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Title: The "Cripple-Guard"
Review: We have all seen the images of elderly gentlemen and young boys shouldering Panzerfausts and antiquated rifles. Such photos speak to the futility of the Nazi cause as the Second World War in Europe came to a rapid close. The Volkssturm, a last-ditch response was nicknamed the Krüppelgarde ('cripple-guard') or HJ-Spätlese ('late-vintage Hitler Youth'). Its members could not be termed fanatical, if anything, they wanted nothing more than to surrender and get on with defeat and reconstruction having recognized a lost cause.The individual accounts of forced participation and ultimate capitulation are engrossing but ultimately sad. This is by far the best account of the Volkssturm's short service and ranks up there in terms of fascination along with the Hitler Youth and the Werewolves. All three groups represent examples of the Nazis power of propaganda rather than truly effective fighting forces.
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