The Collector’s Guide to Cloth Headgear of the Allgemeine and Waffen-SS

This book is well worth the money. It has excellent color and period photographs. It will pretty much tell you everything that you want to know about cloth headgear of the SS. There have been some noble attempts to on books related to the subject, but none of them come close. This book is an excellent reference guide for the serious collecter and the student of uniforms. It even had headgear that I have never seen before and was very curious about.

This book is superb in every way. The book is full of great detail in text and phographs with many fine period photographs of the various hats in wear included throughout the book. A fine adition to the subject for your library.

An Outstanding Text for the Collector! Well Written and Informative, a Must Have!!!

Nice info and photos.

I would have liked a look at areas beneath the sweatbands, ie stitching to give a far greater coverage, and things to look for in original items not generally found in copies. Comparison pictures of these would have been excellent and made it a masterful reference. In general however I recommend the book

great book

Good!　　It was a book of expected

THE COLLECTOR'S GUIDE TO THE DISTINCTIVE CLOTH HEADGEAR OF THE ALLGEMEINE AND WAFFEN-SSMICHAEL D. BEAVER AND WILLIAM SHEASCHIFFER PUBLISHING LIMITED, 2009HARDCOVER, $100.00, PHOTOGRAPHS, 256 PAGESThe first and foremost duty of the SS was the protection of Adolf Hitler. After the advent of the Leibstandarte, however, whose members worked full-time to a rotation and accompanied Hitler on his journeys through the Reich, the part-time SS men who had originally been recruited on a local basis to protect the Fuhrer during his trips around Germany found that aspect of their work taken from them. Consequently, it was decided that as of 1934 the main day-to-day function of these highly disciplined Allgemeine-SS volunteers would be to support the police in maintaining public order. The SS rapidly expanded with the formation of many new Allgemeine-SS Standarten, trained and equipped to combat any internal uprising or counter-revolution. In such an event the SS would take over the operation of the post office, national radio network, public utilities and public transport, as well as acting as police reinforcements. The anticipated civil unrest never came about, and so the police duties of the Allgemeine-SS before the outbreak of the war in September, 1939 were generally restricted to overseeing crowd control at party rallies and other celebrations, including national holidays and state visits of foreign dignitaries. During World War II, members of the Allgemeine-SS who hadn't been called up for military service took an active role in the war effort at home. In many cities special SS Wachkompanie and Alarmsturme were detailed to protect factories, bridges, roads and other strategic points, and to assist the Luftschutz or Civil Defense during air raids. On the Reich's borders, SS men worked as Auxiliary Frontier Personnel in conjunction with the Customs Service. Others helped with the harvest, supervised foreign laborers, and engaged upon welfare work. During 1944-1945, the cadres of the Allgemeine-SS throughout Germany were trained to co-ordinate the short-lived guerrilla fighting which took place against Allied troops. Conditions of service in the SS highlighted the elite nature of the formation. Recruiting was tightly controlled, most young SS men after 1934 coming directly from the ranks of the Hitler Youth. Out of every 100 applicants, only 10 to 15 were finally admitted. Selection was based on racial purity, good health, and disciplined character. Training was carried over a three-year period, with statutory breaks for obligatory service in the armed forces and in the Labor Service. The confirmed SS man remained in the acive Allgemeine-SS until he was 35 years old, after which he could transfer to one of the SS reserve units. Promotion was awarded on merit, and a strict SS Legal Code and Discipline Code governed the behavior of every SS member. Ultimately, SS men were answerable only to special SS and Police courts for any crimes or offenses they committed, and were, in effect, put above the normal jurisdiction of the civil courts. THE COLLECTOR'S GUIDE TO THE DISTINCTIVE CLOTH HEADGEAR OF THE ALLGEMEINE AND WAFFEN-SS is a new book that provides an organized, chronological guide to the evolution and development of the myriad types of soft headgear worn by the SS. As the pre-and-war-years progressed, geographical areas of operation changed, and the composition of the SS divisions evolved. So also, did the headgear worn by these troops. This outstanding reference illustrates a great number of these examples with over 600 photographs including more than half in color. The overwhelming majority of these photographs including many rare original candid period snapshots have never been seen before in any previous publication.Lt. Colonel Robert A. Lynn, Florida GuardOrlando, Florida

Great price for a reference book on cloth head gear . Highly recommend