Hitler's White Russians: Collaboration, Extermination and Anti-Partisan Warfare in Byelorussia, 1941-1944

Rating:
Summary: Another great work on a little-known facet of WW2
Review: Antonio Munoz, who made his debut into the publishing field with Forgotten Legions: Obscure Formations of the Waffen-SS, has, along with Dr. Romanko, obviously put another piece of his heart into this work, a huge, hardcover treatment of how the Byelorussians interacted with their German occupiers, during the German-Russian War of 1941 until late 1944, when virtually all of White Russia was "liberated" by Stalin's Hordes.

Do not be mistaken in thinking that anything Mr. Munoz writes is, in any manner, written in a favorable light towards the Nazis and their actions; rather, this is one of the most objective - as well as comprehensive - treatments of how life was lived and internal policies implemented behind the lines in an (erstwhile) ex-Soviet Republic.

Dr. Romanko, a native of the area studied, delves deeply into the myriad policing and para-military, anti-partisan units and other groups used by the Byelorussian regime to keep order during their time under the Nazi boot. It is a shame that the recent (1995) sweeping in of a near-totalitarian White Russian rulership has led to the suppression of all records which do not paint them in a favorable light; again, political correctness interferes with historical studies.

However, from what they have already uncovered and discussed in this book, we are a long way farther along the road to knowing just what it was like in the East when Hitler's armies marched against Stalin.

This is a must-read for any serious student of World War II, especially those who wish to understand just how convoluted politics in Eastern Europe were from 1941-44.

And check out his other works as well. [He has a] website...

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous
Review: As an author, who has written five books on the German army and Waffen-SS, I applaud this latest effort by Antonio Munoz and Dr. Oleg Romanko on Hitler's White Russians. In all aspects, this work has set the standard for information on collaboration, extermination and anti-partisan warfare in Byelorussia during World War II. In short, the book is fabulous.

First, the book is extremely high-quality in it's production. The 500 pages, on glossy stock, make the photographs and maps jump out in superb detail. I've spent roughly twenty years researching World War II archives in four countries, and three-quarters of the photographs in the book are ones I had never seen before! From action photographs during combat operations, to close-ups of key leaders, the book could stand alone among related works for the photographs alone.

But there is much more. The maps, many of which are in color, are easy to follow, and include depictions of every major anti-partisan campaign in the area. Equally as informative are the dozens of order of battle charts and tables that go into superb detail of German army, police, SS and indigenous forces that participated in these operations.

The authors' writing styles are easy to read, and their use of footnotes, from hundreds of sources, show that they have left no stone unturned in their effort to get the complete story of what happened in this little-known theater of the war. Everything is here; you need nothing else to understand what happened. This is not some puff-piece that glosses over the facts. It is an extremely scholarly work, but one written in a style that is reader-friendly.

I salute the authors for their wonderful effort. They succeeded in producing a fabulous book. I suspect I will be consulting it for my own writing efforts for years to come.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous
Review: As an author, who has written five books on the German army and Waffen-SS, I applaud this latest effort by Antonio Munoz and Dr. Oleg Romanko on Hitler's White Russians. In all aspects, this work has set the standard for information on collaboration, extermination and anti-partisan warfare in Byelorussia during World War II. In short, the book is fabulous.

First, the book is extremely high-quality in it's production. The 500 pages, on glossy stock, make the photographs and maps jump out in superb detail. I've spent roughly twenty years researching World War II archives in four countries, and three-quarters of the photographs in the book are ones I had never seen before! From action photographs during combat operations, to close-ups of key leaders, the book could stand alone among related works for the photographs alone.

But there is much more. The maps, many of which are in color, are easy to follow, and include depictions of every major anti-partisan campaign in the area. Equally as informative are the dozens of order of battle charts and tables that go into superb detail of German army, police, SS and indigenous forces that participated in these operations.

The authors' writing styles are easy to read, and their use of footnotes, from hundreds of sources, show that they have left no stone unturned in their effort to get the complete story of what happened in this little-known theater of the war. Everything is here; you need nothing else to understand what happened. This is not some puff-piece that glosses over the facts. It is an extremely scholarly work, but one written in a style that is reader-friendly.

I salute the authors for their wonderful effort. They succeeded in producing a fabulous book. I suspect I will be consulting it for my own writing efforts for years to come.