Blood Red Snow:

[MIKA27]

Blood Red Snow: The Memoirs of a German Soldier on the Eastern Front

Book overview

For the German soldier fighting under Hitler, keeping a diary was strictly forbidden. So Gunther Koschorrek, a fresh young recruit, wrote his notes on whatever scraps of paper he could find and sewed the pages into the lining of his winter coat. Left with his mother on his rare trips home, this illicit diary eventually was lost—and did not come to light until some 40 years later when Koschorrek was reunited with his daughter in America. It is this remarkable document, a unique day-to-day account of the common German soldier’s experience, that makes up the memoir that is Blood Red Snow.

This memoir is the first-person account of a German soldier who served on the eastern front during World War II. The author is not concerned with examining the reasons for the war or the tactics used to fight it. Rather, he sets out to present the day-to-day realities of the German soldiers by naming them and then relating their fates, which too often was violent death. Many of Koschorrek's compatriots were run over by Soviet tanks or blown to pieces by Soviet shells. This memoir by a former German soldier is reminiscent of accounts by American GIs, such as Charles Reis Felix's recent Crossing the Sauer. For capturing so unsparingly the banality and horror of war, this book is highly recommended for large public and academic libraries.

MIKA: I have only just started reading this (About 90 pages) and it is a really good account thus far of a soldiers struggles during the attempted 'Taking over' of Stalins Russia which historically was Operation Barbarossa (German: Unternehmen Barbarossa) was the code name for Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941.

Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a 2,900 km (1,800 mile) front. It was the largest military offensive in history.

Whilst the Nazis were an enemy for many, alot of the soldiers were indeed behind the scenes against Hitlers ideals and this is one example of many.

I'll post a full review once I've completed the book.

[dicko]

Must have been one of the worse theatres of war to fight ever (not that any would be easy!).

Mika, watch "stalingrad" if you get a chance. a gritty German film about the easter front .

[MIKA27]

Must have been one of the worse theatres of war to fight ever (not that any would be easy!).

Mika, watch "stalingrad" if you get a chance. a gritty German film about the easter front .

Thanks for the recommendation Dicko, will do mate.