Wiking: A Dutch SS-er on the Eastern Front

Wiking: A Dutch SS-er on the Eastern Front PDF Author: Henk Kistemaker
Publisher: Eyewitness 1939 - 1945
ISBN: 9789089758811
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 206

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Book Description
Henk Kistemaker wrote a unique report about his war experiences as a member of the Waffen-SS. Percentage wise most volunteers for the German Waffen-SS, about 25,000 men, came from the Netherlands. The first division in which a contingent Dutch men served, was the SS Division Wiking. This division was deployed shortly after the invasion of Russia in 1941. She fought among others in Ukraine. During the summeroffensive of 1942 Wiking was able to penetrate deep into the Caucasus. In 1944 the Russian encirclement at Tsjerkassy was broken. In May 1945, most Wikingers became American prisoners of war. Also the 18-year-old Henk Kistemaker volunteered, in a thirst for adventure and on the advice of his German-minded father, to be a participant in this war. On the Eastern Front he experienced the heavy and gruesome battles; first as an infantryman and later as a member of a Panther tankcrew. He was wounded three times. At the age of 22, when the war has ended, he was a warveteran. In the years before his death, in 2003, Henk Kistemaker wrote his memories. It became a fascinating and shocking report about a young Dutchman in the vortex of the war.

Wiking: A Dutch SS-er on the Eastern Front

Wiking: A Dutch SS-er on the Eastern Front PDF Author: Henk Kistemaker
Publisher: Eyewitness 1939 - 1945
ISBN: 9789089758811
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 206

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Book Description
Henk Kistemaker wrote a unique report about his war experiences as a member of the Waffen-SS. Percentage wise most volunteers for the German Waffen-SS, about 25,000 men, came from the Netherlands. The first division in which a contingent Dutch men served, was the SS Division Wiking. This division was deployed shortly after the invasion of Russia in 1941. She fought among others in Ukraine. During the summeroffensive of 1942 Wiking was able to penetrate deep into the Caucasus. In 1944 the Russian encirclement at Tsjerkassy was broken. In May 1945, most Wikingers became American prisoners of war. Also the 18-year-old Henk Kistemaker volunteered, in a thirst for adventure and on the advice of his German-minded father, to be a participant in this war. On the Eastern Front he experienced the heavy and gruesome battles; first as an infantryman and later as a member of a Panther tankcrew. He was wounded three times. At the age of 22, when the war has ended, he was a warveteran. In the years before his death, in 2003, Henk Kistemaker wrote his memories. It became a fascinating and shocking report about a young Dutchman in the vortex of the war.

In the Fire of the Eastern Front

In the Fire of the Eastern Front PDF Author: Hendrik C. Verton
Publisher: Stackpole Books
ISBN: 0811735893
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
"Dutch SS accounts are rare, particularly ones that describe recruiting, training, and frontline combat as completely and vividly as In the fire of the Eastern Front. Hendrick C. Verton volunteered for the Waffen-SS in early 1941 and fought against the Red Army until the end of the war as a soldier in the 5th SS Panzer Division 'Wiking' and SS Regiment Besslein, with which he participated in the epic defense of Breslau. Told from the unique perspective of a foreigner serving in the German military, Verton's memoir is an exciting addition to the literature of World War II"--Page 4 of cover.

Hitler's Vikings

Hitler's Vikings PDF Author: Jonathan Trigg
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0752479091
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 379

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Book Description
The Nazis’ dream of a world dominated by legions of Aryan ‘supermen’, forged in battle and absolutely loyal to Adolf Hitler, was epitomised by the Waffen-SS. Created as a supreme military elite, it grew to become Nazi Germany’s ‘second army’, an immense force totalling almost one million men by the end of the War.An astonishing fact about the SS is that thousands of its members were not German. Men stepped forward from almost every nation in Europe, for many sometimes complex reasons that included hatred of Bolshevism and nationalist sentiment or even straightforward anti-Semitism; foremost among them were Scandinavians from Denmark, Norway, Sweden and even Finland. Thousands were recruited from 1940 onwards and fought with distinction on the Russian Front. They served at first in national legions but were then brought together in the elite Wiking Panzer Division and the Nordland Panzer-grenadier Division. In Hitler’s Vikings, Jonathan Trigg details the battles these men fought and what inspired them to join the Waffen-SS, based in part on interviews with surviving veterans.

Valhalla's Warriors

Valhalla's Warriors PDF Author: Terry Goldsworthy
Publisher: Dog Ear Publishing
ISBN: 1608446395
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 286

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Book Description
They were the soldiers sworn by an oath of loyalty to follow Hitler into a maelstrom of genocidal barbarity. They were the elite of the German military in World War Two. They were the Waffen-SS. On June 22, 1941, before dawn, German troops invaded Russia. The Barbarossa campaign included some of the greatest episodes in military history: it also allowed Hitlerʼs ideological warriors, the Waffen-SS, to give full vent to their ideological way of war. It provided the killing ground in which some of the worst atrocities seen by humanity were committed. In Valhallaʼs Warriors, author Dr. Terry Goldsworthy, meticulously chronicles what has become one of the most famous fighting elites in World War Two. Discovering the truths behind the legend by drawing on hundreds of sources - including first hand accounts of Waffen-SS veterans - and spanning five years of research Dr. Goldsworthy leads the reader through the events that occurred on the Eastern Front, both on the front lines and behind. This book is an exploration of the Waffen-SS, and by necessity of evil. The Waffen-SS are commonly regarded as the elite of Germany's armed forces during World War II. They gained much of this reputation whilst fighting on the Eastern Front in Russia. Germany's war against the Soviet Union in World War II, in particular the role of the Waffen-SS forms much of the subject matter of this book. The death and destruction during this conflict would result not just from military operations, but also from the systematic killing and abuse that the Waffen-SS directed against Jews, Communists and ordinary citizens. This book provides a clear, concise history of the Waffen-SS campaign of conquest and genocide in Russia by looking at the actions both on and behind the front lines. By drawing on the best of military and Holocaust scholarship, this book dispels the myths that have distorted the role of the Waffen-SS, in both the military operations themselves and the unthinkable crimes that were part of them. The conventional wisdom that the Waffen-SS in World War II fought a relatively clean fight, unsullied by the atrocities committed by the Nazis, is challenged-and largely demolished. Focusing on the Eastern Front, the book contends that the Nazi vision of a racial-ideological death struggle against Slavic hordes and their Jewish-Bolshevik commissars resonated with soldiers of the Waffen-SS, steeped in traditional anti-Semitic and racist dogmas. In doing so this book clearly shows that the Waffen-SS was an organisation that committed widespread atrocities, and were truly soldiers of evil. DR. TERRY GOLDSWORTHY is a Detective Senior Sergeant with over 25 years policing experience in Australia. He has served in general duties, watchhouse and traffic branch before moving to the Criminal Investigation Branch in 1994. Dr. Goldsworthy has completed a Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Laws, Advanced Diploma of Investigative Practice and a Diploma of Policing. As a result of his law studies Dr. Goldsworthy was admitted to the bar in the Queensland and Federal Courts a a barrister in 1999. Dr. Goldsworthy then completed a Master of Criminology at Bond University. He later completed his PhD focusing on the concept of evil and its relevance from a criminological and sociological viewpoint. In particular Dr. Goldsworthy looked at the link between evil and armed conflicts using the Waffen-SS as a case study. He has also contributed chapters to the tertiary textbooks Forensic Criminology and Serial Crime, published by Academic Press. He has also written a chapter to the general crime book Crime on My Mind published by New Holland Publishing.

Viking Panzers

Viking Panzers PDF Author: Ewald Klapdor
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780811708029
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"Despite its belief in Germany's superiority to other nations, the Waffen SS nevertheless raised a number of units that consisted largely of non-Germans. The 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking and its formidable Panther-equipped spearhead, the 5th SS Tank Regiment, rank among the most elite of these -- or any other -- formations. Recruited from anticommunist volunteers from Scandinavia and other parts of Western Europe, the Vikings served with distinction on the Eastern Front, clashing with T-34s and other Soviet armor. From the fall of 1942 into 1944, the 5th SS Tank Regiment's area of operations consisted of the Caucasus and Ukraine"--Jacket.

Barbarossa Through German Eyes

Barbarossa Through German Eyes PDF Author: Jonathan Trigg
Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited
ISBN: 1398107239
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 526

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Book Description
The story of the world’s largest ever invasion through the voices of the men – and women – who witnessed it first-hand.

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.

As political soldiers we face Moscow’s hordes: Dutch volunteers in the Waffen-SS

As political soldiers we face Moscow’s hordes: Dutch volunteers in the Waffen-SS PDF Author: Evertjan van Roekel
Publisher: Vernon Press
ISBN: 1648893341
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 396

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Book Description
During the Second World War, approximately 25,000 Dutchmen served within the ranks of the military branch of the German SS: the Waffen-SS. They volunteered to fight to secure the victory of Nazi Germany. These Dutch volunteers fought mainly on the Eastern Front, and to a lesser extent, within their own national borders. After the war, the Allied victors regarded them as part of a criminal organization and jointly responsible for the atrocious transgressions of the Nazi regime. In the Netherlands, these men were reviled, branded as traitors and became pariahs in their own country. Those who had devoted themselves to the Nazi regime caused so much grief to the Netherlands that they had to be held accountable. Despite their military achievements, their reputation was damaged forever. The Netherlands supplied the largest contingent of SS soldiers from the occupied North-western European territories. Who were these people? What led them to enlist, and what were the consequences of their choice? An important part of this study involves the autobiographical texts of nineteen Dutch volunteers in the Waffen-SS. These ego-documents recount their own immediate experiences and are mainly fragments from diaries, but there are also letters, individual notes, and memoirs. The ego-documents are placed within the larger historical context to provide an answer to the question of whether these men were only ideologically motivated and unconditional Nazi sympathizers, and for this, their criminal records are also researched. Among other topics, the book discusses their choice to enlist, their experiences at the front, and their involvement in genocide, providing a new perspective on the Eastern Front.

Wiking: A Dutch SS-er on the Eastern Front

Wiking: A Dutch SS-er on the Eastern Front PDF Author: Henk Kistemaker
Publisher: Eyewitness 1939 - 1945
ISBN: 9789089758811
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 206

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Book Description
Henk Kistemaker wrote a unique report about his war experiences as a member of the Waffen-SS. Percentage wise most volunteers for the German Waffen-SS, about 25,000 men, came from the Netherlands. The first division in which a contingent Dutch men served, was the SS Division Wiking. This division was deployed shortly after the invasion of Russia in 1941. She fought among others in Ukraine. During the summeroffensive of 1942 Wiking was able to penetrate deep into the Caucasus. In 1944 the Russian encirclement at Tsjerkassy was broken. In May 1945, most Wikingers became American prisoners of war. Also the 18-year-old Henk Kistemaker volunteered, in a thirst for adventure and on the advice of his German-minded father, to be a participant in this war. On the Eastern Front he experienced the heavy and gruesome battles; first as an infantryman and later as a member of a Panther tankcrew. He was wounded three times. At the age of 22, when the war has ended, he was a warveteran. In the years before his death, in 2003, Henk Kistemaker wrote his memories. It became a fascinating and shocking report about a young Dutchman in the vortex of the war.

Estonian Vikings

Estonian Vikings PDF Author: Richard Landwehr
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 100

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Book Description
The Estonian SS-Frewilligen-Panzergrenadier-Bataillon Narwa was the first and best fighting unit fielded by this small Baltic nation as part of the German-led crusade against Communism. Fully motorized and equipped with heavy support weapons, it was able to take its place in the ranks of the multinational SS Wiking Division. Because of cultural persecution, the Estonians had good reason to take up arms against Stalin and the unit contained both professional soldiers and those who had education above High School. The Estonians proved to be worthy successors to the Finns, who they replaced at the front, showing both tenacity and fortitude in the face of an ancestral foe. In one battle alone they inflicted 7,000 casualties on the Red army and destroyed nearly 100 tanks.