Vanguard of Nazism is the first full history of the German Free Corps and of its contributions to the rise of Nazism. This dramatic and horrifying story sheds new light on a dark corner of the recent past, and it has an unhappy relevance to neo-Nazist tendencies in Germany today.
The newly established Weimar Republic, defenseless against the Communists, hired groups of volunteer soldiers (the Free Corps) to fight for it. These volunteers--born of the pre-World War I youth movement, nourished on the battlefields of the War, unreconciled to defeat and determined to avenge it--fought for the Republic (which they despised) from Munich to Berlin, from Düsseldorf to the Baltic. When the Republic, in fear, tried to disband them, they went underground until they reappeared in the brown shirts of the Nazis.
The savage spirit, brutal acts, and perverted ideology of the men whomHermann Goering called "the first soldiers of the Third Reich" stand out in glaring relief in this record. The book is based on contemporary newspaper accounts and government documents, but the story it tells would hardly be credible were it not for the memoirs of the Free Corps fighters themselves, from which Waite quotes liberally. With this material, Waite is able to show that the Free Corps contributed to Hitler's Germany powerful political shock troops, labor camps, a youth movement, a well-developed Führer concept, and the basic tenets of National Socialist ideology.
The movement, half a million strong, swept Germany at a time when Hitler was an unknown political agitator. But when Hitler came to power, leaders of the Free Corps emerged as leaders of the Third Reich. Waite lists the names of these men in a valuable appendix to the book, which shows the activities of each man in both movements.
Waite emphasizes and substantiates the thesis that National Socialism really began in the months and years immediately following World War I. Aside from its importance as history, the story of these self-styled Freebooters has all the ingredients of a fantastic adventure tale: intrigues, conspiracies, quick reversals, and sudden death follow each other in dramatic succession.
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Dust jacket missing. Shelf and handling wear to cover and binding, with general signs of previous use. 1970 Printing. The binding suffers moderate loosening due to age and wear, but remains secure and in-tact; the pages are clean and unmarked. Secure packaging for safe delivery. 1.25. Seller Inventory # 1240185300
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Used - Good. Book shows moderate shelf wear and rubbing to covers. Book is withdrawn ex-library with associated markings. Small tears to cover. Seller Inventory # 518702
Book Description Hardcover. Second Printing. Octavo, xii, 344 pages. In Very Good condition with Very Good minus Dust Jacket. Spine is black and yellow with black and yellow lettering. Dust jacket has rubbing, shelf wear, and a small tear along the front cover edge. Boards have minor rubbing. NOTE: Shelved in ND-B. 1374771. FP New Rockville Stock. Seller Inventory # 1374771
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. 2nd printing of 1952 edition. 8vo. x, 344 pages. Dark red cloth, gilt spine titles; black & yellow dust jacket, not price-clipped. Slightest softening to spine head, o/w negligible wear to exterior; interior clean and bright; jacket spine lightly age-toned, spine head and upper extremities lightly rubbed, archival tape to verso of upper and lower extremities. A near fine copy in a very good to very good plus jacket. D17. Seller Inventory # X04512
Book Description hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Very Good. book. Seller Inventory # D8S0-3-M-0674931424-3