This is a comprehensive description and analysis of the 38 Combat-SS Divisions. The author was granted unparalleled access to all SS personnel files housed in the Document Center in Berlin, as well as interviews with veterans who served in these units. The result of this painstaking research is the most definitive work on the Combat-SS to be published in English. The author seeks to present facts that will correct the mythology and propaganda surrounding the 38 Combat-SS divisions since 1945. Setting the Stage; The Political-Military Heritage; The Formative Years; Unreadiness; Command, Strategy, Operations, Tactics, and Training; A New Elite Formation: The Birth of the Combat-SS; The Start of Armageddon to the Goetterdaemmerung: The W-SS; Atrocities During WW II: Fact or Fiction? The Military Trials and Justice; Appendix; Bibliography.