The Order of the Death's Head: The Story of Hitler's SS (Classic Military History)

Book Description

"A monumental achievement." (The New York Times Book Review)

The SS was the terror of Europe. Swearing eternal allegiance to Adolf Hitler, it infiltrated every aspect of German life and was responsible for the deaths of millions. This gripping history recounts the strange and, at times, absurd true story of Hitler's SS. It exposes an organization that was not directed by some devilishly efficient system but was the product of accident, inevitability, and the random convergence of criminals, social climbers, and romantics. Above all, this eye-opening book describes in fascinating detail the chaotic political conditions that allowed the SS-despite rivalries and bizarre conditions-to assume and exercise unaccountable power.

Customer Reviews:

Lifts The Veil Of A Carefully Cultivated Hollywood Myth.......2007-09-23

Heinze Höhne spins a masterful tale of the organizational quagmire that was Nazi Germany's SS. In so doing, he punches a huge hole in the Hollywood-developed myth which usually portrayed them as evil, highly-organized and efficient automatons in films like The Eagle Has Landed. Even worse, whole generations have grown up believing such poppycock as "true history" and that Heinrich Himmler was the second, most powerful man in the regime.

Well, evil they certainly were. But organized and efficient? Not hardly. Nor was "Reichheini" [the unflattering nickname pinned on Himmler by a host of Nazi Party members and SS leaders] as overwhelmingly powerful an individual as he appears in movies and novels.

Not only was he and his "claptrap racial superiority theories" [the words of one highly-placed Nazi] more often than not ignored, but several senior SD [security branch] officers were either openly critical ["He had power but in practice he made no use of it in Germany; he and his power were a pricked balloon" - Otto Ohlendorf], or simply disobeyed his orders.

One example of this was Dr. Werner Best, his man in occupied Denmark. Under orders to round up all of that country's 6,500 Jews for removal to the camps, he simply arrange for their escape to neighbouring, neutral Sweden. He then sent a note to Berlin which said "1. Anti-Jewish action in Denmark carried out without incident .... 2. As of today Denmark can be regarded as free of Jews."

Himmler had even less control over his vaunted, fighting arm, the Waffen-SS, as top generals like Sepp Dietrich, Paul Hausser, Wilhelm Bittrich, and "Panzer" Meyer paid him no attention whatsoever.

Fully indexed with several photos of people like Dietrich, Heydrich, Himmler, and marching columns of SS, as well as the death camps, it also contains a detailed fold-out organizational chart of the structure of the SS in 1944.

Fascinating insight, this book, first published in 1966 in Germany, is sure to raise more than a few eyebrows among those of you who grew up believing the Hollywood version.

This book is quite an achievement.......2007-08-16

In this quasi encyclopedic book the author brings alive the SS and the men that ran that organization. I did learn more about Himmler's and Heydrich's character in this book than in their respective biographies. This learned effort by Mr. Höhne combines scholarship with anecdotes and historical "trivia". This book will shed light on most readers about the organizational structure, mission and the legacy of horror that the SS left at its wake. Upon reading this book it was impressed on me the importance of checking budding dictatorships at their outset.

The Best, Most Thorough Account of the SS.......2007-07-06

This is a splendid book! Hohne has really spent time delving into this bizarre Order, and the result is nothing short of impressive. The most fascinating thing to come out of this was how unorganized the Third Reich was. I grew up thinking the SS was the bastion of ruthless efficiency carried out by the Third Reich war machine, but the author shows us the truth behind it all. Of course the SS soldiers themselves were ruthless, efficient, and everything you've been brought up to believe - but the top brass and politicos of the Order were nothing more than petty, squabbling bureaucrats, looking for anything to get in good with the Fuhrer. The triumph of this book, as I see it, is the combination of the two. You are shown the SS of legend and the SS of reality.

It is always fascinating, and although there are some dull pages dedicated to numbers, facts, figures, etc, the pace quickly picks up and you are never left wanting for interesting material. I read this as a college student because I wanted to know more about the SS and the Third Reich in general. It solved all my problems and dispelled a lot of rumors as well. (One such being how the SS used to work with the major Zionist movements in trying to EXPORT the Jews to Israel instead of killing them. Also fascinating is the Teutonic Knight element injected into the Order - they really thought they were the reincarnation of these old Knights! Lots more...)

In short, the book is long but does not drag for more than a few pages at a time. It's very well written and fascinating - and if you have ever wondered about the SS as one of the most notorious groups in history you'll love this book. Pick it up, it's a great read.

Changed my view of the Third Reich.......2007-06-16

This book exploded some of the myths that I had come to accept as a given on the Nazi regime. I believed that the Nazi regime was a well oiled machine that ran more efficiently than any other in the world. Then I come to find out that the regime worked on nothing more than a cult of personality and that personality's ability to foster rivalries between competing forces on the lower rungs of power. It's amazing to me that in this chaotic atmosphere this regime was able to make the trains run on time let alone reconstitute the most powerful and technologically advanced army in the world.

This was also the most comprehensive look at the SS I have read as of yet. The author goes through the organization with a fine tooth comb to really give one a good look into this eclectic organization. The author goes through the reasons why some would join the SS for the credibility and standing membership gives the individual within the Nazi regime. Many professionals joined this organization so that they would be able to advance in their careers within the framework of the regime even though they were philosophically opposed to the organization. This of course does not go for every member. Himmler also had philosophical and practical problems between keeping his organization "pure" and raising enlistment numbers within the SS so he could gain more power and influence.

The book does a very good job describing what was happening during the regimes final days. Himmler's pipe dreams of leading the SS to the battlefield to save the German army to his belief that he could take over and negotiate terms with the allies and not be held to account for the horrible crimes committed under his authority. As the regime collapsed around its leading figures, they continued to exist in a world that was divorced from reality. Whether it was Goering's art and fine wine collections or his drug habit, Hitler's reliance on the miracle weapon or Himmler's unfounded belief in his military prowess, the leadership of the Third Reich was rarely in touch with reality. Even as Hitler's ability to actually command any part of Germany, Himmler could still not bring himself to act against the fuehrer.

This book was such a great find for me that I hope others may read this work also. There are rather few reviews for this work even though I believe it should be an essential read for anyone who wants to understand this era history. It is big but don't let the size intimidate you because this is one book that rewards the effort put into it.

A comprehensive and frighteningly detailed history.......2006-12-11

This is a huge book in a number of respects, not merely for the density of its 600 pages. It posits a number of interesting theories/takes on the rise of the SS, and I particularly liked the details about the sometimes-overlooked Reinhard Heydrich, who - fortunately for him - was killed half-way through the war. The sheer mundaneness of butchers like Himmler and Eichmann is positively eery, and although we all have horrible visions of the atrocities and most of us have seen Schindler's List, the systematic cataloguing by the authors of the mathematical progression from pseudo-masonic movement (as the SS was) to mass-murder seems scarily logical - small-steps, softly-softly, they-won't notice...this is a book you can dip into whenever you want to feel really, really uncomfortable...

The Order of Death's Head : The Story of Hitler's SS

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Excellent History
Truth behind the Death's Head.

The Order of Death's Head : The Story of Hitler's SS
Heinz Hohne
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: 0345310241
Release Date: 1983-07-12

Customer Reviews:

Excellent History.......2004-02-16

In many ways, the demonization of the 3rd Reich's arch-villains has been a mistake. The travesty is that people always assume there is "us" and "them" and "they" are always the monsters. "We can't possibly have it in us to do these horrible things." The sad case is most are accomplices either by their apathy, ambition, or some other mundane aspect.

Whether Hohne desired to or not, he hammers this point home. With painstaking detail using first-hand accounts, interviews, diaries, letters and other documentation Hohne crafts an in-depth portrait of Nazi Germany, the SS, and the men involved. Most weren't insane or sadists. To this list I would add even Himmler, Eichmann, Muller, Heydrich and others. Eichmann wasn't even an anti-Semite. Sadly, I don't think he saw anything other than numbers as any efficient bureaucrat would. This book clearly demonstrates how easily normal people were compromised by their own small decisions to become monsters. Action A desensitized them to B and the road to Hell was made in baby steps.

Hohne makes his case that Nazi Germany wasn't a monolithic State but a jungle. The illusion of a central authority, even Hitler as such, is a myth. By documenting how various depts. wax and wane along with their respective spheres of influence and maddening overlap of responsibilities, Hohne shatters the monolithic image of the Nazi State. State powers grew unchecked by law, international pressure, or civic duty. Fascist intellectuals had stated that their State was beyond Law. This is what happened when a State had no checks.

It was a power grab in a madhouse. Various State organs were run as fiefdoms by ambitious men with Hitler in the center as a lion tamer. At any moment one fo those lions could, and would, have eaten him. All the way down the chain, everyone ran their little empires and sought to increase them. The image of Hitler I have after reading this is from the old Doors song "rider on the storm." He played one powerful potentate off against another to maintain his position. Hitler was the penultimate politician.

The book reads well, though dry statistics can occasionally bore. The large "cast of characters" creates difficulty in remembering who did what when esp since individuals frequently wore more than one hat. Trying to remember various shifting State entities is difficult. Hohne does an excellent job of documenting the shifting spheres of influence among the horde of departments in Nazi Germany, but you will often find yourself backtracking. Familiarize yourself with the Appendices to reduce confusion. In the end, the read is exceptional and well worth it.

Goriness and sensationalism are kept to a minimum. The real horror is how, step-by-step, normal people were roped into insanity and how absolutely easy it was. There never was (or is) any great evil conspiracy. Nazi-ism's rise is best expressed inadvertently by Carl Sandberg when he wrote "the fog comes on little cat feet." Those who treasure human & civil rights, liberty and justice should read this book.

Truth behind the Death's Head........2000-11-10

This book was gruesome. It showed the truth of Hitlers operation to get rid of the Jews. It tells about how Hitlers army could not kill women and children, so they had a backup army which were trained to kill women and children. This books get very specific when they tell about how some infants were killed. One would throw the baby in the air, and the other would try to catch it the end of the knife. And if any one flinched, they would get beat, or possibly even killed. As gruesome and graphic this story is... It tells the horrible truth of what happened during the "Final Solution."

The Order of the Death's Head - The Story of Hitler's SS

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The Order of the Death's Head - The Story of Hitler's SS
Heinz Hohne
Manufacturer: Coward-McCann
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HW38E6

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Order of the Death's Head: The Story of Hitler's Ss
Heinz; Hohne, Heinze Hohne
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OJ7YT2

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The Order of the Death's Head: the Story of Hitler's SS.
Heinz Hohne
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OV9EQ6

Amazon.com

This invaluable book collects some of the first-published first-person accounts of the tragedy, described in old-fashioned prose and enhanced by photographs and illustrations redolent of Edwardian society, with captions such as "Ladies and gentlemen in riding habit exercised on mechanical horses and camels in the ship's gymnasium." Some of the social attitudes of the day are preserved to often startling effect: the habits of obedience of "the Teutonic race" are repeatedly praised, and one brave Titanic officer used what the book's introduction terms "the strange ethical algebra which decided that one female, travelling first class, deserved life some six times as much as one male, travelling third class." Yet it's just such period detail that makes this book so compelling--not to mention the vivid sense that the passengers just didn't get it, even while disaster was upon them. "To illustrate further how little danger was apprehended," writes survivor Lawrence Beesley, "when it was discovered ... that the forward lower deck was covered with small ice, snowballing matches were arranged for the following morning.... The cries of drowning people after the Titanic gave the final plunge were a thunderbolt to us."

Book Description

What it was really like. Panic, despair, shocking inefficiency, and a dash of heroism. Two lengthy narratives by passengers who had a thorough knowledge of the sea and by members of the ship's crew. More thrilling than any fictional account. 26 illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

A HISTORY BUFF MUST READ!!.......2007-08-17

This book definately confirms the acutual facts of the Titanic tragedy from the the day of departure until the impact with the iceberg. It gives you the true facts from the mouths of the survivors & definately corrects misconceptions lasting through the tales of time. Even the exact jounal facts of the trial after the tragedy confirms facts not accurate, even to the song the band was playing when the ship went down. It also does confirm facts that were true. Also, you learn of the changes in ship law regarding life boat number in regards to souls on board, & other major changes after the Titanic tragedy. THE MAIN THING LEARNED WAS THAT MANY BRAVE SOULS WENT DOWN WITH THIS SHIP WITHOUT COMPLAINT OR CAUSING ANY PROBLEMS AT ALL WHEN NOT NECESSARY, PLEASE HONOR THESE PEOPLE & THEIR MEMORIES AS YOU READ THIS BOOK. More detailed history that you will ever read regarding this tragedy...

Loving the book.......2007-07-11

I love this book. Learning the account of the disaster from the perspective of those who went through it is interesting.

unsurpassed.......2007-05-09

"That cold green water, crawling its ghostly way up the staircase, was a sight that stamped itself indelibly in my memory. Step, by step, it made its way up, covering the electric lights, which for a short time shone under the suface with a horribly weird effect." This, tetsimony from an officer of the ship, named Lightoller, matches any description for effect that any fiction writer could create. It is the fact that this book is taken from the testimony of four of Titanic's survivors that makes this book so excellent. One gets a real sense of the times---Edwardian England---where duty was paramount and the supposed superiorty of the English race, which colors the survivor's accounts, hints at the very pride that contributed to the disaster---a fascinating paradox. Not only do you get the testimoney from four survivors--each several chapters---but also a boat by boat testimonial from the survivors of those boats. Another reviewer here found this testimony mundane, but I found it fascinating and objectively complete. It seems that the most famous account of the disaster in book form, A Night to Remember, took much of its information from this book, and what makes this book so much more appealing is that the accounts are unfiltered. Captain Lightoller's account is particularly illuminating in that it shines a critical light on the Titanic hearings before the U.S. and English governments, which he calls a "farce." Another fascinating thing about this book is that despite the differing experiences related here by the survivors you begin to pick up bits and pieces of testimony that weave a common thread of experience among all---like a great puzzle.

Interesting, but long and drawn out.......2004-02-19

I'm very interested in the Titanic, and have read several books about the events surronding this disaster. This book was interesting, but very very long and drawn out. Sometimes I was so bored reading it that I fell asleep. Particulary, I didn't care to know what every single person inside of every single lifeboat did, said, didn't do or didn't say, etc. But, like I said before, there was some interesting info. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone nor will I ever read it again.

A wonderful remembrance of not such a wonderful thing.......2002-05-01

But definitely worth reading if you want to learn more about the Titanic and how the survivors felt.

The Story Of The Titanic - As Told By Its Survivors - Contains The Loss Of The S. S. Titanic, Its Story And Its Lessons....

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The Story Of The Titanic - As Told By Its Survivors - Contains The Loss Of The S. S. Titanic, Its Story And Its Lessons....
Lawrence; Gracie, Archibald; Lightoller, Commander; Bride, Harold; Edited by Winocour, Jack Beesley
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000P9ZQB4

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The Story of the Titanic, As Told By Its Survivors

Manufacturer: Dover
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000FAGUG8

Sinking of the Titanic Memorial Edition Thrilling Stories Told By Survivors

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Sinking of the Titanic Memorial Edition Thrilling Stories Told By Survivors

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000ETP1E2

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Sinking of the Titanic, Memorial Edition Thrilling Stories Told by Survivors
Jay Henry Mowbray
Manufacturer: Minter Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000N5YY9A

Sinking of the Titanic: Thrilling Stories Told by Survivors. Memorial Edition (Salesman's Sample)

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Sinking of the Titanic: Thrilling Stories Told by Survivors. Memorial Edition (Salesman's Sample)
Jay Henry Mowbray
Manufacturer: The Minter Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000LQJOIM

Book Description

300 color illustrations! Color is all around us, an integral and often spectacularly beautiful part of nature. What causes these colors, which animals can see them, and how and why do colors exist? Focus on the complex and fascinating role that color plays in nature, from physical and atmospheric occurrences to plant and animal life. Do you know why snow is white, a leaf green, ocean water blue, and a zebra striped? Did you know that colors in the eastern sky at sunset are paler than those in the western sky, that no two people ever see the same rainbow, and that fish generally become dark when angry? These subjects and many more are discussed in a lively, non-technical manner that will draw you in and keep you interested for hours. An excellent reference source with an encyclopedic range of information about color in our universe. Trim size: 9 1/2 x 12.

Customer Reviews:

An Excellent Overview.......2002-06-08

This book answers all those little questions you have about colors. Why are blue feathers blackish when you look at them up close? What's that rainbow on the surface of the puddle? The answers described, though sometimes complex, are given in layman's terms with lots of pictures and graphics. It is so densely packed with information that I have to read it in very small bits. Everytime I do, I come away with more interesting tidbits about the physics, biology, and chemistry of color.

The only downside to the book is that the scope is so broad. Many concepts are merely touched on. There is just enough to whet your thirst before she moves on to the next topic.

Color in Nature : A Visual and Scientific Exploration.......2000-06-27

I am interested in the subject of visual perception, color in nature and in landscape. How human being except nature or landscape (parks, gardens) on psychological level and the possible ways of landscape planning that includes the visual perception.

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COLOR IN NATURE A Visual and Scientific Exploration
Penelope A. Farrant
Manufacturer: Blandford Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000JVA36G

Book Description

James Lovelock is a world-renowned scientist and inventor whose work on detecting CFC's (chlorofluorocarbons) in our environment led him to develop a new theory about our planet. The Gaia Hypothesis posits that the Earth is alive-a self regulating organism in its own right. In his two other books on the subject, Lovelock set the record straight on the damage that CFC'c have done to ourplanet and its delicate balance of the interaction between life-forms. His theory has generated much controversy as it proposes that evolution is far from over and that humankind is no longer the be-all and end-all of that process. In this latest volume on the subject, Lovelock examines the health and future prospects of our ailing planet. Beautifully illustrated and presented, Healing Gaia does justice to a theory of this magnitude, while making it accessible to a wide audience of scientists and non-scientists alike. It represents the most comprehensive analysis of our origins, our reasons for existence, and our likely future.

Customer Reviews:

A more mature review.......2004-07-14

The other review on this page was written by me (Lloyd) a few years ago. I am writing this review as a second look at the book now that I am older and (hopefully) more critical - i.e. less willing to be persuaded (!). Whilst I still think that the Gaia hypothesis is a fascinating idea and that Lovelock's book is well worth reading, I am now much more sceptical about the actual evidence for the hypothesis -- empirical evidence is, after all, the final and absolute test of a hypothesis in science.

Lovelock's writing can be very poetic. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing, but in some cases -- such as the description of the earth as being an `organism' -- clarity and scientific precision seems to be sacrificed in favour of emotion. In the review `Reviewing Lovelock's second book on the Gaia Hypothesis' of `The Ages of Gaia' someone explains Lovelock's ideas about the earth as an organism more eloquently than I can. I find this view much less likely (and therefore not as good as a scientific hypothesis) than the more down to earth -- if you will forgive the pun! -- statement that living things sometimes modify their environment in a way that keeps conditions favourable for life.

Which brings me back to the all-important question of whether the earth is `self regulating'. It seems to me that this would be quite a difficult thing to demonstrate experimentally or by observation (although Lovelock does give examples of observations that support his hypothesis). I don't know what the current evidence amounts to (I am not a scientist!) but it seems to me that the current consensus is not with Lovelock.

In summary, I would recommend people to read the book but to bear in mind that Gaia is not a well-established theory. In particular, it might be good to also read some books about more mainstream evolutionary theory by authors such as Dawkins and Stephen Jay Gould (which are, in my opinion, brilliant books) first.

Manual for the 20th Century.......2001-07-16

We are all well aware of the world-wide problems concerning humans harming the environment, such as ozone depletants and cars causing global warming. We are a great deal less aware, however, of the real damage done to the earth and whether or not the planet can recover.

In this revolutionary book Lovelock describes his profound new theory of planetary ecology. The Gaia theory views the earth as a living, self-regulatory organism in which the evolution of life is closely coupled with the evolution of the climate. The theory accounts for the remarkable ability of the biosphere to recover from planetary disasters such as the impact that killed the dinosaurs, and many other previously unexplained features of life on earth.

The book should be on the shelf of anyone interested in the planetary maladies mankind has inflicted upon the earth. In easy to understand language with the minimum of jargon. Lovelock eloquently explains his theory and suggests sensible and empirical remedies for an ailing Gaia.

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Gaia : The Practical Science of Planetary Medicine
James Lovelock
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HM7UOK

Average customer rating:
Gaia : The Practical Science of Planetary Medicine
James Lovelock
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKJKB6

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