Eberhard: Yes, son, it is former however, and that is hard for me to answer you, you see. I do not know really. I would imagine it was due to the times I grew up in. To be in the black SS back then was not anything bad; it was looked upon as the highest level of service to the state. The SS was seen as very elite and hard to enter. I was not part of the party and never had anything to do with them. Who would have thought that in 1937 the world would turn upside down in only a few short years? I was in the Pioneers [SS-Pionier-Bataillon Dresden] with Deutschland and our barracks were in Dresden, such a wonderful city before the bombs. Wearing the black uniform meant prestige and opened doors for members. Himmler really put together an organization like no other, would you believe the SS had Jewish members as well? For all that is said, it interests me still today that Emil Maurice was a very early founder of the Stosstrupp Adolf Hitler ['Shock Troop' Adolf Hitler was a small, short-lived bodyguard unit set up to guard Hitler in 1923.] and friends with Hitler. He and Himmler may not have gotten along, but he did have much influence on things. Something I never understood was if the regime was anti-Jewish then why did so many Jewish fellows serve in the armed forces and government? There is something for you to think about.

Did you ever meet Hitler or Himmler?

Eberhard: Oh yes, we were in effect the bodyguards of Hitler so we would see him at parades. The LSSAH [Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler] was closer to him than the rest, due to being stationed in Berlin. Himmler we saw often, he would visit every SS unit at least once a year to see how things were going. We would have to line up to be inspected and to hold a parade; he usually would attend lunch or dinner after. During the war Himmler would come to the front often to inspect the troops. He formed the Waffen-SS and took a vested interest in making sure all its needs were met. He was quite a character, not the soldier type at all, he was more of a policeman than soldier. He was very committed to the past, I remember. When I became an officer, he spoke, telling us that, "Your destiny is protecting this holy race and to create its future, fate has called you to arms and providence will be with you as it was with the ancestors."

It always stayed with me as he was obsessed with our past, which was the whole reason we bore ancient Germanic and Viking symbols. This is what this castle [Wewelsburg] was all about; he made it as a research place for the past. When you look at everything here it was modelled on honoring Germanic history. I must confess life was pretty good in those times; it was not so bad to be an SS man.

Can I ask your thoughts on the war crimes accusations against the SS?

Eberhard: Oh, it is not good to speak about such things today; I certainly will not defend everyone. I will tell you that my men were all cleared of any claims made by the Allies. The Soviets tried to accuse Wiking of some crimes, but they were proven false. We fought as professional soldiers and had strict orders to treat our enemies as combatants. I can say that we also were fair to partisans; no mistreatment was seen by me or my officers; I can assure you of that. I would sometimes question the enemy and can share with you an observation. They all seemed to be told that we were criminals and killers of innocent people. They had this in their heads, and I believe it was told to them to make them fight even harder. The same for Wiking, we had seen that they took no prisoners, so in a bad spot we fought like lions. I believe the political officers told these men stories of crimes and atrocities to get them to fight hard and with a vengeance. Sadly, these stories had very bad consequences at war's end, many of my men fell after surrendering. If the Soviets got you, then there was little hope for soldiers of the SS. The Allies were much better; they understood that we were soldiers, only doing our duty for our nation and people.

Now, I cannot say about the others, there are well-documented trials that occurred after the war, and indeed some even happen now. You must remember much of the Waffen-SS was made up of foreign volunteers, so they had attitudes that brought centuries of conflicts to the front. Some may have taken it to heart that they had scores to settle with peoples who may have offended them. This is in no way an excuse if they did wrong, but it helps explain some of the incidences in the Balkans, and in France. Others I cannot even explain, shooting civilians as hostages is never acceptable. I must say I never saw this, but it is a claim made against the SS and police units. That is what I hear today, the police units, which were under SS control through Himmler, had a bad reputation with the populations. Even some Germans have come out and said the police were hard on them, so there is no defending that. That damn war left a very bad impression on many people.