Strafvollzugslager der SS- und Polizei

Book discussion and reviews related to the German military.

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panzermahn
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Re: Strafvollzugslager der SS- und Polizei

Post by panzermahn »

Hi John,

Thanks for the good review of the book.

I hope it can get a 2nd print so that the editing of the syntaxes/spelling could be fixed but judging by the information provided in the book, I think it's worth to get it.

Kudos to the author for working on such an obscure subject with regards to the history of the SS/Polizei in WW2.

Panzermahn
ghost
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Location: England

Re: Strafvollzugslager der SS- und Polizei

Post by ghost »

Format: Hardback
573 pages
Contents:
Foreword, Acknowledgements, Sources, Methodology, Introduction,

main topics: Disciplinary punishment of SS men, “Strafvollzugslager der SS und Polizei”, Origin, Structure and Activities, “Strafvollzugslager der SS und Polizei Danzig-Matzkau,, SS-Richter and Beurkundungsführer, and Front Probation Units of the SS and Polizei”.
Appendix1: SS rank comparison chart
Appendix 2: Lexicon,
Appendix 3: Abbreviations
Select Bibliography, Institutions, Internet resources, private archives,
70 photographs
Illustrations.

Since I first opened the cover of Alexander Dallin’s magnificent book German Rule in Russia I must admit to having developed an unashamed soft spot for anyone who has undertaken a similar research project on such a colossal scale. When completed, similar ‘seminal projects’ like John P.Moore’s Führerliste der Waffen-SS become a landmark in historical research, the value, contribution and legacy of which ultimately far exceeds the author’s original intended remit. The production of any such work inevitably takes many years and requires inordinate amounts of dedication, effort, research skill and of course significant amounts of money which the author is seldom, if ever, able to recoup. In my view Stuart B.T.Emmett’s book “Strafvollzugslager der SS und Polizei” should fall squarely into this category. Before continuing, I must however acknowledge that in this instance there is however an ‘elephant in the room’ which has compromised the potential of this otherwise outstanding work- and that is the finished book has clearly not been subjected to any copy editing. In any large and complex work such as this, minor mistakes are inevitable. With such a vast amount of detailed and factual information gleaned from numerous and varied international sources in multiple languages which requires very precise presentation, occasional translation, grammar and spelling mistakes, will most likely find their way into the work despite the best efforts to eradicate them. That said, it is clear that even basic copy editing is noticeable by its total absence. In my personal view the author’s primary objective should be to collate, establish and present the ‘facts’ with reference to suitable evidence, and this the author has clearly accomplished. At the same time whilst some of the responsibility for the presentation can be attributed to the author, to my mind the resultant obvious problems with grammar, syntax, and formatting which should never have appeared in the final book, could and should have been rectified by the publishers. Notwithstanding this, I find the entire subject fascinating and despite the mistakes mentioned above it is evident that 'factual' errors are not in evidence, hence the book still serves as a good reference. The diagrams and maps which are included are clear and well laid out and the printing quality is good. Likewise the rare unpublished photographs chosen for inclusion are useful, clear and informative. This book provides the reader with valuable exhaustively referenced and accurate data collected from an impressive variety of archives, institutions, libraries and private collections about the development, structure, and organisation of the SS and Polizei penal system, along with pertinent information about all the key senior members involved in its administration, headed by the Reichsführer Himmler who attempted to control every single aspect of it, and reserved the right to personally review all disciplinary cases. It charts the evolution of the SS/Polizei penal system prior to the war and how criminal and disobedient soldiers were punished with demotion and incarceration, to in some cases ultimate redemption and potential rehabilitation by way of field probation in specially formed penal units, including the notorious Dirlwanger Brigade. Numerous individual case studies are presented for offenses committed by in some cases brave and highly decorated soldiers, NCOs and officers such as desertion, murder, homosexuality, disobedience, cowardice, theft, fraud, embezzlement, threatening behaviour against a superior, returning late from leave drunkenness, rape etc Personally I was fascinated to read about the parolees assigned to the Verlorenen Haufen (the lost bunch/ forlorn hope) in order to earn their ‘rehabilitation’ (often posthumously) as well as small details such as the Dutch volunteers who were incarcerated for refusing to swear an oath to Hitler. I can only imagine how bitterly disappointed the author must feel with the book which does not reflect the enormous amount of time, and resources which have clearly been invested into this project and which deserves much better. In my view, the author has been let down partly by circumstances beyond his control, but at the same time the essence of the work had been preserved and the factual element remains uncompromised and valid because of which this book gets a three star rating.


Mike Melnyk
ghost
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Posts: 87
Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2002 1:35 pm
Location: England

Re: Strafvollzugslager der SS- und Polizei

Post by ghost »

ghost wrote:Format: Hardback
573 pages
Contents:
Foreword, Acknowledgements, Sources, Methodology, Introduction,

main topics: Disciplinary punishment of SS men, “Strafvollzugslager der SS und Polizei”, Origin, Structure and Activities, “Strafvollzugslager der SS und Polizei Danzig-Matzkau,, SS-Richter and Beurkundungsführer, and Front Probation Units of the SS and Polizei”.
Appendix1: SS rank comparison chart
Appendix 2: Lexicon,
Appendix 3: Abbreviations
Select Bibliography, Institutions, Internet resources, private archives,
70 photographs
Illustrations.

Since I first opened the cover of Alexander Dallin’s magnificent book German Rule in Russia I must admit to having developed an unashamed soft spot for anyone who has undertaken a similar research project on such a colossal scale. When completed, similar ‘seminal projects’ like John P.Moore’s Führerliste der Waffen-SS become a landmark in historical research, the value, contribution and legacy of which ultimately far exceeds the author’s original intended remit. The production of any such work inevitably takes many years and requires inordinate amounts of dedication, effort, research skill and of course significant amounts of money which the author is seldom, if ever, able to recoup. In my view Stuart B.T.Emmett’s book “Strafvollzugslager der SS und Polizei” should fall squarely into this category. Before continuing, I must however acknowledge that in this instance there is however an ‘elephant in the room’ which has compromised the potential of this otherwise outstanding work- and that is the finished book has clearly not been subjected to any copy editing. In any large and complex work such as this, minor mistakes are inevitable. With such a vast amount of detailed and factual information gleaned from numerous and varied international sources in multiple languages which requires very precise presentation, occasional translation, grammar and spelling mistakes, will most likely find their way into the work despite the best efforts to eradicate them. That said, it is clear that even basic copy editing is noticeable by its total absence. In my personal view the author’s primary objective should be to collate, establish and present the ‘facts’ with reference to suitable evidence, and this the author has clearly accomplished. At the same time whilst some of the responsibility for the presentation can be attributed to the author, to my mind the resultant obvious problems with grammar, syntax, and formatting which should never have appeared in the final book, could and should have been rectified by the publishers. Notwithstanding this, I find the entire subject fascinating and despite the mistakes mentioned above it is evident that 'factual' errors are not in evidence, hence the book still serves as a good reference. The diagrams and maps which are included are clear and well laid out and the printing quality is good. Likewise the rare unpublished photographs chosen for inclusion are useful, clear and informative. This book provides the reader with valuable exhaustively referenced and accurate data collected from an impressive variety of archives, institutions, libraries and private collections about the development, structure, and organisation of the SS and Polizei penal system, along with pertinent information about all the key senior members involved in its administration, headed by the Reichsführer Himmler who attempted to control every single aspect of it, and reserved the right to personally review all disciplinary cases. It charts the evolution of the SS/Polizei penal system prior to the war and how criminal and disobedient soldiers were punished with demotion and incarceration, to in some cases ultimate redemption and potential rehabilitation by way of field probation in specially formed penal units, including the notorious Dirlwanger Brigade. Numerous individual case studies are presented for offenses committed by in some cases brave and highly decorated soldiers, NCOs and officers such as desertion, murder, homosexuality, disobedience, cowardice, theft, fraud, embezzlement, threatening behaviour against a superior, returning late from leave drunkenness, rape etc Personally I was fascinated to read about the parolees assigned to the Verlorenen Haufen (the lost bunch/ forlorn hope) in order to earn their ‘rehabilitation’ (often posthumously) as well as small details such as the Dutch volunteers who were incarcerated for refusing to swear an oath to Hitler. I can only imagine how bitterly disappointed the author must feel with the book which does not reflect the enormous amount of time, and resources which have clearly been invested into this project and which deserves much better. In my view, the author has been let down partly by circumstances beyond his control, but at the same time the essence of the work has been preserved and the factual element remains uncompromised and valid, because of which this book gets a three star rating.


Mike Melnyk
lustrum
Member
Posts: 34
Joined: Thu Jul 08, 2010 12:59 pm

Re: Strafvollzugslager der SS- und Polizei

Post by lustrum »

I'm sincerely grateful for the kind comments guys.

Please forgive my tardy reply, I waited until able to reproduce a drawing of the Zweiglager Mosbach:

Image

Legend:
A – Womens RAD Lager.
B – Tents for convict accommodation.
C – Prison parade ground.
D – Garage and carpentry workshop.
E – Potato bunker.
F – Shower and toilet barrack.
G- Shower and toilet barrack.
H – Prison headquarters.
I – Arrestgebäude and Zellenbau.
J – Discharge barrack (delousing).
K – Clothing barrack.
L – Watchtower.
M – Kitchen barrack.
N – Transformer.
O – Guard barrack.

Regards
Stuart. :-)
MP40byf
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Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Sep 08, 2017 2:24 pm

Re: Strafvollzugslager der SS- und Polizei

Post by MP40byf »

Hey Stuart, great book, I was wondering if you had more info on this Guy, Kurt Weisse, you have pics of him at the beginning of your book, you quotation about him was "Kurt WeiBe (b.1909). WeiBe Fondness for beating his men culminated in an assault that resulted in the death of a young soldier." he's what I got on him off the internet...

"In January 1943 he physically struck a soldier who was accused of stealing. For this he was Courts Martialled and sent to an SS penal company with Oskar Dirlewangers Brigade in Russia, who in July 1943 assigned him as commander of 1 Company.
For good service in 1943 & 1944 fighting in Russia & Poland he was awarded a number of bravery badges and medals.promoted to Sturmbf.1944 (date not known), and became Dirlewanger's Divisional Ops. Officer..

He was promoted to Obersturmbannf. in January 1945.

He was captured by by British troops in May 1945, dressed as an army private. They held him in detention not knowing who he was. He escaped on 5th March 1946 while still under investigation. (The British believed that the real Kurt Weisse had been killed in action). "

I was wondering if he was detained after hitting that soldier?, I've read some accounts where he beat him or someone to death? is that the same soldier you referred to in your book?

Anyway, I picked up his SS sword a couple of months ago and would like to know if he spent time in prison?
Apparently, a real fanatic about his job!
Attachments
His SS number on the back spine
His SS number on the back spine
kurt ss a.jpg (508.59 KiB) Viewed 4258 times
kurt ss b.jpg
kurt ss b.jpg (133.87 KiB) Viewed 4258 times
kurt ss c.jpg
kurt ss c.jpg (624.35 KiB) Viewed 4258 times
KURT with his sword
KURT with his sword
kurt c.jpg (76.34 KiB) Viewed 4258 times
leib1
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Re: Strafvollzugslager der SS- und Polizei

Post by leib1 »

MP40byf if you can afford the sword buy Stuart's book all the info is in there,that way Stuart can carry on doing research and bring out further books.As this is the best book in English on the subject and should be on anybody's book shelf who has a serious interest in the SS .
lustrum
Member
Posts: 34
Joined: Thu Jul 08, 2010 12:59 pm

Re: Strafvollzugslager der SS- und Polizei

Post by lustrum »

Hi MP40byf,

Kurt Weise may have been detained in the St. L. V. d. SS u. Pol. for a short period. However, officers did not normally spend time on remand detention and he may just have likely been free and travelled to Russia without an escort.
He appears to have been promoted to the rank of SS-Hstuf. upon arrival at Dirlewanger's headquarters in White Russia.
For reasons that escape me, the SS Leader refused to remove this truly awful character from the SS.

Hi Leib1,

Thank you for your kind comments.
Given what I know now, I would have eradicated the grammatical and syntax mistakes from 'Strafvollzugslager' before permitting its publication.

However, grammatical errors aside, 'Strafvollzugslager' is very detailed and should answer 99% of questions concerning the Waffen-SS prison system.

Living and learning, and supported by some great members of this forum, my next project, the two book 'History of the HA SS-Gericht' is currently in the process of a really intense edit...

;-)

This book includes a short chapter on the Strafvollzugslager.

I'm still gathering information about the Strafvollzugslager, so maybe, if the gods are kind, I'll have an opportunity to re-visit the subject in the future and reveal more information about this up until now secretive subject.

Thank you Gentleman.

Stuart. :-)
lustrum
Member
Posts: 34
Joined: Thu Jul 08, 2010 12:59 pm

Re: Strafvollzugslager der SS- und Polizei

Post by lustrum »

@ Truebrit.

PM sent.

Stuart. :D
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