The sinister black-clad figures of nightmare, Hitler‘s Waffen SS hold a unique and dark place in German history. Of all the branches of Hitler's army, none were more notorious than the elite Waffen SS fighting units. Commanded by Heinrich Himmler, the Waffen took part in the invasion of Poland, put down the Warsaw uprising, and were integral in carrying out the Russian campaign. Terrifyingly skilled and effective at enforcing the racist Nazi ideology, the Waffen were also responsible for some of the regime's most barbaric war crimes, for which they were prosecuted at the Nuremberg Trials.