Nazi Germany's Waffen SS ("armed" SS) was one of the most brutal, fanatical and feared military organizations in history. From its humble beginnings as a small, select band whose duty was to protect the leader of the Nazi party, Adolf Hitler, from both internal and external enemies, by the end of World War II it numbered nearly one million men in 38 divisions, and included dozens of nationalities. During its existence it achieved great victories but also committed a catalogue of crimes. This title is a record of Hitler's Praetorian Guard before and during World War II. It recreates in pictorial form all the aspects of the Waffen SS's war: the growth of the SS panzer divisions, their tactics on the battlefield, the recruitment and organization of Waffen SS units, an examination of their weapons and equipment, and images of all the great Waffen SS commanders, such as "Sepp" Dietrich, Felix Steiner and Joachim Peiper. It also includes a chapter on the war crimes and atrocities of the Waffen SS as part of an insight into a notorious military formation.