denny Ethnic & National book

NON-POLITICAL...The Waffen-SS, Schwarzze Sonne, Armed SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel ("Protective Squadron") or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside the Heer (regular army), but was never formally part of it. It was Adolf Hitler's will that the Waffen-SS never be integrated into the army, as it was to remain the armed wing of the Party and to become an elite police force once the war was won. During time of peace, it remained under the control of Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler's SS, through the SS Führungshauptamt (SS operational command office). Upon mobilization, however, its tactical control was handed over to the High Command of the Armed Forces (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht). Initially membership was open to "Aryans" only in accordance with the racial policies of the Nazi state, but in 1940 the rules were relaxed (although not ended completely) and Hitler authorized the formation of units composed largely or solely of foreign volunteers and conscripts; by the end of the war ethnic non-Germans made up approximately 60 per cent of the Waffen-SS. In the early days of the war, the Waffen-SS was still a wholly volunteer organisation and many attempts were made to attract additional suitable personnel. The usual recruiting slogans and posters used throughout the ...