Mark C. Yerger

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Mark C. Yerger (* 1955 in Lancaster (Pennsylvania) ; † September 6, 2016 there ) was an American author of books on the SS and Waffen-SS . He maintained close contacts with the SS veterans, through whom he obtained material from private archives, and worked out biographical descriptions of commanders and recipients of the Waffen-SS as well as individual units. Historians consider his representations to be uncritical, inadequate and euphemistic.

life and work

Yerger collected information, photographs and documents about commanders and members of the SS, the SS disposal force and the Waffen SS. To this end, he researched archives in the USA , Germany , Austria and the Czech Republic . He came into contact with veterans of the Waffen SS and also took part in veteran meetings. Above all, Otto Weidinger and Otto Kumm put him in touch with other veterans who made documents, information and photographs available to him.

Yerger wrote individual biographies about Weidinger, Kumm and Ernst August Krag , while he talked about the commanders of the Waffen-SS, the holders of the German Cross in gold and silver in the Waffen-SS and the police, and about individual units such as the 2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich" , the SS Cavalry Brigade and, most recently, the SS Totenkopf Division published works in several volumes. The veterans organization of the Waffen-SS, the mutual aid community of the members of the former Waffen-SS (HIAG), honored Yerger for his publications with the HIAG badge in gold. Otto Baum , commander of the SS divisions "Das Reich" , "Götz von Berlichingen" and "Reich leader SS" wrote a foreword for the second volume of Yergers Waffen-SS commander , in which he is about the unfair treatment by the Nuremberg Trials complained and claimed that the Waffen SS was no more a criminal organization than the Wehrmacht . Yerger also acted as a moderator of an Internet forum, in which he answered questions about the SS and offered his help to interested parties.

Historians rate Yerger's portrayals as “uncritical”, “[completely] inadequate because euphemistic” or “revisionist”. Christoph Rass calls Yerger's publication Riding East on the SS Cavalry Brigade a "highly euphemistic and, in its interpretation, more than questionable representation" of its operations. Yergers work "an example of trivializing and uncritical story of a Waffen-SS unit whose participation is well documented in numerous war crimes." Indicative of Yergers dealing with the sources had was that he "Although the thanks General Schellerts to the Cavalry Brigade from Cited 6 November 1941, but only mentioned the 'deployment on the flank', not 'in the rear' of the division. ” Martin Cüppers criticizes Yerger for celebrating Hermann Fegelein as a war hero.

Ronald Smelser and Edward Davies call Yerger a "guru" in the scene of those who tended to romanticize the Waffen-SS. Yerger was most likely to have worked as a historian in his reference work Waffen-SS Commanders , for which he not only researched archives in various countries, but also evaluated private archives of, for example, SS troop comradeships. Smelser and Davies see Yerger's objectivity clouded by the influence of the veterans and reproach him for romanticizing bravery and sacrifice. With his detailed biographies he did not write any prosopographical studies, but was primarily interested in military achievements, medals and decorations and achieved an iconographic effect with photos and documents. His publications contained more photos than text, which together with the hagiographic description would not provide a historical framework for interpretation, but instead created a romanticized, separate world of bravery and willingness to make sacrifices. On the other hand, Yerger only reports the bare minimum about the involvement of SS men in war crimes.

Publications

  • Otto Weidinger. Knights Cross with oak leaves and swords: SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 4 "Der Führer". JJ Fedorowicz Pub, Winnipeg 1987, ISBN 9780921991021 .
  • Otto Kumm. Knight's Cross with Oakleaves and Swords: commander, SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 4 "Der Führer". JJ Fedorowicz Pub, Winnipeg, Man., Canada 1989, ISBN 9780921991021 .
  • Knights of steel. The structure, development and personalities of the 2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich". 1st edition. Yerger, Lancester, Pa. 1994, ISBN 9780964166103 .
  • Images of the Waffen-SS. A photo chronicle of Germany's elite troops. Schiffer Military History, Atglen, PA 1996, ISBN 0764300784 .
  • Riding East. The SS Cavalry Brigade in Poland and Russia, 1939-1942. Schiffer Pub, Atglen, PA 1996, ISBN 9780764300608 .
  • SS-Sturmbannführer Ernst August Krag. Bearer of the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Commander SS-Sturmgeschützabteilung 2, SS-Panzer-Reconnaissance Division 2; "Das Reich. Schiffer Military History, Atglen, PA 1996, ISBN 0764300490 .
  • General-SS. The commands, units and leaders of the general SS. Schiffer, Atglen Pa. 1997, ISBN 0-7643-0145-4 .
  • Waffen-SS commanders. The army, corps, and divisional leaders of a legend. Schiffer, Atglen 1997.
  • Forays. A photo album of the Waffen SS. Podzun-Pallas, Wölfersheim-Berstadt 2000, ISBN 9783790907100 .
  • German Cross in silver. Holders of the SS and police. 1st edition. Bender, San Jose Calif. 2002, ISBN 0-912138-87-4 .
  • German cross in gold. Holders of the SS and police. R. James Bender Pub, San Jose, CA 2003- <c2014>, ISBN 1932970282 .
  • and Ignacio Arrondo: skull. The structure, development, and personalities of the 3rd SS Panzer Division. Helion & Company Limited, Solihull 2015, ISBN 1910777099 .

literature

  • Obituary by Mark C. Yerger on lancasteronline.com (in English). (accessed May 6, 2017)
  • Ronald M. Smelser and Edward J. Davies, II: The myth of the Eastern Front. The Nazi-Soviet was in American popular culture. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2008, ISBN 0-521-71231-9 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Ronald M. Smelser and Edward J. Davies, II: The myth of the Eastern Front. The Nazi-Soviet was in American popular culture. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2008, ISBN 0-521-71231-9 , pp. 159 f.
  2. ↑ Obituary Mark C. Yerger on lancasteronline.com (in English). (accessed May 6, 2017)
  3. ↑ Ronald M. Smelser and Edward J. Davies, II: The myth of the Eastern Front. The Nazi-Soviet was in American popular culture. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2008, ISBN 0-521-71231-9 , p. 255.
  4. ^ Christian Hartmann : Wehrmacht in the Eastern War. Front and military hinterland 1941/42. Oldenbourg, Munich 2009, ISBN 9783486580648 , p. 435
  5. ^ Jürgen Förster : Wehrmacht, War and Holocaust. In: Wolfgang Michalka and Martin Vogt (eds.). Jewish emancipation and anti-Semitism in Germany in the 19th and 20th centuries. A conference proceedings. Ed. Isele, Eggingen 2003, ISBN 978-3-86142-217-4 ( Library of European Freedom Movements . Vol. 3), pp. 139–159, here p. 149.
  6. ↑ Niels Weise: Eicke. An SS career between a mental hospital, concentration camp system and Waffen-SS. Zugl .: Würzburg, Univ., Diss., 2012. Schöningh, Paderborn 2013, ISBN 9783506777058 , p. 312.
  7. ↑ Christoph Rass: "Human Material ". German soldiers on the Eastern Front. Interior views of an infantry division 1939-1945. Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 2003, ISBN 9783506744869 , p. 341.
  8. ↑ Martin Cüppers: Trailblazer of the Shoah. The Waffen-SS, the Reichsführer-SS command staff and the extermination of the Jews 1939–1945. Zugl .: Stuttgart, Univ., Diss., 2004. Wiss. Buchges, Darmstadt 2005, ISBN 3-534-16022-3 , p. 359.
personal data
SURNAME Yerger, Mark C.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American military writer
DATE OF BIRTH 1955
PLACE OF BIRTH Lancaster, Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH September 6, 2016
Place of death Lancaster, Pennsylvania