 War captivity was depicted as the last stage of the so-called ordinary military career in the Waffen-SS in books and publications of the HIAG.In its turn, VdH saw its role as a peace-seeking counterbalance to militaristic veterans' organisations such as HIAG and explicitly distanced itself from them in the early 1950s.Behind the scenes, HIAG cultivated close relationships with the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the main opposition Social Democratic Party (SPD), garnering attention by inflating its membership numbers and influence.