pieperh

This monograph has been on various TBR list of mine for years now, to the point where I wondered whether I even wanted to bother reading it, but I finally decided to take the plunge. Having done so, I can report that this is a very effective study, as Pieper traces the evolution of unit from prestige piece for Heinrich Himmler in competition with the German "Heer" in equestrian competition, to security unit, to ferocious killing machine, to fire-brigade unit as the Germans were thrown back from Moscow in 1941-1942.

Pieper's main point is to examine how the 1st SS Cavalry Brigade became such a lethal element in the war on the Jews, and others on Nazi elimination list, to the point that the SS horseman set an example for other German units waging genocide. With the sense being that ideology is insufficient as an operational explanation, Pieper points to the harsh discipline Hermann Fegelein introduced from the creation of the brigade's sub-units, to how the horsemen had something of a direct connection to the higher command elements of the SS (which forced the pace of killing), and how the exigencies of wartime service radicalized behavior.

Still, one element that Pieper could have emphasized somewhat more is the sheer entrepreneurial drive of Hermann Fegelein. From the inception of the SS equestrian program, the man worked tirelessly to advance himself and his people, and no crime was too heinous if it would make his unit look more effective; many of the deaths attributable to the Waffen-SS cavalry seem simply to have been committed to pad the monthly after-action reports. Grim reading, but this strikes me as a book that should probably have a wider readership.… (meer)