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  • 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
  • Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (252 ratings)
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Fur Volk and Fuhrer

By: Erwin Bartmann, Derik Hammond
Narrated by: James Foster
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Summary

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
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

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)

What listeners say about Fur Volk and Fuhrer

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Pro-Nazi?

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Interesting to hear a story from someone in the Nazi SS.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Fur Volk and Fuhrer?

I was surprised that the author had selective amnesia about anything negative regarding the SS and the Nazi regime.
Although his parents were Nazi party members and he was indoctrinated into the racist system he hardly mentions antisemitism and even claims to have been friendly and helped Jewish neighbours.
I don't believe a Nazi would call good morning to a Jewish labour in 1939 and go out of his way to help them in 1940?
Erwin implies that the SS Leibstandart had nothing to do with war crimes which goes against all the historical evidence.
From the very start of the war the Leibstandarte comited atrocities,
In 1939 members of the LSSAH committed atrocities in numerous Polish towns, including the murder of 50 Jews in Błonie and the massacre of 200 civilians, including children, who were machine gunned in Złoczew. Shootings also took place in Bolesławiec, Torzeniec, Goworowo, Mława, and Włocławek.
On 28 May 1940 the Leibstandarte had taken the village of Wormhout, only ten miles from Dunkirk. After their surrender, soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, along with some other units (including French soldiers) were taken to a barn in La Plaine au Bois near Wormhout and Esquelbecq. It was there that troops of the Leibstandarte 2nd Battalion committed the Wormhoudt massacre, where 80 British and French prisoners of war were killed.
The list of crimes go's on and on but for Erwin and his story the SS are all good chaps.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The naration was a little monotone.

Could you see Fur Volk and Fuhrer being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?

Only if you want to see a Nazi properganda film.

Any additional comments?

A book about the SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler that glosses over antisematism against the Jews and war crimes against prisoners and civilians is a work of fiction and not a credible memoir of the SS at war.
Unfortunatly this book could be seen as Nazi properganda as it distorts the facts and portraise the SS troops as heros when they were political fanatics who took part in some of the worst crimes of the 20th century.
Bottom line is Erwin only tells you what he wants you to hear.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic!

Waffen ssure if i'd enjoy it or it would take me out of mein kampfort zone. Glad I did Anne Frankly I'd reichommend you download it.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Terrible choice of narrator

This book gives an interesting viewpoint to the war in Russia however the narrators american accent and terrible american pronunciations have ruined this as an audio book

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7 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very very good! *review may contain spoilers*

This is a very enjoyable book, however, though the performance is good enough, it keeps to the same tone from start to finish so it can feel a bit monotonous after lengthy listening times.

I've been looking into a lot of memoirs from the German perspective of WW2 and to find one from an SS soldier, I jumped to it!

The book follows his life from a young age to joining the SS, to his "retirement". (trying to avoid spoilers)
Erwin goes into a good deal of detail with his stories on the Eastern front, though there are surprisingly few regarding what we know the SS were well known for on the Eastern front, whether they are deliberately left out or he genuinely never taken part, I doubt I'll ever find out.

History is history, and everyone has their perception of it, so please try not to view this book as Nazi propaganda as some seem to view German memoirs.

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5 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Captivating

This was my first foray with an audio book. I enjoy seeing the Second World War from the German perspective. The content and delivery was excellent. I would recommend this book.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent first hand account of the life of a member of the SS

I must say I thought this book to be excellent and gripping to say the least .
Had me picturing actual events as he actually lived them ....
Well done to all involved in this books publishing.....
Regards,
JJ Y

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The Other Side

Every event has two tales to tell. We know our side but to hear the other side you forget that it’s some mothers son and she worries like our mothers did. The things they did and then the way they suffered brings this home by Arvins tale. A great listen.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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really well written and read.

interesting and compelling perspective of an elite young German soldier. so much detail, very vivid. highly recommended

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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a brilliant accout

could not stop listening it was a very good account of what it must have been like for Mr Bartman. Thanks

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2 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Doesn't add up

I approached this memoir with an open mind, and a curiosity to see the war from a different perspective, but ultimately, I was not convinced by Bartmann's account of the war. There was absolutely no sense of facing up to the war and Germany's role as aggressor. The Liebstandarte was presented as some sort of benign force, chivalrous and heroic, and while I could say that I went along with his account to a point, ultimately, it just didn't add up. Selective in the anecdotes he tells, with no sense of a questioning or reflective mind, or one willing to face up to the truth in all its unpleasantness and complexity, Bartmann comes across as deluded. The real value of this book is the insight it provides into the SS psyche. For all its flaws, it is a very interesting listen, and it is fascinating to get a view of the war from the German perspective. If it had been more honest, it would have been brilliant. Good narration throughout

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1 person found this helpful