Quote:
Originally Posted by ChileMike
Reading this thread there was a comment about the Waffen SS being animals / butchers. Granted some Waffen SS units were involved in atrocities during the war..Malmedy etc. Many people have the misconception that the SS was a single entity, this is wrong and unfair to the many Waffen SS who fought with distinction on all fronts. The SS concentration camp guards go into the animal / butcher category, the SD Gestapo go there also along with the Eizengruppen which were not military units. Please do not take this the wrong way and if I have offended anyone I apologize in advance
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While I'm sure this is the case, it's important to recognise that atrocities were committed by primarily military SS units against both the Soviet and US/British forces. An example is the Battle of the Bulge, when a force from the 1st SS Panzer Division under a character by the name of Pieper took it on himself to order the of massacre substantial numbers of unarmed US prisoners and local civilians to spread terror as he advanced. There were numerous similar cases of behaviour by SS units on the German's Eastern front. Now as is always the case, not every SS soldier participated in these atrocities, but the military SS units did a lot of pretty nasty things during the war, and I don't think it's inappropriate for them to be generalised as being far more brutal and inhumane than your soldier.