Books: WWII Memoirs From The Russian Front

 (Drivebycuriosity) - The global political climate is deteriorating. The hate of Russia, China, Iran and other foreign countries is rising - especially in the US. The sprouting Russophobia reminds of WWII when Germany tried to conquer Russia. My father, born in the year 1913, was so unfortunate to be sent as a common soldier to Russia to fight there. He told me about the horror, the cold and the hunger he had to suffer before he was sent back wounded. At least he had survived.

I usually don´t read war books. They are too gritty for my taste. The "Blood Red Snow" by Günter K. Koschorrek got my attention because it is based on the diary of another common German soldier who had been sent to the Russian Front (amazon ).

The book has a much better original German title: "Vergiss die Zeit der Dornen nicht"/Don`t forget the time of the Thorns". Anyway, Koschorrek based his book on notes he wrote during the war. Even the author was not a professional writer he showed literary qualities and the book reads like a well written novel, maybe he got some editorial support.

Koschorrek had been sent to the Russian front as a common soldier, a machine gunner, following orders from higher ranks. First he served near Stalingrad, when the city was under siege from the Russian army, later, when the German Wehrmacht (Army) was finally retreating, on different places.

It is interesting that about 100 hundred years earlier, Napoleon - like Hitler - occupied large parts of Europe and tried to conquer Russia, leading to disaster and the loss of millions of lives.

Koschorrek was lucky. Many of his comrades were killed or returned as cripples. But he has to watch daily that his comrades were butchered and killed, always on the brink to be the next victim. He had to suffer the cold of the Russian steppe and often he was undernourished.

He describes many grizzly & horrible situations, his existential angst, the growing confusion at the Russian frontier and the grief about the loss of comrades. Some combat situations read like a thriller. I had a perverse feeling - and felt somewhat guilty - reading about all the horror in a cozy home in New York. But WWII  - and the Russland Feldzug (Russia campaign) are history, but should not be forgotten.

                 Stalingrad`s hot breath

About Stalingrad: "We are now standing on top of a hill and can see something of the city. More black smoke and smoldering fires - a terrible sight, and we can feel Stalingrad`s hot breath. This must be how Rome looked after Nero put it to the torch. The only difference is that here the inferno is made worse by the screaming shells and lethal explosions, increasing the madness and giving the onlooker the impression that he`s witnessing the end of the world". 

Stalingrad was a battle of two super-sized egos: Hitler wanted to hold the city with his opponent´s name, willing to sacrifice the trapped soldiers, Stalin needed her back, because of her name. Will the battle about Crimea repeat history.  

There`s at least one important takeaway from Koschorrek`s memoirs:

"No one talks about National Socialism or similar political matters anymore. ...it is quite obvious that the primary reason we fight is to stay alive and help our front-line comrades to do the same".

Everybody who is thinking about war against Russia and other unloved nations should read this book.