In the Fire of the Eastern Front: The Experiences of a Dutch Waffen-SS Volunteer, 1941-45 (Stackpole Military History Series)

First I'll tell you what this book is not. Its not a graphic account of all the battle action of troop movements or objectives captured seen on the Eastern Front by the author. It is a highly personal, sometimes emotional and biased account of the few joys and the many horrors of sights and experiences during and after battle to the author, his comrades and civilians that were caught up in the war. But its also more than the anecdotal experience for it appears the author after surviving the war, studied the war for decades, gaining an understanding far greater than his own personal experience and has included brief summaries and background information that is sometimes overlooked by other historians. The author also quotes from Charles Sydnor, David Irving, Paul Carell, Douglas MacArthur and other European authors I'm not familiar with to support some of his comments.One of the most intriguing comments dealt with the opening week of Operation Barbarossa when it was discovered the great number of Russian troops, planes, tanks and supply warehouses so close to the border that both German soldier and officer felt sure Russia was preparing their own invasion of Europe. He confirms his thoughts by quoting the Russian defector, Viktor Suvorov.The author begins his story by telling a little about himself, his family and his family's heritage. He moves on to discuss the relationship of Holland and Germany after WWI, the despair of Germany experienced at the hands of the Allies, the rise of Hitler and his successful attempt to pull Germany up from the depths of economic depression which also benefited Holland. He explains how many Dutch were proud of Hitler to succeed against the determined efforts of France and England to keep Germany destitute. Hitler's stance against Communism was also appreciated and the main reason Verton and so many other non Germans volunteered.After volunteering, he was handed over to the Wafen SS and drilled to be physically and mentally tough. When the Wehrmacht couldn't accomplish something, they'd send the SS to complete the job type of attitude.As mentioned above the author discusses the personal ramifications and doesn't describe specific battle engagements in depth from a military perspective for most of his war experience like you'd read from Glantz, Nash, Nipe etc. That changes, to a small extent, in the last months of the war with the siege of Breslau. Mr Verton spends half of the book on the determined resistance of the German garrison holding off a far superior Russian force from daily attacks, artillery barrages and strafings from their air force. He clearly writes with pride with their resistance and the total despair with their surrender in early May. He continues to explain the Russian revenge on the people and soldiers of Breslau and how helpless they were. He explains how he exchanges his SS uniform for an Army NCO uniform and makes his escape to the west where he finds his father and older brother were killed. He concludes his life with marriage, finding a job and keeping in touch with his surviving comrades.This is a very personal account, delivering hundreds of experiences and tribulations and the author doesn't hold back any punches on the brutalities the Russian Army inflicted on its own people, German soldiers and European civilians. I can think of only a few instances where praise was delivered on the Russians. The T34 tanks, Kayyuska rockets and partisans were mentioned as being the dread of the German infantry. In the last days of the war while the author was recovering from a gun wound a Russian soldier could have killed him but didn't.Besides the personal, other topics were discussed. The valor of General Niehoff at Breslau, the betrayal of Paulus and Seydlitz after Stalingrad, the vast amount of aid the US gave Russia, the pride in Hitler for trying to defend Europe from Communism are just a few examples.There are a couple maps, a few photos of the author and fellow soldiers and a number of sketches to study. A Bibliography ends the story.Depending on your interests, this is the type of book you'll either really like or hate. The author seemed very straight forward about his views and though I don't agree with everything said, it was still an interesting read.

In the Fire of the Eastern Front by Hendrick C. Verton is a memoir of the author as a Dutch Waffen SS volunteer. He starts the book off with the story of his Verton ancestors-descendents of Knights Templar who fled to Holland after the Pope and King of France declared them outlaws, despite their clear successful defense of Western Civilization. He describes his area's support of France during the Napoleonic Wars, many of the men of the Netherlands went off to Russia in Napoleon's ill-fated 1812 invasion.After the Germans conquer all of Western Europe, Verton decides to join them to fight against the Soviet menace. He describes his training and his first push in Moscow, where his men take aircraft to the front-then just outside Moscow. Eventually, Verton rises to the rank of SS Unterscharführer and is part of the defense of Breslau-a city that resists Soviet attacks even after the fall of Berlin.In the final days of the siege of Breslau through to the first weeks after its surrender, Verton describes the forming cracks in the anti-German Coalition and the start of the Cold War, as well as the Russian behavior that lead to the Soviet defeat in the Cold War. The British, for example, refuse to bomb the city in support of the Soviets and the Russians carry out a rape-robbery-murder spree after the fall of the city. The Soviets also fail to keep their bargain as part of the Surrender of Breslau.Verton is most critical of the Dutch, especially the Royal Family that fled Holland at the first sign of trouble, while he went to actually defend Holland from the Soviets.The story of the ethnic cleansing of Germans in Poland is told, and Verton tells how he met and wooed his wife after the war. He also describes how his veteran friends help re-build a peaceful, prosperous, and just Europe following the conflict.Much ink is devoted to the unjust treatment of the vanquished. The cruel, arbitrary, and ultimately foolish actions of the Bolsheviks is well documented but he quotes a second hand source about the American treatment of German POWs. This reviewer knows many Germans and children/grandchildren of German soldiers in the Second World War. All of them were grateful to to have been captured by the Americans rather than the Soviets and two of the POW's were paroled within days following the end of the war. While I have no doubt that Americans can be cruel to a foe-vanquished or otherwise-the first hand accounts of what I've heard vs. the second hand, lurid tales, in this story I've got the feeling that a general trend of American cruelty towards German POW's is exaggerated.Verton successfully puts his place in the Waffen SS alongside the larger sweep of history, and after reading his story one can't help but wonder about the following:The Waffen SS in many ways-and for better or worse-picked up the heroic, knightly tradition of Western Europe-the tradition of the Mendicant Friars and Crusaders. One also must wonder if NATO is built on the bones of those warriors. It is no accident that Ronald Reagan held a speech at the Bitburg Cemetery (containing SS Graves) during a particularly critical moment of the Cold War. Additionally, NATO's military activity matches up to what one would suppose the Knights Templar and Teutonic Knights would do if they were engaged in geopolitics today. For example, NATO absorbed the Baltic Nations as soon as the Soviets left and to date, all NATO military action has been against Orthodox Slavs and Moslems.A good read.

An interesting book, although not so much because of its accounts of battle on the Eastern Front (there are relatively few) but for providing the perspective of a non-German serving in the SS and what it was like in the smoking ruins of Europe after WWII was over.I guess the author could be described as a "Nazi sympathizer" rather than a Nazi, and generally defends many of Hitler's decisions and complains about many actions of the allies. I've not read anything from authors with this perspective, so found it generally interesting, if unconvincing.Not much combat action here--just a bit on the Eastern Front (in 1942?) and then in Breslau in 1945, including during its siege. I didn't know anything about this siege before, so again found it interesting.Finally, a good part of the book describes the author's adventures after the war in Poland, East Germany, and then West Germany. Because of his service with the SS, the author feared prison or worse if he went home, so he forged various paperwork to stay in Poland, were he became kind of a wheeler-dealer in the black market. Eventually he figured out that it would be dangerous for him to stay in Poland so moved to East Germany, and then to West Germany, all the while forging/buying identity documents and keeping a fairly low profile. While this part of the book sounds rather boring, actually these adventures are quite interesting.Overall a good read, but don't buy the book expecting lots of East Front combat, this is not the book you're looking for...

If you buy this and get offended that it's by a willfully unapologetic Nazi, then you've probably bought it unwisely. If you're looking for an interesting post-war account of several key episodes from a Dutch Waffen SS member, then you'll think it good value.In particular, the best bits are: a Dutch viewpoint of Nazi power in the 30s and their invasion in 1940; the decision to join and the type of family the author was from; the training; the siege of Breslau; the escape from the Soviets; the post war reckoning and how it was avoided. Finally, the tone is itself noteworthy.The omissions are quite spectacular, especially for a soldier with extensive Eastern Front experience. Even passively he must have known more than what he says (!). His special pleading is fascinating. I understand that the foreign elements of the Waffen SS were very different from even the regular WSS, let alone the core SS - but although he is very aware of the reckoning they face post war, he is also in denial about why.

I've read a few books written by foreign volunteers in the waffen SS and although it follows a familiar pattern it still has enough to distinguish itself from other accounts. The author is very much an apologist for the Germans and seeks to justify his enlistment into the SS by giving his version of history concerning the start of both the first and second world wars. Whilst I have some sympathy with his veiw that the conditions of the versailles treaty were so harsh that another war was inevitable I think his reasons behind the start of WW1 are completely incorrect. He does ask one important question that had always mystified me , if Britain declared war on Germany for invading Poland why didn't they declare war on Russia at the same time ? The authors pride at serving in the SS in what he saw as a crusade against communism shines through the text continually , and in the context of the times I can understand that. Even Churchill had declared that the greatest threat to western democracy was communist Russia , how ironic then that we ended up as allies for the duration of the war even if this this did end abruptly after WW2. What I found a little strange was when at a certain point he describes the red army as being the "largest army of aggression the world had ever seen " pitched against the " defenders of the Reich " . Bearing in mind that the German army was still firmly planted in Russia at the time ( ie not their own country ! ) you would have to question who exactly had an army of "aggression " and who was defending their homeland. The author would no doubt counter this by pointing out that Russia was poised to attack Germany but the Germans got in first. Of course the Russians showed plenty of aggression once over the German border and whilst they did behave very badly I still find it difficult to beleive that the author thinks the Germans wre entirely innocent . The author goes into great detail about the brutality displayed by the Poles after the war and had I not read "savage continent" before this book I would have found it hard to believe , however I think he paints an accurate picture even if it is , at times , at odds with the version pushed by the victors. Clearly a man of his convictions who had tried to lead his life in accordance with the motto of the SS " my honour is loyalty " and in the end I couldn't help admiring him. All in all an important historical document well worth a read

The "rarity" of such titles, memoirs of Waffen SS foreign Volunteer's, make this book by Verton all the more appealing. Though lacking the "flair" of fellow Volunteer Leon Degrelle and his "Campaign in Russia", Verton describes his wartime experiences with great clarity, and importantly with refreshing honesty! His continued post war allegiances with former Waffen SS comrades portray a man with comradely virtues and a firm sense of honour. Of interest to both military historians and European history too, Verton's book is very worhty of my 4 star rating.

Extraordinary account of the war in the East. So people reckon they really know what happened. Well don't assume anything about war, study it and pledge yourself to avoid it in this life and all others at all costs! A genuine account!

Very rare these memoirs. Especially one that explains how non German volunteers saw the world and why they went off to fight. Essentially to fight Bolshevism. A good and intelligent memoir. Well written and very human. Highly recommended especially as there are no modern apologies or PC nonsense. Just a good decent and honest man telling his story