Killing the SS, Bill O’Reilly, Martin Dugard, authors; Bill O’Reilly, narrator
The book is very well researched, though perhaps, not as well organized with characters coming and going, sometimes without appropriate explanation. Concisely, however, the authors outline the history leading up to, and the years of, World War II, including its conclusion and the ensuing hunt for the evil men who planned and executed the vicious, cold-blooded murder of millions.
Although it summarizes those circumstances, a part of which has come to be called the Final Solution, in its discussion, O’Reilly and Dugard managed to flesh out and reveal some little known facts that I had never heard of before, facts concerning the Nazis and those they eliminated using the most barbaric of means. It always amazes me that no matter how much I have read about that heinous period of world history, brought about by so many German monsters, there are always further details to be revealed that can make my skin crawl. Once again, those that escaped, both the victims and the perpetrators, did so by chance in many instances. A series of convenient and unplanned coincidences sometimes intervened to save the lives of not only the deserving. Often the guiltiest were hidden and secreted out of harm’s way or sheltered by other countries and protected.
Among other facts, I had never heard of the Rat Line which offered an escape route to the former SS soldiers, until reading this book. It shocked and disgusted me that such a set up succeeded in providing asylum to the most evil of men and women for decades. I had thought their escape was frantic and helter skelter, and not so well-planned.
After the war, the job of hunting down the former Nazis fell to Israel. Often, though, they had to compromise their own values to find and punish them. Many wanted retribution for the cruelty and brutality that was inflicted upon innocents by a group that showed little remorse for their disgusting behavior, even decades later, if ever. I asked myself, who could blame them, those who wanted vengeance?
I found the book immediately engaging, and although it was sometimes disjointed because the events described occurred over a period of more than 50 years, it was frequently enlightening, which made the initial confusion of the presentation acceptable. In addition, I thought that the book was more appropriate for those less initiated into the subject of the Holocaust and its masterminds. Hopefully, it will act to inspire the readers to further their knowledge after this initial experience. Perhaps high school students would benefit the most.