Schneider, Helmut Tiger Battalion 507. Eyewitness Accounts from Hitler's Regiment

The book was conceived during a reunion of the "507" at Rohrdorf in 1982, where it was agreed to set up an editorial committee under Helmut Schneider, himself a veteran of the battalion, to search for as many survivors of the unit as possible and gather their reminiscences. The resulting account is a treasure trove of first-hand material, from personal memories, diary entries and letters to leave passes, wartime newspaper cuttings, Wehrmacht bulletins and more than 160 photographs. The account follows the unit from its formation in 1943 and the catastrophic events on the Eastern Front, through battles on the Western Front and engagements against the American 3rd Armoured Division to the confusion of retreat, panic-stricken flight and Soviet captivity in the closing stages of the war. Honest and unflinching, this remarkable collection of autobiographies offers a glimpse into life in Hitler's panzer division and is a stark testimony of a generation that sacrificed its best years to the war.

In addition to the relevant battle descriptions, however, the cheerful moments of soldiers' lives and the experiences of comradeship and captivity are not neglected. Last but not least, the largely unpublished photographic material makes the chronicle of the heavy armoured division 507 an authentic and unique piece of military history.