Twilight of the Gods: A Swedish Volunteer in the 11th SS Panzergrenadier Division "Nordland" on the Eastern Front

by Thorolf Hillblad (Editor)

Overview

A rare account of a non-German, Erik Wallin, who fought in the Nazi Party’s Waffen-SS during World War II—a no-holds-barred narrative of the Eastern Front.
 
This is the exciting true story of Erik Wallin, a Swedish soldier who volunteered for the Waffen-SS during World War II. Wallin served in the Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion of the 11th SS Panzergrenadier Division “Nordland,” a unit composed largely of men from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Sent to the Eastern Front, the 11th SS fought in the Courland Pocket in late 1944 and then battled the Red Army along the Oder River and in Berlin, where the Soviets destroyed the division.
 
Few memoirs of non-Germans in the Waffen-SS exist, and Twilight of the Gods ranks among the very best.
 
“Provides an insight into how a Waffen-SS soldier reflects on the recent past . . . [and] how the SS myth was created . . . direct and raw.” —Samuel de Korte, Traces of War

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781461752035
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	06/14/2023
Series:	Stackpole Military History Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	942,148
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Thorolf Hillblad lives in Idaho.

Table of Contents

Map vi

Foreword vii

Chapter 1 New Year's Eve, 1944-45 1

Chapter 2 Courland Finale 10

Chapter 3 Massow 15

Chapter 4 Vossberg 23

Chapter 5 Grosswachtlin 29

Chapter 6 Bridgehead Stettin 33

Chapter 7 Kustrin 46

Chapter 8 A Gauntlet 64

Chapter 9 A Spark of Hope! 68

Chapter 10 "Berlin bleibt Deutsch!" 72

Chapter 11 From House to House 82

Chapter 12 Towards Freedom! 100

Photographs 115

Appendix I Felix Steiner 131

Appendix II Waffen-SS Ranks 133

Appendix III Organization of SS Panzer Aufklarungs Abteilung 11 134