Fur Volk and Fuhrer

The Memoir of a Veteran of the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler

By: Erwin Bartmann, Derik Hammond

Narrated by: James Foster

Like many Germans, Berlin schoolboy Erwin Bartmann fell under the spell of the Zeitgeist cultivated by the Nazis. Convinced he was growing up in the best country in the world, he dreamt of joining the Leibstandarte, Hitler's elite Waffen SS unit. Tall, blond, blue-eyed, and just 17-years-old, Erwin fulfilled his dream on Mayday 1941, when he gave up his apprenticeship at the Glaser bakery in Memeler Strasse and walked into the Lichterfelde barracks in Berlin as a raw, volunteer recruit.

On arrival at the Eastern Front in late summer 1941, Erwin was assigned to a frontline communications squad and soon discovered that survival was a matter of luck - or the protection of a guardian angel. Good fortune finally deserted Erwin on 11 July 1943 when shrapnel sizzled through his lung during the epic Battle of Kursk-Prokhorovka. Following a period of recovery, and promotion to Unterscharführer, Erwin took up a post as machine-gun instructor with the Ausbildung und Ersatz Bataillon.

From the war on the southern sector of the Eastern Front to a bomb-shattered Berlin populated largely by old men and demoralized lonely women, this candid eyewitness account offers a unique and sometimes surprising perspective on the life of a young Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler volunteer.

©2013 Estate of Erwin Bartmann/Derik Hammond (P)2017 Tantor

Critic reviews

"This is a valuable memoir, providing both a good account of the nature of the fighting in the East, and the changing attitudes of the author, both towards the Nazi regime and the chances of final victory." ( History of War)

Wow what a ride

These guys had a life not many will experience. Hell on the eastern front with sex strewn about. No doubt there are many men now forgotten whose stories we would die for.

No apologies

It’s pretty clear the author never quite let go or denounced what the Third Reich stood for. Being proud for girls wanting to make babies with him in the final moments of Hitler’s dictatorship or dreaming of the Eagle and other Nazi symbolism still 70 years later tell a story their own. However, he was a product of his time, growing up in that environment I can understand. The story is interesting, well written and not too long. Top 5 German WW2 memoirs.

a must read

this is a must read book. tells the story from other side of the coin.

Very Interesting

good story ant narration, but as with other books from the German perspective I feel that the performance would be better if they used narrators with a German accent.

A Must Listen

Herr Bartmann's life, from pre-war youth to Scottish baker, is a must listen. The life of an ordinary soldier in the elite Leibstandarte is fascinating, fun, horrible, and tragic.

Another flawless performance by James Foster, who never fails to shine.