Berlin Soldier: An Eyewitness Account of the Fall of Berlin by Helmut Altner

by Helmut Altner

The explosive memoir of a 17 year old German boy called up to fight in the last weeks of the Second World War. This is a teenager's vivid account of his experiences as a conscript during the final desperate weeks of the Third Reich, during which he experienced training immediately behind the front line east of Berlin, was caught up in the massive Soviet assault on Berlin from the Oder, retreated successfully and then took part in the fight for the western suburb of Spandau, where he became one of the only two survivors of his company of seventeen year-olds.

Genres: History, World War II, War, Germany

Paperback

First published September 10, 2010

Reviews

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first gripe is with all the listings on Goodreads, Amazon and elsewhere which have the subtitle 'The explosive memoirs of a 12-year old German boy...' while the actual subtitle is 'The explosive memoir of a 17-year old German boy called up to fight in the last weeks of the Second World War' which, when you read it makes clear the boy was Shanghaied rather then called up, but is a much more accurate description then 'An eye witness account of the fall of Berlin' - though obviously this German boy did fight in Berlin before it fell to the Germans but neither his rank nor experience would justify expecting any useful insight on 'The Fall of Berlin'. My second gripe is that paperback edition I read (which had a different photograph to any of the alternate Kindle and ebook editions) is not listed on goodreads, a not unfamiliar experience, but annoying so I am having to mark as read the is wrongly subtitled edition.

As for the book itself it is a fascinating and moving account of WWII from a German boy's experience - and honestly by the end of the War Germany was being defended by boys, the youngest only 14, which makes Helmut Altner almost an adult. There is something heartbreaking when he described arriving at the depot to report for induction into the army and how, like almost all the other boys he was clutching a cardboard detergent box (brand name Persil - how many of you out there knew that Persil was originally German?) with which to send his civilian clothes back to his mother once he was kitted out with a uniform. Who knew that just weeks before the whole apparatus of government and daily life collapsed in Germany that he, and other recruits, could count on the post to deliver their clothes safely? With the shortages of everything it was important that they could count on its promptness and efficiency - something we in the UK and probably not even those living in Germany today could depend on now.

It is a small but telling detail and brings home the reality that by this stage of the war the German people were as much the victims of Hitler's and the Nazi's idiotic hubris as the rest of the Europe. It doesn't excuse what went before but reminds us that there were humans behind those marching blond legions in the newsreels and they, like most ordinary people elsewhere and always, were not really active 'players' but bystanders swept up in events. Not always guilty of direct deeds but more often of guilt by omission - and honestly aren't we all guilty of that when dealing with big political issues?

This memoir is but a micro picture of the battle for Berlin, the collapse of the Third Reich, the end of World War II but within its small remit it says many things of importance and gives insights including how far German agriculture had fallen behind countries like the USA due to the Nazi's autarky policies.

A really fine book and I recommend it to anyone interested in WWII.

[martin rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read from start to finish i was a little disappointed that we didnt find out what happened to him after he was captured Looking back on it i think god must have been protecting him because he surely went through some bad stuff all in the space of a month one of the best books on berlin survivour storys 1945 recommended

[Emmett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a difficult book to read. There was so much death and destruction during the fall of Berlin that it bordered on fantasy. I couldn't imagine going through what these young soldiers had to do. The numbers killed on both sides during the last days of the Reich is mind boggling.. And so unnecessary as there was nothing gained for continued fighting.

The author's account was so detailed that it would leave nightmares to invade the minds of the readers.

This book also delves into the psychology of the people of that era. They swore an oath, regardless if forced or not, to a man and that drove them to continue to fight an unwinnable war. It wasn't until Hitler was dead that the oath was fulfilled. Of course, this is the thoughts of the young author, filled with high ideals of duty. Not old soldiers who knew better.

Of course, the veterans from the eastern front knew of the death and destruction they wreaked on Russia and now it was time to pay the piper. There was no quarter given therefore no quarter taken.

In the end, the fall of Berlin was such a waste of life. Hundreds of thousands of lives lost for nothing.

[Julia Mauseth · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really liked it!!

[George Jewell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and horrific in equal measure, grimly fascinating. How the third Reich kept on going, sending its citizens, young and old to their deaths when its demise must have been plain. Harrowing

[Singleton Mosby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good and gritty personal account of the battle for Berlin.