[bjc]

If my arithmetic is correct, Heinrich Steinmeyer would have been all of 19 when he was captured. He may or may not have been assigned to a Concentration Camp. He may or may not have volunteered for the SS. I have not read Soldiers of Destruction but given the huge numbers of SS and their military specialties, I doubt that a large % actually saw service at the camps - and those that did were probably specialists. It seems to me that lacking other information on what Herr Steinmeyer did prior to his capture and the very nature of the story, it is better to simply take the story at face value. On the other hand, if Herr Steinmeyer had been a party to the atrocities, then certainly he first should make peace with the victims of those atrocities.

[Welcome2thejungle]

This is true. Not EVERY single member of the Waffen SS was a war criminal or even a concentration camp guard. The Waffen SS was in fact considered the elite of the German military establishment. They fought the hardest on the Eastern Front and often advanced when other units retreated. They were more often than not given the best of of German equipment especially Tiger and Panther tanks. They received more political training than the Wehrmacht and were known for their loyalty to Hitler. Some Waffen units committed war crimes such as the execution of American POWs at Malmedy during the Battle of the Bulge. But it would be a mistake to consider ALL of them war criminals. Some of them were quite brave including the legendary Tiger Tank commander Lt. Michael Wittman who knocked out more tanks than other tank commander in WWII. Many German youth aspired to join the Waffen SS as they were noted for their espirit de corp and their willingness to fight when other units retreated.