In Nazi Germany, they were known as the Schutzstaffel. To the world, they became the dreaded SS – the most loyal and ruthless enforcers of the Third Reich. It all began as a small squad of political thugs, but by the end of 1935, the SS had assumed control of all police and internal security duties in Germany, from local village gendarmes to the secret political police and the Gestapo. By 1944, the militarized Waffen SS boasted over eight hundred thousand men in the field, rivaling even Germany's regular armed forces, the Wehrmacht.
In 'Army of Evil: A History of the SS,' author Adrian Weale dives deep into previously unavailable materials, including recently declassified intelligence files, the latest research, and rare, never-before-published photographs. This comprehensive account shatters myths and exposes the SS as a cadre of unwavering political fanatics and power-hungry opportunists who zealously followed an ideology that rejected traditional morality. They were prepared to implement this ideology to the most extreme and murderous extent, culminating in the Holocaust.
This book offers a definitive historical narrative of the origins, legacy, and ultimate downfall of one of history's most feared political and military organizations, led by twisted and cruel men responsible for one of humanity's most appalling crimes.
