From Library Journal
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. Robert J. Andrews, Duluth P.L., MN
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
Book Description
Gunther Koschorrek wrote his illicit diary on any scraps of paper he could lay his hands on. As keeping a diary was strictly forbidden, he sewed the pages into the lining of his thick winter coat and deposited them with his mother on infrequent trips home on leave. The diary went missing and it was when he was reunited with his daughter in America some forty years later that it came to light and became "Blood Red Snow." The horror and confusion of fighting in the streets of Stalingrad are brought to life by his descriptions of the others in his unit: their differing manners and techniques for dealing with the squalor and death. This harrowing book takes the reader to the front line and paints a very human picture of what life was like under relentless Russian attacks in freezing conditions. As Koschorrek says in his introduction, the book stands as a memorial to the huge numbers on both sides who did not survive and is, over five decades later, the fulfillment of a responsibility he feels to honor the memory of those who perished.
--Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.