Published in 1942 with the title Damals, this album is aimed at enhancing the reputation of the SS-Totenkopf-Division, a rather unusual motorized Waffens-SS formation whose nucleus had been shaped with concentration camp guards, the sadly famous ss-Totenkopfverbände. Proof had to be given through text and photos that in 1940, on the battlefields of France, this division displayed the same value as the best Wehrmacht divisions.

Éric Lefèvre has added a historical account of the unit and a biography of its commander SS-Gruppenführer Eicke to the original facsimile. Each of the 89 photos and each text forms the subject of remarks and necessary annotations by the same writer.