The Making of a Nazi Hero: The Murder and Myth of Horst Wessel
Daniel Siemens - delivers trustworthy historical revelations concerning the Wessel material while reading - as excitingly as a crime story with an ominously long track of blood.   Die Zeit  This book could be used as a standard reference on the essential details of the Nazi technique of domination - and its consequences.  Der Tagesspiegel  Siemens has unrolled a spectacular criminal case. A gripping and fact-rich historical study.   WDR (Western German Broadcasting)  It has been years since I have read a book dealing with the early Nazi years with as much interest, excitement and admiration.  Robert M. Citino, Central European History  A brilliantly researched and highly readable account of the life and death of Horst Wessel, the today largely forgotten creator of the official anthem of National Socialism.  Thomas Weber, author of Hitler's First War  In this masterful book, Daniel Siemens tells the gripping story of how a small-time SA firebrand became a celebrated Nazi martyr. Beautifully written and assiduously researched, Siemens provides a penetrating account of political radicalism and violence in the Weimar Republic, and of terror, propaganda and popular mobilization in the Third Reich. An outstanding work of history.   Nik Wachsmann, Birkbeck, University of London  Excellent...thoroughly readable text, which tells its complex story with considerable elan...Siemens has delivered an outstanding work of history, which illuminates and educates, yet wears its considerable erudition lightly...Siemens has raised the flag for serious, well-written, accessible history...  Roger Moorhouse, BBC History Magazine, June 2013