MEN OF STEEL – Michael Reynolds – I SS Panzer Corps – 12x Signed Waffen-SS Veterans (LAH, HJ…!)

Rare signed copy of Michael Reynolds’ “Men of Steel: I SS Panzer Corps – The Ardennes and Eastern Front 1944–45”, containing numerous original postwar signatures of veterans associated with the I. SS-Panzerkorps and its subordinate formations.

An exceptionally interesting collector’s copy of Michael Reynolds’ “Men of Steel”, a detailed history of the I. SS-Panzerkorps and its operations during the final campaigns of the Second World War, particularly the Ardennes Offensive and the fighting on the Eastern Front in 1944–45.

The book is the 1999 hardcover edition and is extensively signed by former German Waffen-SS personnel. Among the signatures is the clearly identifiable autograph of SS-Obergruppenführer Otto Kumm, Knight’s Cross holder with Oak Leaves and Swords and one of the senior commanders associated with the Waffen-SS formations covered by Reynolds’ work.

Additional original signatures appear throughout the opening pages, with a large number of names recorded on an accompanying handwritten identification note. The identified names include veterans associated with formations such as the 1. SS-Panzer-Division “Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler”, 7. SS-Freiwilligen-Gebirgs-Division “Prinz Eugen”, 12. SS-Panzer-Division “Hitlerjugend”, SS-Panzer-Abteilung 101/501 and other units connected with the I. SS-Panzerkorps.

• Otto Kumm, Ernst Kufner , Werner Pitsch, Heinrich Springer, Gerhard Stiller, Hans Siptrott, Gerhard Hein, Rudolf von Ribbentrop, Werner Wendt, Waldemar Warnecke, Horst Borgmüller, Johannes Höckel.

The accompanying identification note is particularly useful, recording names and unit associations for a number of the signatories. Several signatures are written directly onto the book’s opening pages, creating an interesting veteran-signed association copy rather than simply a commercially signed modern edition.

The book itself covers the formation and combat history of the I. SS-Panzerkorps, including the fighting of the 1. SS-Panzer-Division “Leibstandarte” and 12. SS-Panzer-Division “Hitlerjugend” during the Ardennes Offensive and the subsequent battles against Soviet forces in Hungary and on the Eastern Front. The 1999 edition is documented as a hardcover publication of Reynolds’ study.

Condition: The book shows normal signs of age and use, with some wear to the dust jacket and binding. The autograph pages have been annotated and marked with an accompanying identification note. Please examine all photographs carefully for the exact condition.

A highly unusual signed reference volume for collectors of Waffen-SS history, veteran autographs and the I. SS-Panzerkorps. The quantity of signatures is the principal attraction of this example.