Twilight of the Gods, Thorolf Hillblad
Twilight of the Gods, Thorolf Hillblad
1 Rating(s)
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Twilight of the Gods
A Swedish Waffen-SS Volunteer's Experiences with the 11th SS-Panzergrenadier Division Nordland, Eastern Front 1944-45

Author: Thorolf Hillblad

Narrator: Bruce Mann

Unabridged: 5 hr 50 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 10/22/2019


Synopsis

Twilight of the Gods was originally written in Swedish, and published in Buenos Aires shortly after the end of WWII. Erik Wallin, a Swedish soldier who volunteered for service with the Waffen-SS, participated in the climactic battles on the Eastern Front during late 1944 and 1945, later telling his story to this book's editor, Thorolf Hillblad.

Wallin served with the Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion, 11th SS-Panzergrenadier Division Nordland, a unit composed mainly of non-German volunteers, including Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes. The division enjoyed a high reputation for its combat capability, and was always at the focal points of the fighting on the Eastern Front in the last year of the war. During this period it saw combat in the Baltic, in Pomerania, on the Oder, and finally in defense of Berlin, where it was destroyed.

Erik Wallin served with his unit in all of these locations, and provides the listener with a fascinating glimpse into these final battles. The book is written with a "no holds barred" approach which will captivate, excite, and maybe even shock the listener—his recollections do not evade the brutality of fighting against the advancing Red Army. Twilight of the Gods is destined to become a classic memoir of the Second World War.

About Thorolf Hillblad

Thorolf Hillblad is an editor specializing in German military history. Hillblad has retired in Argentina.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Brett on March 24, 2022

Overall I liked this first-person account. Erik Wallin was a Swedish volunteer in the 11th SS Panzergrenadier Division 'Nordland' unit comprised of volunteers from the Nordic countries. He was an Unterscharführer (the equivalent of a corporal) in a mortar platoon. This story is the last six months o......more

Goodreads review by Bobby on January 13, 2022

Exactly what the title says an account of WWII from a member of the SS. Not bad but nothing new here. The grim reality of surviving the war and struggling through occupied Germany as drunken Soviets rob, rape, pillage, and plunder tends to be the most difficult part of these books. As when the war e......more

Goodreads review by Ryan on October 22, 2020

This was an interview/war memoir of a Swedish volunteer into a German WW2 unit fighting in the East against Stalin. Not a very common perspective to encounter, as most of the Waffen-SS were killed. Unclear how to really evaluate the fighting aspects of the book -- hard although conventional combat o......more

Goodreads review by Ahte on August 19, 2024

Read this quite a while ago. The (true) story follows the Waffen-SS soldier Erik “Jerka” Wallin”, in the “Nordland” volunteer division, recounting his experiences in the closing months of the war. The book holds back nothing. Starting with a Christmas exchange between the Red Army and the Waffen SS i......more

Goodreads review by Vladimiro on January 28, 2021

The irony is tremendous. The Nazis are the brave man, the man that sacrifice themselves for higher values, the underdog that fights mechanic armies in avalanches, and armadas of planes and bombs in the skies, and “the enemies don’t fight fair” and crimes committed against them are tremendous! The suc......more