in the bibliography containing this information. I am not attempting to be an SS apologist but am surprised by his omissions.

On the thoughts of normal people being coerced to perform inhuman acts, check out the studies of Stanley Milgram below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment

[ostketten]

My understanding was Dirlewanger was executed by a German military tribunal for his excesses in '45.

Dirlewanger was severely beaten by Polish guards in the service of the French occupation forces, and died as a result of the injuries incurred in the beating in June of 1945, although there have been some unsubstantiated reports that he fled to Argentina, but no conclusive evidence has ever surfaced to support this. A book I can recommend on Dirlewanger and his band of "Poachers" called "The Cruel Hunters" is a good resource for information on this notorious charachter. Initially Sonderkommando Dirlewanger was staffed primarily with German criminals, most of whom were in jail for poaching, but later on included individuals accused of more serious offenses, ie. murderers, rapists, ond so on. IIRC, Einsatzgruppen employed everything from common Wehrmacht and Waffen SS soldiers who had committed relatively minor offenses such as sleeping on guard duty, to hardened criminals. I really have not had time to read much of the thesis thus far, so I really cannot comment on the validity of any specific points therein, but it was also published in book form under the title "Valhalla's Warriors: A History of the Waffen-SS on the Eastern Front 1941-1945" and has received generally positive reviews. Thanks for the link, I'll check out the Milgram studies when I have a chance.

[olifant]

Thanks for the heads up ostketten. Dirlewanger and his thugs were pretty repugnant so I doubt I will pick this book up but it is nice to know he got his due. Definitely check out Milligan; it is pretty scary what people are capable of.