In the summer of 1941, as part of the Wehrmacht and SS troops, the so-called national legions of the Fuhrer invaded the Soviet Union - tens of thousands of Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Belgian and French freiwiligen (volunteers), intoxicated by Nazi propaganda, who decided to take part in the “crusader” campaign against communism." Among them was the author of this book, the Dutchman Hendrik Ferten, who voluntarily joined the SS troops and fought on the Eastern Front - first in the 5th SS Panzer Division "Viking", then in the Dutch SS regiment "Besslein" - with 1941 until the last days of the war (the garrison of the Breslau fortress, in the defense of which Ferten participated, laid down arms only on May 6, 1941). These memoirs are “trench truth” in SS style, a cruel story about the horrors of war and fallen comrades, about battles and campaigns, victories and defeats, about life and death on the Eastern Front. Of particular interest is the testimony of an SS volunteer about how soldiers were selected and trained for “Himmler’s pocket army.” These “political soldiers” proved themselves in battles with the Red Army as desperate, skillful and absolutely ruthless fighters. Unlike the Germans, those who survived the war have not yet repented. This book irrefutably proves that our grandfathers and great-grandfathers fought not only with Germany and its official allies, but in fact with all of Europe - contrary to “Western” myths “Democratic Europe” not only meekly surrendered to Hitler, not only willingly worked for the Wehrmacht, but also actively participated in the “crusade to the East”: it is no secret that the number of Western European volunteers who fought in the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS outnumbered the number of Resistance fighters.