Blood and Soil

The Memoir of a Third Reich Brandenburger

By: Sepp de Giampietro, Lawrence Paterson - foreword, Eva Burke - translator

Narrated by: P.J. Ochlan

The Brandenburgers were Hitler's Special Forces, a band of mainly foreign German nationals who used disguise and fluency in other languages to complete daring missions into enemy territory. Overshadowed by stories of their Allied equivalents, their history has largely been ignored.

First published in 1984, de Giampietro's highly-personal and eloquent memoir is a vivid account of his experiences. In astonishing detail, he delves into the reality of life in the unit from everyday concerns and politics to training and involvement in Brandenburg missions. He details the often foolhardy missions undertaken under the command of Theodor von Hippel, including the June 1941 seizure of the Duna bridges in Dunaburg and the attempted capture of the bridge at Bataisk where half of his unit were killed.

Translated into English for the first time, this is a unique insight into a fascinating slice of German wartime history, both as an account of the Brandenburgers and within the author's South Tyrolean origins.

Widely regarded as the predecessor of today's special forces units, this fascinating account brings to life the Brandenburger Division and its part in history in vivid and compelling detail.

©1984 Sepp de Giampietro; English translation copyright 2019 by Eva Burke (P)2021 Tantor

The ends justify the means?

I am convinced Giampietro’s memoir would have been VERY pro Hitler had the German’s won the war. Psychologically, the most revealing part of the memoir is where Giampietro confronts his commanding officer, after deciding wearing uniforms of the enemy is dishonorable. Giampietro’s Lieutenant listens to Giampietro’s concerns and then gives a speech that reminded me of a speech a character out of an Ayn Rand novel might make about war. The message in the speech? The ends justify the means. Victors write the history books so it Giampietro’s duty to do what is required to assist Germany to win the war. The Lieutenant persuades Giampietro with his arguments. Giampietro, therefore, decides to stay with the Brandenburger Special Forces unit. As long as Germany is winning the war, Giampietro enthusiastically plays his role in winning the war. As the Third Reich loses the war, Giampietro’s “moral” qualms reappear. Suddenly, the (losing) ends no longer justify the means. I enjoyed this memoir, but more from what it says about us human beings psychologically, spiritually and emotionally than as a war memoir - which is incomplete. Giampieto’s experiences fighting Partisans in Yugoslavia in 1944 is left virtually blank. So are the end of the war details in Italy and elsewhere. Giampietro seems more concerned with the losing “end” and explaining himself morally than he does with the “means” he used from 1943-45 to survive. In this life, there are no “ends.” Only “means.” Please do not interpret this conclusion as a pious, prissy condemnation of Germany during the Second World War. Churchill’s Great Britain; Roosevelt’s United States and Joe stalin’s Soviet Union, were all maneuvering to dominate the world stage - and like Giampietro, their ends justified the means also. Nevertheless, Giampietro’s overall interesting memoir reveals the hopelessness of us human beings as we attempt to negotiate ourselves through this life without the light of God…

Beautifully written t

Absolutely loved it. Listened to it nearly in one go from start to end.

An interesting, unique perspective on the Second World War.

This is perhaps one of the most unique WW2 spec ops memoirs out there. You often see the perspectives of the British SAS or the 101st Airborne Division, but this shines a light on one man's experience in a special operations unit within WW2-era Germany that isn't often talked about in mainstream history circles.

a heck of a story

really enjoyed this, at times very detailed and very personal account of some of his experiences.

loved the inclusion of the context of being from Süd Tirol

Was disappointed he dis not include more detail of his Italian experiences

however, altogether, a great listen

thank you for sharing Sep

Pretty amazing story

It has some slow parts but he does a great job painting a picture of the story