History of the SS, 1923–1945

In this book, “The SS-Totenkopfverbaende (SS-Death’s Head Formations) and the Holocaust” the darkest and most sinister side of the SS will be explored. It began with the birth of the SA “Wild Camps” which became the foundation for the SS and the Concentration Camp System. The Wild Camps were originally set up by various SA-Standarten throughout Germany to help assist the police in rounding up and detention of splinter political organizations and criminals within the Reich, especially those belonging to the German Communist Party. With the fall of the SA in 1934, the SS took over several of the camps and created their own monster, Dachau. From this camp, its Commandant, Theodor Eicke, became the father of all future Camp Commandants and how the system was to be run. During the war, the camp systems expanded to over 20 main camps and hundreds of sub camps throughout Germany and Occupied Europe. This along with the formation and operations of the SS-Einsatzgruppen in Eastern Europe, spelled the end of 11 million people, including 6 million Jews. Webb provides a breakdown of officer and personnel rosters and includes the post-war fate of the Perpetrators of the Final Solution.