Waffen-SS Foreign Volunteers and Conscripts Buchkatalog

The Waffen-SS (German for ", Armed SS", , literally ", Weapons SS", ) was the combat arm of the Schutzstaffel (", Protective Squadron", ) or SS, an organ of the German Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to a force of over 39 divisions, which served alongside the regular army, but was never formally part of the Wehrmacht. Although operational control of the Waffen-SS units on the front line was given to the Army's High Command, in all other respects they remained under the auspices of Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler's SS, and behind the lines these units were an instrument of political policy enforcement. It was Adolf Hitler's will that the Waffen-SS never be integrated into the Army.