Estonians in the Waffen-SS, Rolf Michaelis

[Prit]

Dear all

Does anyone have this book? Is it worth getting?

Prit

[Richard Hargreaves]

I don't, but Michaelis is very hit and miss, Prit. His books are typically a random collection of documents, photographs and first-hand accounts with limited narrative. Have a chat to Petter - he's working on a book about the Estonians. Or is it Latvians? Or Lithuanians? Anyway, he's my first port of call for all things Baltic.

[Marc Rikmenspoel]

I agree that Michaelis is hit and miss, but he always has little bits of insight that aren't found elsewhere. The Estonian book is a decent introduction to its subject, in particular because it makes clear the extent to which the Estonians didn't like the Germans, even as they worked alongside them against the hated Russians/Soviets.

Look around the internet for a copy of the out-of-print Estonian Freedom Fighters in World War 2 for a rough, but very useful, introduction to the subject. Its coverage, unit by unit, varies, but it still had the most information under one set of covers in English (it was assembled by the Estonian veterans in Canada during the 1990s).