Concord Publications Co.

Waffen SS in Action

by Gordon Rottman & Ramiro Bujeiro

Reviewed By Mike Hinderliter, IPMS #45124

MSRP: $15.00 ISBN: 962-361-157-9 Format: Paperback 10" x 8" Pages 52 / 123 b/w photos and 4 color plates. Review copy courtesy of Dragon Models USA: www.dragonmodelsusa.com Website: www.concord-publications.com This book is #6528 in Concord's Warrior Series. There are 2 pages of narrative on the make up of the Waffen SS from its beginning to the final days of the war. The rest of this volume is just filled with rare pictures of the SS soldiers' daily life from training to slogging through the muddy roads of the Russian front. The pictures are printed on glossy paper and are very clear so that you can make out everything in them. I especially liked how thorough the descriptions under each photo were. These kinds of photos are very treasured to modelers especially for making dioramas. A good example of this is a photo on page 37 of a PAK 35/36 team checking their equipment after a snow storm. They really go through the break down of the Waffen SS from when it started from the Schutzstaffel that was designed to protect the Nazi Party leadership until it kept growing more powerful and became 11 divisions in the spring of 1943. One thing you don't really think about when you hear about the SS was how they also used ethnic Germans residing outside of the Reich in German occupied countries. These people we exempt from Wehrmacht conscription but were allowed to volunteer for the SS. Mostly ethnic Germans from Yugoslavia manned the first division. Later on they also made units containing "acceptable" non-Germans. That's how critical their manpower situation had become. There are 4 color plates that show the uniforms of the "Freiwilligen" or volunteer forces. This would be really valuable to figure or diorama modelers I highly recommend this book for the clarity of the history of the Waffen SS and I'm happy to add it to my library of modeling materials. Thanks to IPMS and Dragon Models USA for this review copy.