Hitler"s Soldiers by Ben H. Shepherd

[AHK]

Just bought this book today. Has anyone read it and have a comment?
AHK

[Jeff Leach]

I've read Another book by Ben H. Shepherd, 'Terror in the Balkans' and he seems to be one of the authors inspired by Omer Bartov's, 'The Eastern Front, 1941-45: German Troops and the Barbarisation of Warfare'. I don't Believe Bartov's "Evil German theory". The butality of the Eastern Front at least was so simple that Josef Stalin and Adolf Hitler allowed it to be so. Individuals can be more or less murderous, cultural and political influence play their part. The subject is complicated but some books that really ring true to me are: Ian Kershaw's, 'The End: Germany, 1944-45' (How the murderous nature of the Nazi Party turned inwards towards their own people during the end of the war.), Richard Rhode's, "Masters of Death: The SS-Einsatzgruppen and the Invention of the Holocaust Paperback" (really good about how individuals are/become murderous and how this can influence the individual) and Keith Lowe's, "Savage Continent: Europe in the Aftermath of World War II" (after war but gives and idea just how complex the issues in Eastern Europe were).

Back to Ben Shepherd, I would expect that 'Hitler's Soldiers' contains some good ideas but Shepherd probably draws too wide-ranging conclusions from them. Treat with caution.

[AHK]

Thanks, since reading, that seems to be the thought.