SS Foreign Divisions & Volunteers of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, 1941–1945

SS Foreign Divisions & Volunteers of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, 1941–1945 PDF Author: Ian Baxter
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1399012991
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 190

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Book Description
Drawing on a superb collection of rare and unpublished photographs SS Foreign Divisions & Volunteers of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia 1942 - 1945 describes how the occupying Nazis recruited Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian conscripts into the Waffen-SS. Unlike her Latvian neighbor, Lithuania had no plans to provide Germany with a National Legion. Although volunteers came forward, the majority did not. This was not the case for Latvia and Estonia, which undertook huge recruitment programs, and thousands of men were drafted into their own foreign legion of Waffen-SS Grenadier divisions. After intensive training, these divisions saw action on the Eastern front, around Leningrad, in the Ukraine, before vicious defensive operations as the Red Army smashed its way through the Baltic States in 1944. Even in the last dying weeks of the war, what was left of the Baltic soldiers of the 15th, 19th, and 20th Waffen-SS Grenadier Divisions, continued to fight alongside their Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS counterparts until they were either destroyed or surrendered. The story of these divisions is graphically told with detailed captions and text together with many contemporary images in true Images of War style.

SS Foreign Divisions & Volunteers of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, 1941–1945

SS Foreign Divisions & Volunteers of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, 1941–1945 PDF Author: Ian Baxter
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1399012991
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 190

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Book Description
Drawing on a superb collection of rare and unpublished photographs SS Foreign Divisions & Volunteers of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia 1942 - 1945 describes how the occupying Nazis recruited Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian conscripts into the Waffen-SS. Unlike her Latvian neighbor, Lithuania had no plans to provide Germany with a National Legion. Although volunteers came forward, the majority did not. This was not the case for Latvia and Estonia, which undertook huge recruitment programs, and thousands of men were drafted into their own foreign legion of Waffen-SS Grenadier divisions. After intensive training, these divisions saw action on the Eastern front, around Leningrad, in the Ukraine, before vicious defensive operations as the Red Army smashed its way through the Baltic States in 1944. Even in the last dying weeks of the war, what was left of the Baltic soldiers of the 15th, 19th, and 20th Waffen-SS Grenadier Divisions, continued to fight alongside their Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS counterparts until they were either destroyed or surrendered. The story of these divisions is graphically told with detailed captions and text together with many contemporary images in true Images of War style.

Joining Hitler's Crusade

Joining Hitler's Crusade PDF Author: David Stahel
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316510344
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 457

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Book Description
A ground-breaking study that looks at why European nations sent troops to take part in Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union.

6th SS Mountain Division Nord at War, 1941–1945

6th SS Mountain Division Nord at War, 1941–1945 PDF Author: Ian Baxter
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1526721392
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Book Description
Drawing on a superb collection of rare and unpublished photographs the 6th SS Mountain Division Nord 1941 - 1945 is the 6th book in the Waffen-SS Images of War Series compiled by Ian Baxter. The book tells the story of the 6th SS Mountain Division Nord, which was formed in February 1941 as SS Kampfgruppe Nord (SS Battle Group North). The Division was the only Waffen-SS unit to fight in the Arctic Circle when it was stationed in Finland and northern Russia between June and November 1941. It fought in Karelia until the Moscow Armistice in September 1944, at which point it left Finland. It suffered heavy losses in the Operation Nordwind in January 1945 and in early April 1945, the division was destroyed by the US forces near Budingen, Germany.

SS Polizei at War, 1940–1945

SS Polizei at War, 1940–1945 PDF Author: Ian Baxter
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473890993
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description
Formed in 1939 SS-Polizei Division were not considered initially as an SS fighting force, and this status was reflected in the quality of the equipment they were issued. Following operations in France, Greece and then Russia, it was not until 1942 the division was transferred to the Waffen-SS, and eventually upgraded to a Panzergrenadier division, the 4th SS-Polizei-Panzergrenadier Division.The book describes how the SS-Polizei Division fought across the Low Countries, the Eastern Front, before deploying to the Balkans and Greece where it committed numerous atrocities. During the last days of the War it was assigned to Army Detachment Steiner defending Berlin where many soldiers fought to the death.This book is a unique glimpse into one of the most infamous fighting machines in World War Two and a great addition to any reader interested Waffen-SS history.

Hitler's Boy Soldiers

Hitler's Boy Soldiers PDF Author: Hans Seidler
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1783400315
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 144

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Book Description
Founded in 1922 the Hitler Youth movement was the second oldest Nazi group. Comprising male youths aged 14 18, by December 1936 membership stood at over 5 million. During the Second World War, the role of Hitlerjugend evolved from assisting with the postal, train and fire services into full war fighting. Recruits went into units such as the elite 12th SS Panzer-Division Hitlerjugend and we see graphic images of this Waffen-SS force in action both on the Eastern and Western fronts.Even as the Nazi cause faced inevitable defeat these units fought with fanatical and disturbing bravery and after defeat in May 1945, elements carried out guerrilla actions in the Bavarian and Austrian mountains.The reader will find much original material on this legendary but distasteful Nazi organization.

SS

SS PDF Author: Chris Bishop
Publisher: Spellmount, Limited Publishers
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 202

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Book Description
This illustrated book provides an in-depth examination of the 350,000 or so foreign volunteers who fought for Hitler and Germany in World War II and it explores the background to their recruitment and also describes on a unit-by-unit basis their structure and combat record.

The German Campaign in Russia

The German Campaign in Russia PDF Author: George E. Blau
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description


Nazi Concentration Camp Overseers

Nazi Concentration Camp Overseers PDF Author: Ian Baxter
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1526799960
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 174

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Book Description
The Nazis’ vast concentration camp network and, later, the ‘Final Solution’ programme made heavy demands on the SS whose responsibility it was. The use of ‘overseers’ minimised costs and enabled the camps to run with fewer SS personnel. As this well researched book describes, there were three principal groups of ‘helpers’: Sonderkommandos, Kapos and Trawniki. The Sonderkommandos’ duties included unloading Jews from trains, collecting their possessions and allocating work details. Under SS supervision, they also ran the gas chambers and crematoria. The Kapos oversaw the Sonderkommandos. Many were originally prisoner functionaries recruited from violent criminal gangs and had a well-deserved reputation for brutality. The third group, known as Trawniki or Trawnikimänner, were Central and Eastern European collaborators recruited from Russian POW camps. While some served in a military capacity, others played an instrumental role in the Holocaust programme, rounding up and transporting Jews from the ghettos to the concentration camps. The graphic images and text of this Images of War series work demonstrate that the ‘overseer’ system was extensive and effective as its members competed without scruple to maintain the favour of their SS masters while pitting victim against victim.

5th SS Wiking at War 1941-1945

5th SS Wiking at War 1941-1945 PDF Author: Ian Baxter
Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
ISBN: 9781526721341
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Drawing on a superb collection of rare and unpublished photographs the 5th SS Division Wiking 1941 - 1945 is the 5th book in the Waffen-SS Images of War Series by Ian Baxter. The book tells the dramatic story of the 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking at War. The men of the division were recruited from foreign volunteers in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, the Netherlands and Belgium under the command of German officers. Not all were collaborators - the choice they were all too often presented with was join up or be locked up - or worse. During the course of the war, the division served on the Eastern Front in 1941. It surrendered in May 1945 to the American forces in Austria.

Royal Netherlands East Indies Army 1936–42

Royal Netherlands East Indies Army 1936–42 PDF Author: Marc Lohnstein
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472833740
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 50

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Book Description
Until 1945, Indonesia was a Dutch colony known as the Netherlands East Indies. In 1930, the area had over 60 million inhabitants and was a major exporter to Japan, providing some 13 per cent of its oil needs – second only after the United States. Following Germany's occupation of the Netherlands in May 1940, Japan decided to expand its influence in the Netherlands East Indies. Defending the colony was the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL). This force, designed primarily for colonial policing, underwent a series of cutbacks in the interwar years before adopting a modernisation programme in 1936, which focused on building up a strike air force, introducing tanks and increasing the firepower of the infantry and artillery. Fully illustrated with period photographs and full-colour artwork, this book examines the dress, insignia, equipment, organization and combat performance of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army as it faced the all-conquering Japanese forces in World War II.