SS Totenkopf in France 1940 (Images of War) - Jack Holroyd [epub]

SS-Totenkopf is a photographic account of the unit's birth and first month of active service. The Division fought alongside Rommel's 7th Panzer Division against the only British armored counterattack of the campaign. However, instances of atrocities committed by men of the Totenkopf began early and the machine-gunning of 97 prisoners of the Norfolk Regiment occurred. In this brief and violent history of the birth of an SS division the original captions and text which accompanied the photographs have been retained in order to capture the original flavor. The translated text appears inter spaced with the author's explanations.

The SS War Correspondent photographers risked their lives to take some of these pictures so up-with-the-action they were and, with their 'blood up', their comments are nationalistically passionate. This is understandable, so successful was the Blitzkrieg campaign in 1940 compared to the efforts of their fathers in 1914-1918 when they failed to break through to the Channel coast. It helps us to understand the euphoric reaction of some of the Totenkopf at the sight of the English Channel.