{"title":"Gerry Villani","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"voices-of-the-waffen-ss-book-gerry-villani-9781512331486","title":"Voices of the Waffen SS","description":"The Waffen SS or the Armed SS were Hitler's elite forces during WWII. They were the forces that were feared by the enemy and praised by their allies. The two lightning bolts on the collar tabs and on their helmets were the mark of the soldiers of the New Order believing in the final victory of the Reich. The Waffen SS grew into a huge force of thirty-eight combat divisions comprising over 950,000 men. In the Nuremberg Trials, the Waffen SS was condemned as part of a criminal organisation, and therefore Waffen SS veterans were denied many of the rights afforded other German combat veterans. However the Nuremberg Trials exempted conscripts from that condemnation. On several occasions, the Waffen SS was criticised by Heer commanders for their reckless disregard for casualties while taking or holding objectives. However, the Waffen SS divisions eventually proved themselves to a skeptical Heer as capable soldiers. The poor initial performance of the Waffen SS units was mainly due to the emphasis on political indoctrination rather than proper military training before the war. This was largely due to the shortage of experienced NCOs, who preferred to stay with the regular army. Despite this, the experience gained from the Polish, French and Balkan campaigns and the peculiarly egalitarian form of training soon turned Waffen SS units into elite formations. These are the stories of the men that once were part of this elite force. In this book you get a bit of history about the SS and Waffen SS, the war crimes committed by them and against them, their training, but most important of all you'll get the stories from veterans of the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, Das Reich, Totenkopf, Wiking, Hohenstaufen, Maria Theresia, Langemarck, SS-Fallschirmjagerbataillon 500 and Luftwaffe Fallschirmjager, Italien, Wallonie, Nederland, 1st Estonian, and the notorious Dirlewanger Brigade. Seven decades after the war they finally have a voice...","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50261388001553,"sku":"GOR007880356","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51032810717457,"sku":"NIN9781512331486","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1512331481.jpg?v=1751149388"},{"product_id":"voices-of-the-waffen-ss-book-gerry-villani-9780359496891","title":"Voices of the Waffen SS","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50644099170577,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50644099334417,"sku":"GOR014021354","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52735132565777,"sku":"NIN9780359496891","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/035949689X.jpg?v=1751196950"},{"product_id":"crusade-of-a-walloon-volunteer-book-gerry-villani-9780359438457","title":"The Crusade of a Walloon Volunteer","description":"Raymond was born on October 13, 1922 in Dampremy (province of Hainaut, Belgium). During the turbulent times of the occupation in Belgium he joined the \"Legion Wallonie\" on August 8, 1941 at the same time as his father Marcel and Rexist leader Leon Degrelle. He was initially attached to the 1st Platoon, 1st Company as a MG gunner. During his 4 years on the eastern front he participated in many major battles like, but not limited to Gromovayabalka or the \"Valley of Thunder\", the Caucasus and Cherkasy. Wounded several times during combat he saw many of his good friends die during these terrible battles but he would always return to the front lines since his fate was already sealed as a volunteer of the Waffen SS. He climbed up the ranks from private to officer of the Waffen SS and after his graduation as an officer in March 1945 he returned to the front and joined \"Kampfgruppe Derriks.\" On May 5, 1945 he was captured by the Americans and later convicted for treason by the Belgian authorities.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51001317884177,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51001320472849,"sku":"NIN9780359438457","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0359438458.jpg?v=1750877520"},{"product_id":"voices-of-the-waffen-ss-book-gerry-villani-9780359495252","title":"Voices of the Waffen SS","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51001344491793,"sku":"NIN9780359495252","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51828725874961,"sku":"GOR014415682","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0359495257.jpg?v=1750909856"},{"product_id":"soldiers-of-germania-the-european-volunteers-of-the-waffen-ss-book-gerry-villani-9780359509294","title":"Soldiers of Germania - The European volunteers of the Waffen SS.","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51001351962897,"sku":"NIN9780359509294","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0359509290.jpg?v=1751228387"},{"product_id":"crusade-of-a-walloon-volunteer-book-gerry-villani-9780359412044","title":"The Crusade of a Walloon Volunteer","description":"Raymond was born on October 13, 1922 in Dampremy (province of Hainaut, Belgium). 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He climbed up the ranks from private to officer of the Waffen SS and after his graduation as an officer in March 1945 he returned to the front and joined \"Kampfgruppe Derriks.\" On May 5, 1945 he was captured by the Americans and later convicted for treason by the Belgian authorities","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51001349538065,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51001352487185,"sku":"NIN9780359412044","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0359412041.jpg?v=1751259904"},{"product_id":"voices-of-the-waffen-ss-the-assault-generation-book-gerry-villani-9781387748839","title":"Voices of the Waffen SS - The Assault Generation","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52748572786961,"sku":"NIN9781387748839","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781387748839.jpg?v=1763543148"},{"product_id":"soldiers-of-germania-the-european-volunteers-of-the-waffen-ss-book-gerry-villani-9780359509270","title":"Soldiers of Germania - The European volunteers of the Waffen SS.","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53251334275345,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53251334373649,"sku":"NIN9780359509270","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780359509270.jpg?v=1773581549"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-gerry-villani.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}