Dietrich's Boys

Dietrich's Boys: the Leibstandarte is the story of a military unit. It began quite literally one man strong, with Josef 'Sepp' Dietrich assigned to be the personal bodyguard of Adolf Hitler. It ended as an armored division of the German armed forces in World War II that saw more than fifty thousand men serve in its ranks. Its prestige was great, but this was hard come by. Tarnished by misdeeds of a few of its members, and held in high respect by the German people owing to the deeds of most of its personnel, this formation was unique in the units of World War II on all sides. It began with Dietrich, an 'upstart', and it ended with an accusation of infamy that still causes fierce discussions to this very day. This is more than a military history. It is a social history of a European nation over a period of thirty years. And it is a human story of Dietrich and his boys.