Dr. David K. Yelton is Professor of History and Chair of the Social Sciences Department at Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina. His lifetime work as been the study of twentieth-century Germany and military, political and diplomatic history. He has written an academic monograph and several articles on the Volkssturm and has conducted research trips to numerous German archives for source material. He lives in North Carolina.

Seán Ó Brógáin was born in England of Irish parents and was raised and educated in county Donegal, Ireland. He has a National Diploma general art and design from the North West Institute, Derry and a BA(HONS) Scientific and Natural illustration from Blackpool and Fylde college, Lancashire, England. Seán has worked on numerous educational, private and museums projects since 1995. He now lives and works in the 'Gaeltacht Lár', Donegal.

The creation of the Volkssturm on October 18, 1944 was a desperate measure by the Nazi government; all able-bodied males between the ages of 16 and 60 who were not already members of the German Armed Forces were conscripted into one organization. Poor equipment, lack of training and low morale took their toll on these men, who were unused to fighting and had little interest in needlessly dying just to prolong the Nazi regime. David K. Yelton follows the experience of a Volkssturmmann from his call-to-arms through to his capture and treatment as a POW, examining his reaction to the creation of the German Home Guard and his response to the fighting into which he was thrust.