Twilight of the Gods: A Swedish Waffen-SS Volunteer's Experiences with 11th SS-Panzergrenadier Division Nordland, Eastern Front 1944-45

click here for more details, find new or used items	Thorolf Hillblad Our price £13.97 (£19.95) New from £8.95 Used from £7.99 Pages: 144 (Hardcover) ISBN: 1874622167 Pub: Helion & Company Pub date: 2004-01-01 Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 114117

Reader Reviews:

twilight of the gods (7/8 people found this helpful)

as owner of over 2oo books on the waffen ss and eastern front i can honestly say this is one of the top three i own. i found the book to be always gripping and interesting with a story of action,honesty and comradeship. this is overall a very good read and would make an excellent addition to any collector of ww11 books

a good buy (3/3 people found this helpful)

'Twilight of the Gods' describes the experiences of a Swedish Waffen-SS man, Erik Wallin, in the ranks of the 11th-SS 'Nordland' division, from Courland to Pomerania, the Oder and finally Berlin, 1944-1945. He served in the mortar platoon of the reconnaissance battalion of this divison manned by Scandinavian volunteers. It is a short book, readable in an evening. One of the most striking aspects of the book is its unapologetic nature, the text is riddled with unabashed references to 'Asiatic Hordes' and 'staunch Nordic defenders of European civilization'. Many readers might well be offended by this. The editor's (who is apparently also a Swedish SS veteran) introduction is annoyingly in the same vein, one would have hoped for a far more balanced and impartial approach. On the other hand, the book describes numerous small-unit actions in detail, during the final desperate battles on the Eastern Front (readers should however keep in mind that this is not a first-hand account, the story was written by the editor based on conversations held with Wallin soon after the war). There are plenty of references to tactics, weapons and equipment to satisfy the military buffs. King Tigers, Panzerfausts, assault rifles etc. all make their appearance. The intense combat scenes are many and vividly related.
If you are looking for a self-critical/remorseful account of a (non-German) SS volunteer, this is not the book for you. If you are more interested in the military aspects of this dramatic closing period of the war, and/or want to know what motivated men such Wallin to fight for an evil regime, then I suggest you read it.

Excellent stuff! (12/12 people found this helpful)

This book came to me as a Xmas present and was one of the best books that I got and have read about the SS. Particularly as this is a viewpoint from a foreign volunteer, it captivates the mindset of an SS man and how they coped with the adversity and also the way in which these men thought, as well as fought. It really gets 'under the skin' of the SS, and is in my view recommended reading. My only criticism is that it is a bit on the short side.

A frank and sometimes harrowing account......... (24/24 people found this helpful)

A frank and sometimes harrowing account of one mans experiences in the Waffen SS. This is not, nor does it claim to be a definative history of the 11th SS-Panzergrenadiers, it is instead a collection of wartime experiences of one mans war and how he survived and coped with the rigors of the Eastern Front. It can be brutal in its calm approach to death, but from a man who faced death so frequently that he knew him well. This book lets you remember that not all in life is black and white, an honest account of the horrors of war. Lest we forget.......

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