The Allgemeine-SS

Osprey Men at Arms #266

by Robin Lumsden, Paul Hannon (Illustrator)

The SS originated as Hitler's personal bodyguard and following his rise to power in 1933 the organisation divided into two: the Waffen-SS, which comprised the military wing, and the Allgemeine-SS, whose role was to support the police in maintaining order. The Allgemeine-SS had a wide-ranging effect on all aspects of life in Nazi Germany, from enforcing Hitler's racial policies through to the running of over 500 factories in Germany and occupied Europe. While the more visible armed SS combat units naturally received all the publicity, especially during World War II, it was the rather faceless Allgemeine-SS which wielded the real power.

Genres: History, Military Fiction, Military History, World War II, Germany, Nonfiction

48 pages, Paperback

First published November 25, 1993

Reviews

[Bernd Velling · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is well researched and serves as a good overview of the history of the Allgemeine SS.

The scary part is that if you look at the description and the establishment of this hydra (pun intended) that had its tentacles everywhere and how clinically they went about it and what came out of it namely the murder of millions of people it makes you think.

The author kind of glosses that part over.
It is a study of a history but it should be a warning.

So for details one might not have known this is good ( where did the skull come from etc. ) but always remind yourself what came out of this organization because the book doesn’t.