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Soldiers of Destruction: The SS Death's Head Division, 1933-1945
This is the eighth Princeton Paperback printing and includes a new preface and postscript.
The reason this book is so unusual and compelling is because its subject occupied so central a place in the most extraordinary and destructive phenomenon ever to threaten the structure of civilization and the values of humankind. As a specialized monograph detailing the history and experience of a single Waffen SS division, the original edition of the book stimulated questions, provoked responses, animated inquires and in time became caught up in the remarkable growth of public fascination with the Hitlerian era and the SS. In its own small way, Soldiers of Destruction helped to create the phenomenon that has now absorbed it.
The reason this book is so unusual and compelling is because its subject occupied so central a place in the most extraordinary and destructive phenomenon ever to threaten the structure of civilization and the values of humankind. As a specialized monograph detailing the history and experience of a single Waffen SS division, the original edition of the book stimulated questions, provoked responses, animated inquires and in time became caught up in the remarkable growth of public fascination with the Hitlerian era and the SS. In its own small way, Soldiers of Destruction helped to create the phenomenon that has now absorbed it.
375 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 15, 2013
Soldiers of Destruction is Charles Syndor's academic study of the 3 SS "Totenkopf" Division. While being reasonably succinct, the book covers the founding and evolution of the division, it's leaders and men (in particular, it's first commander, Theodor Eicke), it's combat record, and it's record of atrocities and ties to the concentration camp system.
The Totenkopf Division had a most decidedly checkered history. Although they exhibited fanatical courage in combat, they were also notoriously brutal to both enemy combatants and civilians. Syndor does a great job explaining how Theodor Eicke's personal influence (including extremely harsh discipline and thorough political indoctrination), and the division's origins in the concentration camp system and Totenkopfverbaende (mobile units used to hunt down partisans, Jews, Poles and others the Nazis considered undesirables) shaped the ethos of the unit. He also recounts atrocities committed in France in 1940, as well as later ones on the Eastern Front, and ties them into a consistent pattern of behavior by citing atrocities overseen by former Totenkopf officers serving in other Waffen-SS units.
The narrative is fascinating, and quite readable. While a wealth of information is provided, and accompanied by a good number of maps and a ton of foot notes, the author avoids getting bogged down in minutiae. While the military history enthusiast may wish that Totenkopf's campaigns were covered in more depth, this makes the narrative smoother and more accessible to the general reader.
The Totenkopf Division had a most decidedly checkered history. Although they exhibited fanatical courage in combat, they were also notoriously brutal to both enemy combatants and civilians. Syndor does a great job explaining how Theodor Eicke's personal influence (including extremely harsh discipline and thorough political indoctrination), and the division's origins in the concentration camp system and Totenkopfverbaende (mobile units used to hunt down partisans, Jews, Poles and others the Nazis considered undesirables) shaped the ethos of the unit. He also recounts atrocities committed in France in 1940, as well as later ones on the Eastern Front, and ties them into a consistent pattern of behavior by citing atrocities overseen by former Totenkopf officers serving in other Waffen-SS units.
The narrative is fascinating, and quite readable. While a wealth of information is provided, and accompanied by a good number of maps and a ton of foot notes, the author avoids getting bogged down in minutiae. While the military history enthusiast may wish that Totenkopf's campaigns were covered in more depth, this makes the narrative smoother and more accessible to the general reader.
July 22, 2020
A compelling military history of the Waffen SS Totenkopf Division. Charles Sydnor has a talent for describing battalion to division level military engagements. The descriptions of unit formations, movement, and tactics were so well phrased that I was able to vividly visualize the operations as I read about them without constantly having to refer to a map. This was the most impressive aspect of the book.
Also of interest was the description of how Theodore Eicke bootstrapped the SSTK into becoming an elite military formation from nothing, almost entirely through Eicke's sheer force of will. Sydnor's thesis that the SSTK's excellent combat record was ultimately a result of the Eicke's legendary fanaticism is convincing. That the SSTK was Eicke's "private empire" is really not too much of an exaggeration, and understanding that aspect of the SSTK's history is central to understanding the origin of the often intense rivalry between the Waffen SS and the regular Wehrmacht
Less interesting was Sydnor's interest in proving that the Waffen SS and the broader SS itself was a 'revolving door' system. A case can be made for this, sure, yet the implications of that argument are not particularly important to me nor worth reading an entire book about. I read this book because I wanted to learn about the combat record of the SSTK and I was not disappointed in that regard.
Also of interest was the description of how Theodore Eicke bootstrapped the SSTK into becoming an elite military formation from nothing, almost entirely through Eicke's sheer force of will. Sydnor's thesis that the SSTK's excellent combat record was ultimately a result of the Eicke's legendary fanaticism is convincing. That the SSTK was Eicke's "private empire" is really not too much of an exaggeration, and understanding that aspect of the SSTK's history is central to understanding the origin of the often intense rivalry between the Waffen SS and the regular Wehrmacht
Less interesting was Sydnor's interest in proving that the Waffen SS and the broader SS itself was a 'revolving door' system. A case can be made for this, sure, yet the implications of that argument are not particularly important to me nor worth reading an entire book about. I read this book because I wanted to learn about the combat record of the SSTK and I was not disappointed in that regard.
June 8, 2022
So, here is the book that I should have read - rather than the sensationalized Curse of the Death's Head - to learn more about the SS Totenkopf Division and it's role in the fighting and killing of Nazi Germany and World War II. Whereas Rupert Butler went for the Hollywood angle of the story, Charles Sydnor has produced a meticulously researched, factual but very readable account, which Butler has obviously used as the basis for his airport non-fiction.
Soldiers of Destruction catalogues the shaky beginnings of the Totenkopf organisation - Theodor Eicke being the driving force behind not only the re-organization of the concentration camp system, but really the progenitor of the military arm of the SS. Sydnor shows us in Eicke a man who was in turn brutal, bullying, racist and yet in some ways very particular and prissy.
Through his vigour and chivvying Eicke managed to set up a national concentration camp system, which eliminated the personal sadism of previous commanders, and imposed not only a set of instructions which institutionalized brutality against those incarcerated, but also engendered within his SS cadres a feeling of being special and superior to those whom they opposed.
With his organizational ability and thrusting personality, Eicke was a natural choice to be the leader to initiate the armed wing of the SS. It also helped that the Totenkopfverbande was really the only source of combat-capable SS troops to create an armed division. Eicke's bullying blustering nature, and his ability to claim to be fulfilling the will of not only Himmler, but Hitler himself, initially didn't get him far in his battle with the German Army to get equipment and arms for his division. The Army did not like competition, did not like the overt ideological nature of the training of the SS troops, and frankly thought that the SS would not be able to fight.
Despite such opposition, Eicke worked hard to get his division up and running - begging, borrowing and stealing equipment - on many occasions incurring the wrath of Himmler, and working his troops very hard to get them up to speed. Eicke was determined that his troops would not only be the most ruthless in their pursuit of victory, but be exemplary National Socialists as well. He regularly cashiered soldiers and officers who transgressed his rules - many to do with drunkenness and sexual crimes, or anything else he thought besmirched the honour of the division. By the time SS Totenkopf arrived in France, the division was itching to get into battle.
That happened soon enough in France, where the division suffered proportionally more casualties than other units, owing to both their vigour in prosecuting battle, and their commanders not yet fully grasping how to use troops in modern war. Once France was defeated, the division not only had more experience, but plenty of captured equipment. They also had some grudging respect from the Army for their efforts. What we remember today from the Totenkopf's time in France is the Le Paradis massacre.
This was not the last war crime that the Totenkopf - or its members that moved onto other SS organizations - committed.
Soon enough the division was on its way to Russia, where it was part of Army Group North's push to Leningrad. While we now think of the German invasion of Russia as a bit of a walk-over up until Winter arrived, Sydnor makes clear that even the early advances came at the cost of huge casualties, especially for Totenkopf, for whom the Russian war was the apogee of their ideological world-view. The Division's high and low point came during the battle of the Demyansk Pocket where they proved that they were one of the best fighting units available to Germany, but where they had their heart torn out by the unremitting Russian assaults. By the time the Pocket was relieved, the Totenkopf had almost ceased to exist as a fighting unit.
They were sent to France to recover and refit, but found themselves instead part of the force who occupied Vichy France, before being sent back to Russia - this time the Ukraine. Here they were used as the "firemen" of the German forces, sent wherever the need was greatest. It was here that they lost their leader, with Eicke shot down and killed just before the Battle of Kursk. While the division made the most headway of any German unit during that battle, Russia defeated the Germans, and the remainder of the War saw Totenkopf continuing to fill holes in the German front, with less and less success, until they ceased to exist around Vienna at the end of the War.
Syndor has used the archives fully and well, which is why we find out much more about the Division before the death of Eicke, and not so much after, owing to the fact that the later records of the Division were destroyed at the end of the War. Syndor doesn't shy away from the criminality behind not only some of the actions undertaken by the Totenkopf, but behind its very basis. He shows through evidence that the idea espoused by some that the Waffen SS was merely another part of the Army and not tainted by all the evil undertaken by the rest of the SS is not near the truth. The Totenkopf Division in particular regularly cycled officers from combat, back to the camps and administration of Einsatzgruppen, and then back to the Division. He shows us that Hitler valued his SS Divisions, eventually giving them preference over his Army divisions when it came to equipment and manpower. He shows us that they were anything but another division in a normal army.
This book is a must-read for anyone who wishes to understand how the Waffen SS was born, how it grew, how it died, and how it was as much part of the SS as the Camp Guards and members of the Einsatzgruppen. A great piece of scholarship.
Check out my other reviews at http://aviewoverthebell.blogspot.com.au/
Soldiers of Destruction catalogues the shaky beginnings of the Totenkopf organisation - Theodor Eicke being the driving force behind not only the re-organization of the concentration camp system, but really the progenitor of the military arm of the SS. Sydnor shows us in Eicke a man who was in turn brutal, bullying, racist and yet in some ways very particular and prissy.
Through his vigour and chivvying Eicke managed to set up a national concentration camp system, which eliminated the personal sadism of previous commanders, and imposed not only a set of instructions which institutionalized brutality against those incarcerated, but also engendered within his SS cadres a feeling of being special and superior to those whom they opposed.
With his organizational ability and thrusting personality, Eicke was a natural choice to be the leader to initiate the armed wing of the SS. It also helped that the Totenkopfverbande was really the only source of combat-capable SS troops to create an armed division. Eicke's bullying blustering nature, and his ability to claim to be fulfilling the will of not only Himmler, but Hitler himself, initially didn't get him far in his battle with the German Army to get equipment and arms for his division. The Army did not like competition, did not like the overt ideological nature of the training of the SS troops, and frankly thought that the SS would not be able to fight.
Despite such opposition, Eicke worked hard to get his division up and running - begging, borrowing and stealing equipment - on many occasions incurring the wrath of Himmler, and working his troops very hard to get them up to speed. Eicke was determined that his troops would not only be the most ruthless in their pursuit of victory, but be exemplary National Socialists as well. He regularly cashiered soldiers and officers who transgressed his rules - many to do with drunkenness and sexual crimes, or anything else he thought besmirched the honour of the division. By the time SS Totenkopf arrived in France, the division was itching to get into battle.
That happened soon enough in France, where the division suffered proportionally more casualties than other units, owing to both their vigour in prosecuting battle, and their commanders not yet fully grasping how to use troops in modern war. Once France was defeated, the division not only had more experience, but plenty of captured equipment. They also had some grudging respect from the Army for their efforts. What we remember today from the Totenkopf's time in France is the Le Paradis massacre.
This was not the last war crime that the Totenkopf - or its members that moved onto other SS organizations - committed.
Soon enough the division was on its way to Russia, where it was part of Army Group North's push to Leningrad. While we now think of the German invasion of Russia as a bit of a walk-over up until Winter arrived, Sydnor makes clear that even the early advances came at the cost of huge casualties, especially for Totenkopf, for whom the Russian war was the apogee of their ideological world-view. The Division's high and low point came during the battle of the Demyansk Pocket where they proved that they were one of the best fighting units available to Germany, but where they had their heart torn out by the unremitting Russian assaults. By the time the Pocket was relieved, the Totenkopf had almost ceased to exist as a fighting unit.
They were sent to France to recover and refit, but found themselves instead part of the force who occupied Vichy France, before being sent back to Russia - this time the Ukraine. Here they were used as the "firemen" of the German forces, sent wherever the need was greatest. It was here that they lost their leader, with Eicke shot down and killed just before the Battle of Kursk. While the division made the most headway of any German unit during that battle, Russia defeated the Germans, and the remainder of the War saw Totenkopf continuing to fill holes in the German front, with less and less success, until they ceased to exist around Vienna at the end of the War.
Syndor has used the archives fully and well, which is why we find out much more about the Division before the death of Eicke, and not so much after, owing to the fact that the later records of the Division were destroyed at the end of the War. Syndor doesn't shy away from the criminality behind not only some of the actions undertaken by the Totenkopf, but behind its very basis. He shows through evidence that the idea espoused by some that the Waffen SS was merely another part of the Army and not tainted by all the evil undertaken by the rest of the SS is not near the truth. The Totenkopf Division in particular regularly cycled officers from combat, back to the camps and administration of Einsatzgruppen, and then back to the Division. He shows us that Hitler valued his SS Divisions, eventually giving them preference over his Army divisions when it came to equipment and manpower. He shows us that they were anything but another division in a normal army.
This book is a must-read for anyone who wishes to understand how the Waffen SS was born, how it grew, how it died, and how it was as much part of the SS as the Camp Guards and members of the Einsatzgruppen. A great piece of scholarship.
Check out my other reviews at http://aviewoverthebell.blogspot.com.au/
December 29, 2018
This is an important book. The basic premise is that great military units aren’t necessarily ethical ones. It goes on to show how the Waffen SS was composed of fanatics and criminals, but was still an excellent fighting organization on the Eastern Front. An important lesson for military leaders training units.
April 14, 2014
A well written and detailed book about one of the more awful instruments of Nazi Germany's Waffen SS. Well worth the read, with some decent maps and good background information.
April 17, 2024
The 5-stars are for the level of excellence in research when putting this book together in the 1970s as well as coming back to it in the 1990s for revision. Not many will give you exact movements of specific units and maps & diagrams of such movements.
If you're looking for sensationalized Holocaust horror stories, this isn't it -- go watch Come and See. If you're seeking very specific information on a specific unit within the Totenkopf and what they did throughout the war, this is it.
If you're looking for sensationalized Holocaust horror stories, this isn't it -- go watch Come and See. If you're seeking very specific information on a specific unit within the Totenkopf and what they did throughout the war, this is it.
January 15, 2018
Sloppy research and too many shortcuts mar a potentially excellent book. For example, the division suffered immense casualties fighting in Vienna for 10 days, yet this author dismisses the bitter house to house fighting as "occasional skirmishes."
January 25, 2015
Mesmerizing. "The banality of evil" is a phrase that does not apply here, because there is nothing banal about the fanatical bravery of these Nazi criminals, and the appalling horror they inflicted. How did humans do these things? They were animals.
October 22, 2009
The story of the World War II SS Death's Head division. It's inception and its history as a fighting force. Very intersting and well written.
March 13, 2015
An excellent survey of a particular organization. The military narrative is dated and could be usefully revised. But the organizational narrative still stands the test.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews