
In the Fire of the Eastern Front
The Experiences Of A Dutch Waffen-SS Volunteer On The Eastern Front 1941-45
- 296 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
In the Fire of the Eastern Front
The Experiences Of A Dutch Waffen-SS Volunteer On The Eastern Front 1941-45
About this book
Dutch SS accounts are very rare, particularly ones such as this, covering recruitment, training, and frontline service first with 5th SS Panzer Division 'Wiking', then later with SS Regiment Besslein. He not only informs and illustrates the general politics of the time, but also explains how Dutch views of the Third Reich changed so radically, discusses the founding of the Waffen-SS, the recruitment of Dutch volunteers into it and why so many non-German Europeans volunteered to fight and risk their lives for Germany. His discussion of the intensity of the SS's training is also noteworthy. Of course, the core of the book lies in Hendrik's recollections of his service on the Eastern Front between 1941 and 1945, initially with the 5th SS Panzer Division 'Wiking'. He offers the reader an impressive and fluid account, whether it be describing the midst of battle, surviving 50 degrees below zero, frosts and frozen ground, or traversing a quagmire of roads. Of particular historical interest are his later recollections of service during 1944-45 with SS Regiment Besslein on the Eastern Front, focusing on his participation in the epic defense of Breslau - this siege remains little-known in the West, and first-hand accounts such as Hendrik's are even scarcer, making this title a worthy addition to the literature on the Second World War.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Publisher's Note & Acknowledgements
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Copyright
- Contents
- Foreword
- Prologue
- Chapter 1 Where From?
- Chapter 2 The First World War and Fragments from Versailles
- Chapter 3 Political Revolution
- Chapter 4 War in Sight?
- Chapter 5 War
- Chapter 6 The War in the West
- Chapter 7 The European Volunteers
- Chapter 8 My training in the Waffen SS
- Chapter 9 Solstice in the East
- Chapter 10 On the Eastern Front
- Chapter 11 War in Winter
- Chapter 12 In Hospital
- Chapter 13 A New Apprenticeship
- Chapter 14 East Prussia
- Chapter 15 Silesia
- Chapter 16 Festung Breslau
- Chapter 17 The Last Battle
- Chapter 18 Capitulation and Captivity
- Chapter 19 Illegally in Poland
- Chapter 20 In the Eastern Zone
- Chapter 21 In the Western Zone
- Chapter 22 Constructing an Existance
- Chapter 23 Comradeship for Life
- Epilogue
- Bibliography
- eBooks by Helion & Company