“I swear to you, Adolf Hitler, as Fuhrer and Reichschancellor, loyalty and bravery. I vow to you, and those you have named to command me, obedience unto death, so help me God.”[1]
This oath, taken by each member of the Waffen SS, summarized their unflinching obedience to Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler. Although rightly condemned as a criminal organization following the Military Tribunal at Nuremburg, the Waffen SS, more specifically its Panzer Divisions, also ranked as among the most effective of any German military formations.