The Battle of Kursk was a catastrophic defeat for Germany; the Wehrmacht suffered around 200,000 casualties and lost nearly 700 tanks and 1,000 aircraft. These losses were irreplaceable.

Totenkopf, Leibstandarte, and Verfügungs — plays a part in the rapid collapse of France and cements its place in the Nazi military order.

But we didn’t know the full truth, not until decades later.At 20 years of age, my father was captured during the Battle of ...