Twilight of the Gods
A Swedish Waffen-SS Volunteer's Experiences with the 11th SS-Panzergrenadier Division Nordland, Eastern Front 1944-45
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Narrated by:
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Bruce Mann
About this listen
Twilight of the Gods was originally written in Swedish, and published in Buenos Aires shortly after the end of WWII. Erik Wallin, a Swedish soldier who volunteered for service with the Waffen-SS, participated in the climactic battles on the Eastern Front during late 1944 and 1945, later telling his story to this book's editor, Thorolf Hillblad.
Wallin served with the Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion, 11th SS-Panzergrenadier Division Nordland, a unit composed mainly of non-German volunteers, including Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes. The division enjoyed a high reputation for its combat capability, and was always at the focal points of the fighting on the Eastern Front in the last year of the war. During this period it saw combat in the Baltic, in Pomerania, on the Oder, and finally in defense of Berlin, where it was destroyed.
Erik Wallin served with his unit in all of these locations, and provides the listener with a fascinating glimpse into these final battles. The book is written with a "no holds barred" approach which will captivate, excite, and maybe even shock the listener - his recollections do not evade the brutality of fighting against the advancing Red Army. Twilight of the Gods is destined to become a classic memoir of the Second World War.
©2002 Thorolf Hillblad (P)2019 TantorI didn't give this book the lowest possible rate because some parts, where the author describes fighting on the front and escaping after the end of hostilities are really interesting.
Unfortunately, the narrator didn't help at rating this audiobook higher.
Fall of pseudo Gods
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As a biography it's very much of its time.
I enjoyed it.
Good reading
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An excellent account of an elite Waffen SS unit, made up of Nordic volunteers, in the dying months of World War 2. It took us into the mindset of foreign volunteers and why they signed up; namely to fight the Bolsheviks.
It dispels myths that all Waffen SS fighters were inhumane monsters. Instead it paints a picture of an elite fighting force that repeatedly came to the rescue of Wehrmacht units.
There aren't very many books written by SS soldiers from World War II, and there definitely aren't many by foreign volunteers in the SS. Erik Wallin was a Swedish volunteer in the SS Nordland Division and saw extensive combat on the Eastern Front.
This book doesn't cover his entire combat career, but starts with New Year's 1945 and goes through the brutal end of the war. The combat descriptions in the book range from pretty graphic to fairly mundane, but the unbridled brutality of war comes through very clearly.
Even when faced with the overwhelming colossus of the Red Army, Wallin and his fellow SS soldiers seem to maintain a fairly high morale and belief that final victory is still a possibility. This is a pretty quick read , but I certainly wish there was a bit more in some parts as some battles are described in a fair amount of detail while others get much smaller mentions.
Some reviewers are angered by Wallin's failure to mention war crimes committed by his side and to praise National Socialism. That seems silly, to me; no one volunteers to fight in a war they believe is evil, so it should be expected that the author would support his side. The 'alleged crimes' are documented in countless texts, the value here is the look inside the mind of a committed, though seemingly not ideologically crazed, Waffen SS soldier
It ends with an amazing account of what it was like to be under siege in the hell of Berlin as it was being pounded by Soviet artillery. An account well worth the read.
A great addition to anyone's library if they're interested in the Eastern Front.
A fully truthful recollection
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Fantastic
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Excellent!!!
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