Along the way, he discovered more and more info that led him to construct a very different portrait of Peiper. So, drawn to the Peiper "myth", as perpetuated by devious veterans, he set out to write a flattering biography of one of his idols. Westemeier, a reserve Bundeswehr officer, begins by revealing that growing up in a Germany in need of heroes, he was initially a "fan" of Peiper. Where one author paints a flowery picture of the determined and martyred Waffen-SS supersoldier wise beyond his years and never wrong, this account portrays him as a cold, calculating, and essentially incompetent opportunist virtually since birth. It is, as a poster on another forum website observed, the mirror opposite of Patrick Agte's book. Indeed, even the author’s use throughout the book of the name “Joachim” instead of the subject’s preferred “Jochen” can be interpreted as disdain, given the overall tone of Westemeier's book. One can literally feel Westemeier's disgust and hatred of Peiper and the entire Waffen-SS organization, save perhaps Max Wünsche, oozing constantly through the pages. The problem I had with this book is not the amount of research and time the author devoted to the subject, but the overall bias and contemptuous tone Westemeier has for his subject and openly takes throughout the book, robbing it of its objectivity. Unfortunately, though extensively researched and well sourced, "Joachim Peiper" again shows that the final word on Peiper is yet to be written. My copy finally arrived this past week and I jumped right in. Sevreal of you have asked me to post my review of Jens Westemeier's latest book on Jochen Peiper, so here it is.Īs an active follower and participant in the ongoing debate to define and biograph Jochen Peiper, I eagerly awaited the release on what I was told to be the definitive biography of the Waffen SS leader.
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