Waffen SS: Hitler's Elite Fighting Force [1990]

The Waffen Armed SS) was the paramilitary arm of the Schutzstaffel ("Protective Squadron") or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party.

The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside the Wehrmacht (regular army), but was never formally part of it. It was Adolf Hitler's preference that the Waffen-SS never be integrated into the army, it was to remain the armed wing of the Party and to become an elite police force once the war was won.

Operational control of units on the front line was given to the Army's High Command, but in all other respects it remained under the control of Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler's SS organization, through the SS Führungshauptamt (SS operational command office).