Just a Kid: A Guard at the Nuremberg Trials

by Emilio Dipalma, Emily Chetkowski

Emilio DiPalma was just eighteen years old when Uncle Sam called on him to fight in World War II. He survived a stint in Germany and rejoiced when the Nazis were defeated, but his service did not end there. He was sent to Nuremberg to guard the most notorious Nazi criminals while they were on trial. His memoirs, as dictated to his daughter, Emily, recount the harrowing and sometimes humorous moments of his duty.

Genres: Holocaust, Nonfiction, Memoir, History

76 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Kathy Piselli · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the many worthies we lost to CoVid in 2020 was Emilio diPalma, a staff sergeant guard at Nuremberg. The earlier parts of his service are part of this short book, the takeaways being his very young age and lack of training as the U.S. rushed soldiers to Europe in the winter of 1944-45. It was the tenacity of these ordinary soldiers, who had so much going against them in so many ways, and their unselfish service in World War II that led Tom Brokaw to remember them as the Greatest Generation. "I was just doing what I was told" says diPalma twice during this account, yet, he didn't always - the story about Goering and the toilet water is one of the highlights of the book. One of the sad parts about Nuremberg is realizing how many of the Nazis never got caught. Something else is that diPalma was the son of immigrants, and our armed forces have many immigrant members today. Immigrants were during that war, and still are, our backbone. My grandfather got his citizenship by serving in WWI and all the men in my pop's family enlisted in WWII and beyond. Like DiPalma they were all patriotic. DiPalma was a little guy known to his fellow soldiers as Little Wop. Normally this would be offensive but it does not seem to offend him - after all, he was an accordion-playing Italian American and he's consistently the smallest man in the photos! The author doesn't interfere much in diPalma's account and there's no real editor, so just imagine the guy is telling you his story in person, and you will be richly rewarded with an authentic voice from a pivotal time. Some interesting photos too. At Nuremberg, diPalma's eyes were opened to man's inhumanity to man, and you realize just how much of a kid he was.

[E · Rating 2 out of 5]

Glad I read it because everyone has a story to tell and one person's eyewitness experience of such a monumental moment in history is just as valid as another's. Constant typos, the inability to consistently spell any German names or words, and the discordant nature of the stories are, however, detractors. The editor could have done a lot better.

[Miss Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Learned about his life after being drafted in World War II and what it was like working as a guard at the Nuremberg Trials. Compelling and even has photos from the time as well as some documents.

[Lauraloves · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://shelovesreading.wordpress.com/...

[Tracey Braithwaite · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

If you are interested in WW2 then give this book a read. It gives a view few would have seen.