This is a new book I found when trawling Amazon. The author is the grandson of an Austrian, Hans, who was drafted into the Wehrmacht at the age of 18 in late 1943. After training he joined a mountain division ( 3rd Gebirgsjager Division) and spent the rest of the war as a machine gunner on the Russian front.
The author spent many hours talking with his grandfather about his experiences, which was clearly a difficult thing for both of them. The story of that year and a half in Russia and eastern Europe, constantly retreating under overwhelming Russian pressure, is harsh and brutal. Quite how Hans survived is a miracle given the merciless fighting he endured. However, also remembered is the comradeship with the others in the troop and the unexpected occasional gestures of humanity among the awful destruction and death. This book really tells the true story of the ruthless struggle on the Eastern Front.
In May 1945 as the German forces collapsed, Hans attempted to make his way home only to be captured by the Russians and imprisoned. He spent over two years working in a factory building T34 tanks before being released at the end of 1947 and then only because he was Austrian. German captives endured far longer in prison with most not being released until well into the 1950's. On his return home he took over the family farm and remained there for the rest of his life.
I highly recommend this book not only for its accurate and fascinating portrayal of life as a German soldier on the Eastern Front but also for the vivid descriptions of the simple human impact of that vicious campaign.
Interesting review! In a similar vein you might be interested in 'The Forgotten Soldier' by Gut Sajer (1965). The author was in fact a French-German from Alsace - French father, German mother. He enlisted in the Gross-Deutchland Division in 1942 I think. It's pretty gritty stuff, much like, I suspect, the book you have just reviewed.
ReplyDeleteYou might also have run across a serious of books by one Sven Hassel, a Dane. These are more fiction, but they purport to be a kind of collection of stories, some autobiographical, which he wove into a series of stories about a platoon in a penal battalion. I've read maybe three or four of his books, but how authentic they are has been a matter of considerable debate. Certain circumstantial details suggest to me that at least some of the events depicted are anecdotally genuine, but beyond that I can not say.
Cheers,
Ion
Damn. Guy Sajer...
ReplyDeleteHi Ion.... I have the "Forgotten Soldier" and agree, it is much like this book. The one thing that strikes me in these books about German soldiers on the Russian front is....how did they survive ????? That conflict was just so brutal it is hard to see how they got through. I have seen Sven Hassel books. I have never read them because I believed them to be fiction. However if they are based on actual events I may well have another look. I have a similar sort of book about Vietnam which is apparently a series of true events woven into a "autobiography". It is actually quite good. I may just re-read it and review it sometime. Regards.
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