Heinz Höhne

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.

"Its efficient prewar espionage system depleted by Stalinist purges, the Soviet Union undertook a desperate, crash training program to replace executed agents as Hitler's Reich goose-stepped relentlessly toward war. Under the brilliant leadership of a professional revolutionary, Leopold Trepper (The Grand Chef), a group of ill-prepared recruits was molded into an extensive and chillingly effective spy network." -- Taken from book jacket flap.