Unveiling the Tragic History of the Malmedy Massacre at the Battle of the Bulge: Fatal Crossroads

Amazon Customer: very detailed!

United States on Aug 19, 2023

Ruth Kosley: The book arrived as promised & in excellent condition. My uncle (Sgt Benjamin Lindt) was one of the first to be killed during the Massacre at Malmedy. (Battle of the Bulge WWII).

United States on Jul 04, 2023

Gene Killian: This book deals with a difficult and horrible subject: the mass murder of American POWs near Malmedy, Belgium by Hitler’s SS in December 1944. It is meticulously researched and contains many quotations and observations from witnesses to the crime, including former SS soldiers who somehow avoided justice, and US soldiers who miraculously managed to escape the slaughter. Parker is a compelling storyteller, and explores the subject of who actually gave the illegal order. There is an interesting passage near the end of the book suggesting that even Hitler thought that the incident was troubling, which, if true, is astonishing given that he was obviously a psychopath. I would’ve liked to see that story developed a bit more.

There are some imperfections in the book, mostly having to do with editing. At least in the Kindle edition, there are a few typos. More significantly, there is a long stretch in the book that is extremely repetitive, as the author repaints the scene over and over again from square one based upon the recollections of people who were there. That said, there are differences in memory that are worth exploring, and many valuable nuggets in the book. It’s a...

United States on Dec 25, 2022

Amazon Customer j winnig: Very informative of an incident in ww2. The truth being strained and the Americans trying to bring justice, yet doing the same as the Germans. In war people die, the winners make the rules regarding blame

Canada on Jul 07, 2018

Daum: aus der Sicht eines US Historikers, sehr neutral und kompetent nachgeforscht. Viele persönliche Quellen aufgetan umd die Person zu beleuchten

Germany on Nov 13, 2016

Lee slater: I purchased this book a few years ago and read it twice upon getting it, I've just reread it again as some of the notes are relevant to my own research at the moment and Danny Parker's notes are meticulous. Anyway, the story of the Malmedy massacre has been told several times in several books by different authors over the years, but none capture the story as well as 'Fatal Crossroads' as this book not only gives a good look at the characters of the men involved in the massacre, but also gives good insight into the victims who were killed that day with an Appendix at the back citing the cause of death of the men at the crossroads. Tremendously researched with interviews from not only the SS men that were there that fateful day but also with the survivors and the notes alone are worthy of a book alone and i found myself constantly referring back to them whilst reading. I'm not a huge person for reviewing books, but Danny's books are superb, both this and his biography of Jochen Peiper 'Hitlers Warrior' are both worthy of a place on anyone's bookcase with an interest in the second world war. Recommended!

United Kingdom on Jun 22, 2016

Fuchsbauzünsler: Für mich galt bis zum Lesen dieses Buches zum Thema Malmedy immer das Buch des Belgiers Gerd J. Gust Cuppens als das Maß der Dinge. Und das heißt, daß im Grunde diese ganze "Malmedy-Massaker" - Aktion eine einzige aufgeblasene Propagandalüge seitens der Amerikaner war!! Soldaten der Waffen-SS hätten ohne Grund 84 US-GI's kaltblütig ermordet! Von deutscher Seite wurden die Toten immer als Gefallene dargestellt, welche aus dem Kampfgeschehen getötet wurden! Diese Darstellung der Ereignisse leuchteten mir auch bisher immer mehr ein, unterstützt durch die Zeugenaussagen aus dem Cuppens-Buch, wo z.B. eine Aussage von dem US-GI Matera groß herausgestellt wurde, indem er sagte, daß " Oberstgruppenführer Sepp Dietrich persönlich im Stechschritt" an den Gefangenen vorbei marschierte!!??
"Die Aufgabe eines Historikers ist es ohne Ideologie und wertneutral Dinge aufzuzeigen und zu interpretieren, wie sie sich ereignet haben!?" Auch wenn es einem nicht passt, aber Danny S. Parker, selber Ardennenschlacht-Teinehmer, bleibt meiner Meinung diesem Grundsatz absolut treu und neutral! Er vermeidet es, mit dem erhobenen Zeigefinger auf die deutschen Soldaten zu zeigen, sie...

Germany on Jul 19, 2015

unknown warrior: a great book from a great American historian, but there's the nub, this is history written from a clearly American point of view and Parker basically comes out with the same old story, he would lose his fan base if he did not. However, it is fabulously researched and is a great historical work and a book of importance in many ways. But once again, the real questions are skirted about and being told every other page that German soldiers cruelly stole watches and rings gets a little tedious, because we all know that allied soldiers never killed or stole anything they shouldn't have........

United Kingdom on Aug 08, 2014

Terry J. Mindham: I recently purchased this book through Amazon, and own an extensive library on WWII. I have traveled to many of the battlefields of Europe over the years. My father drove an ambulance in the war, was wounded twice, including during the Battle of the Bulge. Recent research revealed that my father's unit at the time of the battle, the 546th Ambulance Company, was attached to the 99th Infantry. He was working between the 47th Field Hospital at Waimes, Belgium, and the forward 44th and 67th Evacuation Hospitals located in Malmady. Members of his company were among the soldiers captured on Dec. 17th, and herded into the field at Baugnez, just down the road from Malmady. This exceptional book, with amazing detail, gives the entire sordid story of the murders that occured there during the early stages of the battle. The reports of the survivors are difficult to read and process, when trying to imagine myself in their situation. Those who were there are identified by unit, including members of the 546th Amb. Co. who were found with fatal bullet wounds to the head.

My father died in 1979, and never spoke much of the war, other than the times he was wounded, and luckily they did not...

United States on Jun 25, 2012

E.M. Beck: During the German counter-offensive in the Ardennes in December 1944 elements of the Waffen SS captured a convoy of American soldiers at Baugnez crossroads near the town of Malmedy, Belgium. After disarming the soldiers, they were herded into a field and machine gunned, killing most. The wounded that showed any signs of life were summarily executed with a pistol shot to the head. Some Americans who survived the initial storm of bullets and were able feign death, managed to escape to Malmedy to report the slaughter. While the story of the Malmedy massacre has been the subject of many articles and books since 1944, Danny Parker's superbly crafted "Fatal Crossroads" is the most definitive account. He spent years researching archives, military court documents, walking the fields and farm paths at Baugnez, and interviewing surviving American and German soldiers as well as Belgian locals. Parker's level of detail is astonishing, including the location of soldiers when they were captured, where they were shot, and for the few that escaped, their routes to freedom. Similar, he has been able to identify and map where the SS troops were positioned when ordered to kill the American...

United States on Dec 04, 2011