After Latvia was conquered by the Nazis in 1941, Blosfelds was given the choice of serving in the SS or being sent to a slave labor camp. This autobiographical account covers his subsequent training in the German military, his rise to the ranking of instructor, his brutal experiences of fighting in Russia during the winter of 1943-44 and his eventually reception of the Iron Cross after recovering from severe injuries on more than one occasion. This book is relatively unique since it is one of the few surviving descriptions of what it was like to fight for the SS on the Russian front, and of how surrender to the Americans near the end of war was marked by neglect and insensitivity. Distributed by Casemate. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)