How do you rate Patrick Agte's books?

[Rick-rs]

I never met Agte myself,but I saw people use the argument that he is not a public archieve as a excuse for not helping anybody.
This is BS,a lot of the stuff he has is been giving by veterans and their families,and in most of the cases it's been understood that it will be used too contribute to a objective look on a the Waffen-SS,and a objective look is something Agte is not capable off.

Through the years he has been contacted by the best Historians and Researchers in Europe,in most off the cases he don't even answers,this is not because he has no time,this is because he is arrogant and he is afraid that maybe someone does to him what he did to Werner Wendt.

All the diaries and private stuff he owns is a legacy of which we all can learn,seen in this light it is his Duty to help people who invest a lot of time of their personal lives to write about Waffen-SS divisions in a objective manor,instead he helps nobody,maybe it is time somebody took over the archive and run it like it is supposed to,a source of information for everybody to use who has earned the right to do so,but first you have to leave the idea that it is his personal stuff,it isn't,it should be atleast available to people who's lives are connected and influenced by either being a veteran ore their families.

Cheers Rick

[heinz kling]

If Agte is such an arsehole, why would anybody help him out in writing the book on Peiper?

Because he wrote it before the whole Wendy affair happened and people became aware of his true nature.

By the way, alot of the contents of the Peiper book is based on errors, myths, guess work and plain lies. But it seems your opinion is made and your just looking to prove your point nomatter what we say.

That's strange indeed, as I recall the Wittmann book appeared way before the Peiper book, in both the original German edition and the Fedorowicz translation.

And if Agte was making up the Peiper book, why would he need any manuscripts, war diaries etc?

AS for my comment on your calling names, you better re read the thread and see it's Rick-rs who starts it, not me, and you being a Forum host, has proven to be partial and intolerant of any opinionsexcept your own biased ones.

[Timo]

That's strange indeed, as I recall the Wittmann book appeared way before the Peiper book, in both the original German edition and the Fedorowicz translation.

...Aha, so you think he started collecting info for the Peiper book after the Wittmann book was published? Think again...

And if Agte was making up the Peiper book, why would he need any manuscripts, war diaries etc?

...Boy, how old are you? Learn to read:
"By the way, alot of the contents of the Peiper book is based on errors, myths, guess work and plain lies."
Offcourse he researched everything and thus needed the info, but some info is lost and Agte in such cases makes up "B" to get from "A" to "C". On several occasions he used, from several available sources, the one most favourable for Peiper instead of looking for the true facts, and in some cases he twisted the facts, which were less favourable for Peiper, in his favor.

AS for my comment on your calling names, you better re read the thread and see it's Rick-rs who starts it, not me, and you being a Forum host, has proven to be partial and intolerant of any opinionsexcept your own biased ones.

...Wrong again. Check your threads for a poster named Heinz Kling, who called other posters a moron and was warned by Marcus.

[heinz kling]

The name calling was started by Hortlund, in the thread on The best panzer division in the Wehrmacht & Waffen SS. Check it yourself.

[Marcus]

I don't care who started this childish name calling, but cut it out.

/Marcus

[Schwalbe]

Does HIAG and "Der freiwillige" have a homepage? (I tried to search the net, but I only found criticism on various anti-fascist pages.)

[Martin Månsson]

Does HIAG and "Der freiwillige" have a homepage? (I tried to search the net, but I only found criticism on various anti-fascist pages.)

No they don't.

Best
Martin

[Director]

[A post that has been reposted again and again was removed by webmaster]

[kott]

Agte is NO member of any HIAG chapter - and as far as I know he never was one...

Who is claiming this? And where is the proof for this?

Why did he receive the honour medal of the I. SS-Panzer-Korps this year as a final thank you for all the years of support and loyalty? Do you really think he ever could get this if at least some of the rumours were true?

Has any of the "better informed people" been at this year's meeting of the I. SS-Panzer-Korps? Btw it was the last offcial one...

[Harro]

Who is claiming this? And where is the proof for this?

Who is claiming what?

[hosenfield]

I purchased both volumes from amazon as they were the only heavy tiger battalion SS-501 books around...

little did I know, that great photos and combat descriptions aside, the book was filled with nazi war fantasy.....written in an obviously glorifying manner.

[Marc Rikmenspoel]

I do find it funny that people sometimes get bothered by Agte's bias. His bias is clearly laid out, and in plain sight. I read his books for the insight I get into sSS-PA 101/501 and SS-PR 1, based on the photos and accounts from veterans. The rest is highly subjective, and Agte isn't subtle, so it should be easy for anyone to learn about the lower ranked men in these units, while skipping Agte's character assessments of Peiper and von Westernhagen and other commanders, if they so choose.

[houstonca30]

I am currently reading Agte's book on Michael Wittman. What bothers me is 1) I get no feeling for what kind of person Wittman was, was he a devote Nazi, did he know about the Einsatzgruppen squads that followed the Panzer units, his description of Wittman is clinical and cold with countless Nazi propaganda reports on his success, and 2) am I reading a real book on Wittman or is this just a neo-Nazi propaganda instrument? In addition, I have read over 400 books on WW2 and am not impressed by Agte's ability as a writer of any sort. Can anyone help me understand what kind of a person Wittman really was? I notice that Heinz Kling is also a member of this website, he should know the real Wittman. Any help for me here or is his real personality just buried to deeply under Nazi propaganda for anyone this late in time to understand?

[Harro]

I notice that Heinz Kling is also a member of this website, he should know the real Wittman.

The real Heinz Kling died in 1953. He never had internet access and certainly no IP address in Hong Kong.

[John P. Moore]

houstonca30 wrote:did he know about the Einsatzgruppen squads that followed the Panzer units

What difference would it make if Wittmann knew about Einsatzgruppen operating in his area? Should he have been expected to run them down with his Panzer?