There are numerous publications about the uniforms and insignia of SS combat units. However, our book brings something entirely new. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, military historians gained access to sources of information that they had never been able to access before. Soon after, private researchers and collectors of uniforms also had these resources available. The vast majority of uniforms and insignia captured in the photographs in this book come from collections in the former Soviet Union, particularly from the Baltic states, which supplied a large portion of the Waffen-SS personnel. Many of the depicted uniforms bear the stamps of collection funds from Soviet museums, where they were stored for a full 50 years after World War II. The German armed forces from the World War II era are among the objects of increased interest to historians and military collectors. And among them, particularly the Waffen-SS units, which were elite divisions of highly motivated volunteers, used as shock troops or conversely in the role of rescuers in sections of the front where the situation was developing unfavorably. Moreover, they have a rather unsavory reputation. Their high combat skills were demonstrated on both the Western and Eastern fronts. Among their ranks fought both...
