The Forgotten Soldier
by Guy Sajer
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Book Summary Information
Author: Guy SajerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2001-10-15
ISBN: 1574882864
Number of pages: 508
Publisher: Potomac Books Inc.
Book Reviews of The Forgotten Soldier
Book Review: Fear, despair, insanity that comes with total war
Summary: 5 Stars
What make this book very interesting is it is written by a soldier that received no medals, did not destroy countless Russian tanks etc. For about the first 75 pages he was in a supply unit struggling through the snow and mud to get supplies to the front line troops. Once he volunteers for the Gross Deutschland Division he experiences combat. I think better than any other excellent account about the Eastern Front that I have read, Guy Sajer conveys the terror of combat the best. Being endlessly shelled, or the terror of 40 -50 approaching tanks and all they have is 18 men with about a dozen panzerfausts, or the terror in WAITING for the inevitable attack by yet again another overwhelming force. He describes how this endless terror pushes him and his comrades to complete despair. There were times they were so psycologically devastated that they begged to be SHOT ! ! Guy Sajer bares his soul - he writes about the one time he was definitely a coward, how he completely fell apart, and that that event will haunt him the rest of his life. He wrote about how during a retreat for many days thousands of German soldiers were waiting to get across the Dnieper (I believe), and they had to wait their turn for the boats to ferry them across. Well, they had no antiaircraft guns, the Luftwaffe was rarely seen, so when the Russian fighter came there was unbelievable carnage. The soldiers would not leave their place in line for the `rescue' boats so when a bomb dropped in the middle of them you can just imagine. Then the tanks came - it was a whole sale slaughter that you often read that the Germans inflicted on the fleeing, unorganized Russians. Well this time the tables were turned. Again, Guy Sajer does an excellent job in conveying the terror and despair. Good part of the book is dealing with some near emotional collapse - insanity - suicide - all things Sajer was surrounded by, experienced , or witnessed It will wear you down - You will feel despair - it is so well written.
He writes about combating partisans that was interesting - they definitely took a toll on the units he was serving with. In one incident, he commented on what a beautiful day it was yet they just experienced an ugly, violent encounter with some partisans - some teenagers, including girls. But he also writes about captured partisans that were simply executed on the spot. Wrote also that after one encounter with partisans, the local villagers were expressing their anger towards the German soldiers, and Sajer stated if they were given the order to open fire on the civilians, they would not have hesitated.
Another shocking experience Sajer had was seeing the German civilians fleeing from the advancing Russians. In Memel, what was happening to the civilians was as maddening as the worst combat Sajer experienced. Russian bombers coming in and dropping their bombs on seas of civilians, small children walking around in a daze crying for their mothers (who were most likely dead) - and this was in January with the temperatures hovering a ZERO. Also, as usual, grave food shortages for both soldiers, children etc. There were many pages devoted to the encounter of desperate civilians fleeing to the west. I have not come across these types of fleeing civilian stories anywhere else.
The misery in this book is endless. On leave in Berlin, after an air raid, he assists in rescue work, and comes across a child crying, tugging on their mothers hand. Unfortunately the mother is dead, half buried under a collapsed wall, with her other crushed child !
If you peeked at the 1 star ratings (as I like to do), you will see some claiming this book is fiction. The following is a quote by Guy Sajer responding to the naysayers:
"You ask me questions of chronology situations dates and unimportant details. Historians and archivists have harassed me for a long time with their rude questions. All of this is unimportant. Other authors and high-ranking officers could respond to your questions better than I. I never had the intention to write a historical reference book; rather I wrote about my innermost emotional experiences as they relate to the events that happened to me in the context of the Second World War."
Also, one of the reviewers claiming the book is fiction because it is `riddled with errors' is incorrect himself ! How ironic. He wrote the following "the author of the GD Division's history, Helmuth Spaeter, went to his grave stating that Sager was a fraud." Really ?
Sajer wrote in 1997 a letter to US Army historian Douglas Nash, stating "Apart from the emotions I brought out, I confess my numerous mistakes. That is why I would like that this book may not be used under [any] circumstances as a strategic or chronological reference." After reading Sajer's letter, one of his critics--Grossdeutschland Veteran's Association leader Helmuth Spaeter--took back his original criticisms of Sajer, saying "I was deeply impressed by his statements in his letter... I have underestimated Herr Sajer and my respect for him has greatly increased. I am myself more of a writer who deals with facts and specifics--much less like one who writes in a literary way. For this reason, I was very skeptical towards the content of his book. I now have greater regard for Herr Sajer and I will read his book once again."
This is a 5 star autobiography !
Summary of The Forgotten Soldier
This book recountsthe horror of World War II on the eastern front, as seen through the eyes of a teenaged German soldier. At first an exciting adventure, young Guy Sajer?s war becomes, as the German invasion falters in the icy vastness of the Ukraine, a simple, desperate struggle for survival against cold, hunger, and above all the terrifying Soviet artillery. As a member of the elite Gross Deutschland Division, he fought in all the great battles from Kursk to Kharkov.His German footsoldier?s perspective makes The Forgotten Soldier a unique war memoir, the book that the Christian Science Monitor said "may well be the book about World War II which has been so long awaited." Now it has been handsomely republished as a hardcover containing fifty rare German combat photos of life and death at the eastern front. The photos of troops battling through snow, mud, burned villages, and rubble-strewn cities depict the hardships and destructiveness of war. Many are originally from the private collections of German soldiers and have never been published before. This volume is a deluxe edition of a true classic.
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