Ronald Smelser

This was a rather disturbing read on so many fields.

Way how Wermacht and Waffen-SS got exculpated through attempts to only observe the military aspect (as if military is group of people acting on their own) on the Eastern front is heart sinking. And to see how this was helped by the West's active political and military help post 1946 is truly embarrassing.

While I understand need to learn the lessons from the WW2 and need to learn more about Russians (new enemies in Cold War) from their enemies (Nazi Germany), succumbing to the propaganda from the soldiers that [maybe, but I doubt it] felt shame and just wanted WW1 like honor of the Prussian military, and exonerating them and then pushing image of them as protectors of Europe culture against Eastern threat is nothing more than warping the history. USSR had enough of its faults, from 1917 to eve of WW2 it was one crisis after another, Civil War and then internal social changes with terrible effect in the majority of people (and their vengeful actions against German civilians immediately after WW2 did not help them at all). But they suffered terribly in WW2, victims of evil genocidal campaign led by the very Wermacht and Waffen-SS. To succumb to Nazi Germany's racial prejudices and presentation of Russians (and generally everyone other than their template of super humans) is terrible shame. To see that alive even today with lady on TV talking how Russians are different kind of human .... it is all result of this deeply planted seed of hate that was left to mature through decades where East is marked for majority of enlightened and progressive people in West as "There be Dragons" land. Terrible stain that will remain for a long long time.

I have to admit I have read many a book written by German WW2 soldiers and commanders but never consider it to be true in every aspect (especially when it comes to political elements and the always professional behavior - something that, history shows it time and time again, just does not survive in mayhem of combat, especially in a form of combat that took place in the USSR). Consider it a cautious approach to subject from a person living in a country that also saw its share of savage Wermacht/Waffen-SS reprisals and warfare.

I guess situation where we are is actually a warning of effect of controlled propaganda and mass publications with a very specific goal in mind. People pick up whatever they find interesting and then they - since they have no reasons why not - believe the works they read because same works are advertised by people exposed in the media as experts. So there is no further investigation, further reads and - very very rarely - attempt to learn about the whole of the events. Author tells the same story - while professional literature on actual Wermach/Waffen-SS war crimes exists for at least the last half a century these books do not sell as good and are read by public that already knows about all of this.

Authors do go off a bit when it comes to wargaming and especially re-enactors but I do understand why. When it comes to telling stories, most successful are those that provide people with imagery and one thing that marked both Wermacht and Waffen-SS is style, very eye catching (as was in general entire Nazi iconography - Allied forces, all of them, pale in comparison wen it comes to visual presentation). And people rarely try to read and connect the dots so visually rich iconography has a strong effect and people start to believe the fairy tales. And this is where danger lies in reenactment and very specifically illustrated and documented wargames that provide plethora of details on Nazi war machine and generic data for anybody else (that again makes an effect on the player, whether we like it or not). Problem with ideologies is that as long their root beliefs live, ideologies keep on living. And for this particular ideology [Nazism] that is very dangerous thing.

Interesting book, highly recommended.… (mehr)

Sometimes you simply wait too long to read a book and for me this is one of those times. Had I read it seven or eight years ago I would have been more impressed with how the authors examined the processes by which the criminality of the German military on the Eastern Front was masked by the expediency of the Cold War but I think that we've reached the point where peak "all hail the Wehrmacht" thinking (as a buddy of mine put it) has passed. A bit of my reaction may simply come from having lived this reality but I also wonder what this cultural trend now looks like in a world where the sort of reactionary personality that was willing to embrace this myth is now willing to embrace Putin's Russia for its ostensible anti-globalism and social conservatism. Still, for a younger person who might not be aware that this was a social trend this is probably a useful monograph. I also get amusement from image on the book cover depicting a heroic German tank commander (taken from the box art of a board game) which I'm quite sure was produced by Tim of Finland, who was essentially the Vargas of gay pornography. The authors do not attempt to deal with the psycho-sexuality of the cult!… (mehr)