The study of such a recent and controversial period of history creates unique difficulties and challenges. Gerry’s books are not an apology nor is it intended to serve as a condemnation of Waffen SS soldiers/veterans. The time for judgments - be they judicial, political, or even moral - has passed and, more than 75 years after the end of the war, it is appropriate to adopt a more dispassionate and - so far as that is ever possible - objective approach. As for Gerry, belonging to a generation too young to have experienced the war first hand, he has sought to treat the Waffen SS like any other historical subject. By doing so, he intends neither to rehabilitate or condemn those involved but to provide an accurate record for those who may wish to understand the volunteers of the Waffen SS and their crusades during WWII.