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Lädt ... Radio Operator on the Eastern Front: An Illustrated Memoir, 1940-1949von Erhard Steiniger
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Covers fighting in Russia, the Baltics and East Prussia, as well as the author's ordeal as a Prisoner of War in Siberia, accompanied by more than one hundred previously unpublished photographs. This is the true and dramatic testimony of a German grenadier during World War II.Erhard Steiniger joined his Wehrmacht unit on 12 October 1940 as a radio operator, a role which required his constant presence with troops at the Front, right in the midst of combat. On 22 June 1941, he accompanied his division to Lithuania where he experienced the catastrophic first day of Operation Barbarossa.He later witnessed intense clashes during the conquest of the Baltic islands and the battles leading up to Leningrad on the Volkhov and Lake Ladoga. He describes the retreat from battles in Estonia, Kurland and East Prussia and his eventual surrender and captivity in Siberia. He finally returned to Germany in October 1949, a broken man.From the first page to the last, this is a captivating eyewitness account of the horrors of war. Keine Bibliotheksbeschreibungen gefunden. |
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Google Books — Lädt ... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)940.548243History and Geography Europe Europe 1918- Military History Of World War II Other TopicsKlassifikation der Library of Congress [LCC] (USA)BewertungDurchschnitt:
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The text is interspersed by a plethora of photographs, which tell a story in and of themselves. The photographs are mostly centered on the first year or two of the war so there is some disconnect as readers move beyond 1941/1942 yet continue to see photos of that initial victorious advance by the Wehrmacht. Yet, if readers pay attention, they'll see a large number of photos dedicated to German graves and burial ceremonies, reinforcing the idea that while on the whole the invasion of the Soviet Union is viewed as an unmitigated success, it came with a heavy cost.
While, as mentioned, there are a few interesting scenarios recounted, the life of this radio operator mostly took place away from the frontline, thus recollections centered on frontline action are limited. This becomes a minor issue in that the author is mostly concerned (and to some extent rightfully so) about writing what he experienced and what he saw immediately in front of him. This translates into some questionable thinking when it comes to his recounting of the treatment Sudeten Germans received before the Munich Conference and in the last months of the war. He views them and himself as victims, again, to some extent rightfully so, but there is little to no self-reflection on the fact that he is an accomplice to one of the largest crimes in recorded history - that merits practically no mention aside from a tangential sentence or two to say what the Wehrmacht and Nazi Germany were accused of he did not see or participate in. Thus, while there are some thought-provoking scenarios recalled here, I think in the end it's a mediocre memoir, due to the aforementioned limitations, and a minor addition to our knowledge of the Eastern Front and the war as a whole. ( )