How did an Austrian-born misfit who had never risen higher in military service than the rank of lance-corporal attain mastery over Germany and most of Europe? Much of that dubious credit can be attributed to the actions of his earliest paramilitary army, the Sturmabteilungen (SA, Storm Troops), and the men chosen by the Fuhrer to lead it. This series analyses the lives and careers of those men, the first volume covering 49 officers, 35 of whom were, like their leader, veterans of the First World War who had found themselves stunned, bitterly disillusioned, and in many cases unemployed and destitute in the aftermath of that four-year struggle. They eagerly sought the opportunity to return to uniform, battled the enemies of the Nazi Party in the streets of interwar Germany, and saw their efforts rewarded by their own leader's betrayal, as he essentially decapitated his SA in favour of its own subordinate formation, Heinrich Himmler's SS, in the 'Night of the Long Knives' (30 June 1 July 1934). But the SA did not end with that devastating blow, and despite its loss of prestige and power it was to play an important role in military training and internal security within and outside the borders of the Reich. During World War II, many of its leaders were tasked with administering occupied territories and representing Germany as ambassadors to other Axis nations. Still others, men of all SA ranks, served individually as members of the German armed forces, tens of thousands of them losing their lives on all fronts and many of them receiving the highest awards for bravery and leadership. Relying primarily on contemporary documentation, including the official personnel files of these men, Michael Miller and Andreas Schulz have compiled the first in-depth study yet produced on the SA leadership corps, a series designed to provide as comprehensive a picture as possible of the hauptamtlicher (full-time, actively serving) and ehrenamtlicher (honorary) SA-Fuhrer. 450 photos
Author Biography:
Michael Miller was born in Torrance, California on 28 May 1971. He served in the US Navy from 1989 to 1993, achieving the rank of Yeoman Petty Officer 3rd Class with assignments to USS ORION (AS-18) and the Port Services Department of Commander, Submarine Squadron 22 in La Maddalena, Sardinia as well as Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron TWO (VQ-2) in Rota, Spain. His interest in the Second World War dates back to 1978. He currently works as a Peer Specialist for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs in California. Founder of the website Axis Biographical Research in 1999, and a forum host/moderator at Axis History Forums since 2002, he is also the author or co-author of the following: "Leaders of the SS & German Police, Volume I: Reichsführer-SS - SS-Gruppenführer (Georg Ahrens to Karl Gutenberger)" (R. James Bender Publishing, 2006), "Knight’s Cross Holders of the SS & German Police, 1940-1945" (Self-published CD-Rom, 2009), and with Andreas Schulz "The SS-Brigadeführer, 1933-1945" (Self-published CD-Rom, 2004), and "Gauleiter: The Regional Leaders of the Nazi Party and Their Deputies, Volume I (Herbert Albrecht – H. Wilhelm Hüttmann)" (R. James Bender Publishing, 2012). Andreas Schulz was born in Stendal (Altmark), then in the German Democratic Republic, on 12 April 1965. After completing his studies in Magdeburg, he worked as a hydraulic engineer. For the past nine years, he has served in the Bundespresseamt (Federal Press Office) of the German Government. A diligent and passionate research historian, he is the co-author of the following works: With Joachim Lilla and Martin Döring: "Statisten in Uniform. Die Mitglieder des Reichstags 1933-1945" (Droste Verlag, 2004); With Dr. med. Dieter Zinke: "Die Generale der Waffen-SS und der Polizei 1933-1945, Band 1 (Abraham-Gutenberger)" (Biblio-Verlag, 2003), "Die Generale der Waffen-SS und der Polizei 1933-1945, Band 2 (Hachtel-Kutschera)" (Biblio-Verlag, 2005), "Die Generale der Waffen-SS und der Polizei 1933-1945, Band 3 (Lammerding-Plesch)" (Biblio-Verlag, 2008), "Die Generale der Waffen-SS und der Polizei 1933-1945, Band 4 (Podzun-Schimana)" (Biblio-Verlag, 2009), "Die Generale der Waffen-SS und der Polizei 1933-1945, Band 5 (Schlake-Turner)" (Biblio-Verlag, 2011), "Die Generale der Waffen-SS und der Polizei 1933-1945, Band 6 (Ullmann-Zottmann)" (Biblio-Verlag, 2012); with Michael D. Miller: "The SS-Brigadeführer, 1933-1945" (Self-published CD-Rom, 2004), "Gauleiter: The Regional Leaders of the Nazi Party and Their Deputies, Volume I (Herbert Albrecht – H. Wilhelm Hüttmann)" (R. James Bender Publishing, 2012).
