Army of Evil: A History of the SS

Adrian Weale

sept 2012 · Penguin

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In Nazi Germany, they were called the Schutzstaffeln. The world would know them as the dreaded SS—the most loyal and ruthless enforcers of the Third Reich.

It began as a small squad of political thugs. Yet by the end of 1935, the SS had taken control of all police and internal security duties in Germany—ranging from local village “gendarmes” all the way up to the secret political police and the Gestapo. Eventually, its ranks would grow to rival even Germany’s regular armed forces, the Wehrmacht.

Going beyond the myths and characterizations, Army of Evil reveals the reality of the SS as a cadre of unwavering political fanatics and power-seeking opportunists who slavishly followed an ideology that disdained traditional morality—an ideology that they were prepared to implement to the utmost murderous extreme, which ultimately resulted in the Holocaust.

This is a definitive historical narrative of the birth, legacy, and demise of one of the most feared political and military organizations ever known—and of those twisted, cruel men who were responsible for one of the most appalling crimes against humanity in history.

INCLUDES RARE PHOTOGRAPHS

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Adrian Weale was educated at York University and the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst. He spent seven years in the regular army as a military intelligence officer, serving Northern Ireland, Germany, Cyprus and Central America. He left in 1992 to pursue a career as a writer. He has published eight works of non-fiction and he writes and reviews regularly for a range of national newspapers. In 2003, he was mobilized for military service in Iraq, where he was appointed Deputy Governor of Dhi Qar Province. In this role, he organized and supervised the first free local elections in Iraqi history in August and September 2003. He remains on active duty.