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Stalingrad: Die Einsamkeit vor dem Sterben
September 1942. Die wenigen Überlebenden eines in Nordafrika eingesetzten Sturmpionierbataillons werden an die Ostfront abkommandiert. In der Entscheidungsschlacht um Stalingrad mit über 2 Millionen Opfern fällt jegliche Hemmschwelle: Grabenkrieg, Nahkämpfe um jedes einzelne Haus, Hunger und Kälte, der Wahnsinn als letzte Zufluchtsstätte vor dem Sterben
Der junge Leutnant Hans von Wetzland muss erkennen, dass er unter diesen Voraussetzungen nicht einmal die grundlegendsten moralischen Ansprüche an sich und seine Männer aufrecht erhalten kann.
Grundlage für dieses Buch war eine ausführliche Recherche, bei der zahlreiche Gespräche mit Zeitzeugen geführt werden konnten. Dies ist ein Roman, kein Sachbuch. Wo immer sich die beiden Ansprüche im Weg standen, hat sich der Autor für das erstere entschieden, um so in das Innenleben der Figuren hinabzublicken - bis in die tiefsten Abgründe. Das räumt diesem Buch innerhalb der Publikationen über Stalingrad eine außerordentliche Stellung ein und macht es zu einer flammenden Anklage gegen jeden Krieg.
Der junge Leutnant Hans von Wetzland muss erkennen, dass er unter diesen Voraussetzungen nicht einmal die grundlegendsten moralischen Ansprüche an sich und seine Männer aufrecht erhalten kann.
Grundlage für dieses Buch war eine ausführliche Recherche, bei der zahlreiche Gespräche mit Zeitzeugen geführt werden konnten. Dies ist ein Roman, kein Sachbuch. Wo immer sich die beiden Ansprüche im Weg standen, hat sich der Autor für das erstere entschieden, um so in das Innenleben der Figuren hinabzublicken - bis in die tiefsten Abgründe. Das räumt diesem Buch innerhalb der Publikationen über Stalingrad eine außerordentliche Stellung ein und macht es zu einer flammenden Anklage gegen jeden Krieg.
504 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 26, 2013
7 people are currently reading
133 people want to read
About the author
Christoph Fromm
30 books6 followersChristoph Fromm wurde am 17. Juli 1958 in Stuttgart, Bad Cannstatt geboren. Er wuchs in Ludwigsburg auf und bereits während der Schulzeit begann er mit den ersten Schreibversuchen. Nach dem Abitur studierte er an der Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen in München. Während des Studiums arbeitete er als Kameraassistent und Beleuchter, seit 1983 dann erfolgreich als Drehbuchautor.
Er schrieb unter anderem für Dominik Graf die Kinofilme „Treffer“, „Die Katze“, „Spieler“. Für sein Drehbuch „Sierra“ erhielt er 2006 den Deutschen Drehbuchpreis. Der Dreiteiler „Die Wölfe“, den sein Bruder Friedemann Fromm inszenierte, wurde 2009 mit dem International Emmy Award und 2010 mit dem Grimmepreis ausgezeichnet.
2006 gründete er den Primero Verlag. Dort veröffentlichte er die Romane „Die Macht des Geldes“, „Stalingrad – Die Einsamkeit vor dem Sterben“ und „Amoklauf im Paradies“. 2013 entstand gemeinsam mit seinem Bruder Friedemann der Polizeiruf „Der verlorene Sohn“, der viel Aufmerksamkeit erregte. 2014 schrieb er, ebenfalls für seinen Bruder, die sechsteilige Fernsehserie „Die Stadt und die Macht.“ Im Oktober 2020 erschien die Satire "Das Albtraumschiff - Odyssee eines Drehbuchautors".
2017 erschien mit „Ennos gefährliche Reise“, der erste Band der Kinderbuchreihe „Gottfried, der Turborabe“, die die Themen Flucht und Integration auf kindgerechte und humorvolle Art und Weise behandelt, ohne sie zu verharmlosen. Christoph Fromm liest daraus mit großem Erfolg an zahlreichen Schulen. Das nächste Buch „Ennos allerbester Freund“ erschien im Februar 2019. Das dritte Buch "Enno und Kira zeigen es allen" erschien im März 2020.
Christoph Fromm lebt und arbeitet in München. Er unterrichtet auch seit 1992 an der Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. Seit 2003 leitet er dort gemeinsam mit Franziska Buch die Drehbuchabteilung.
Er schrieb unter anderem für Dominik Graf die Kinofilme „Treffer“, „Die Katze“, „Spieler“. Für sein Drehbuch „Sierra“ erhielt er 2006 den Deutschen Drehbuchpreis. Der Dreiteiler „Die Wölfe“, den sein Bruder Friedemann Fromm inszenierte, wurde 2009 mit dem International Emmy Award und 2010 mit dem Grimmepreis ausgezeichnet.
2006 gründete er den Primero Verlag. Dort veröffentlichte er die Romane „Die Macht des Geldes“, „Stalingrad – Die Einsamkeit vor dem Sterben“ und „Amoklauf im Paradies“. 2013 entstand gemeinsam mit seinem Bruder Friedemann der Polizeiruf „Der verlorene Sohn“, der viel Aufmerksamkeit erregte. 2014 schrieb er, ebenfalls für seinen Bruder, die sechsteilige Fernsehserie „Die Stadt und die Macht.“ Im Oktober 2020 erschien die Satire "Das Albtraumschiff - Odyssee eines Drehbuchautors".
2017 erschien mit „Ennos gefährliche Reise“, der erste Band der Kinderbuchreihe „Gottfried, der Turborabe“, die die Themen Flucht und Integration auf kindgerechte und humorvolle Art und Weise behandelt, ohne sie zu verharmlosen. Christoph Fromm liest daraus mit großem Erfolg an zahlreichen Schulen. Das nächste Buch „Ennos allerbester Freund“ erschien im Februar 2019. Das dritte Buch "Enno und Kira zeigen es allen" erschien im März 2020.
Christoph Fromm lebt und arbeitet in München. Er unterrichtet auch seit 1992 an der Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. Seit 2003 leitet er dort gemeinsam mit Franziska Buch die Drehbuchabteilung.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 19, 2017
This powerful story rips the façade of honor and glory from war while meticulously exposing its true nature. Fromm’s book is a no-holds-barred dissection of the machinations of megalomaniacs, the complicity of ordinary citizens, the myths of war, and the lies we hold dear at a terrible cost.
In the beginning, the young German Leutnant Hans von Wetzland and his small band of soldiers believe this attack will follow the time-honored rules of warfare. Very soon, though, they discover that atrocities are being committed against Russians, including civilians. Because the Germans have committed these atrocities, they’ve destroyed any expectation of being treated humanely by the Russians, who respond with equal savagery. As the grim reality of Stalingrad sinks in, As the grim reality of Stalingrad sinks in, the soldiers find any advances or moments of peace are quickly followed by brutal retaliation or fatal mistakes by their own side.
Fromm vividly depicts the moral challenges each soldier in this group faces. He also shows that people with greedy and evil, as well as those with generous and good intent and actions, meet similar fates in the hell of war. Having human feelings can lead to fatal results, but also offer the only way out, although it’s a slim chance of survival. The images of freezing weather, hunger, illness, small acts of kindness, egregious acts of evil, hand-to-hand combat, and the senselessness of it all, are told from multiple points of view within this group, and are unforgettable.
While describing the horrors of war, Fromm delivers much beautiful and effective writing: “Shells and bullets tore to shreds not only the body, but the senses and the spirit, too.” And: “Figures swayed in the glow, as if in slow motion, as if some sadistic deity were holding back the passage of time for his own pleasure.” And: “Everyone had their own way of weeping.” There is also humor, bitter and obstinately humane. These far outweigh repetitious descriptions and unlikely chance meetings, as well as occasional grammatical errors.
After months of struggle against lack of food, clothing, and shelter, and merciless slaughter on both sides, the soldiers begin to realize things have gone terribly wrong. They discover officers who are corrupt, selfishly pragmatic, or incompetent. Their previously held beliefs break down beneath the weight of betrayal and unbridled brutality. A turning point comes with the realization they have been abandoned by Hitler. As an army in defeat, they are to expect no support from their leader. Instead, they are being sent to their deaths.
One soldier, Gross, who is attuned to the irony of the situation, says, “You thought Hitler was clearing out just Jews and Bolsheviks? Wrong. The Führer does the whole job. Now it’s the German soldier’s turn, and next it’s the German people!”
When the soldiers comprehend that all is lost, they rebel, and try to survive as best they can. Some rant about Hitler and the generals. Others realize they have been duped by propaganda. But many knew full well what they were going along with. Some are disgusted by their Hauptmann who still believes in the myths of war, or chooses to do so in order to salvage some sense of meaning. Young von Wetzland mutters, “It’s all been a lie.” All “his life it was untruths he had loved, and the more he knew them to be untruths, the more he loved them; and he loved them with a lust that could not be satisfied…” One by one each soldier reaches his breaking point.
As Fromm writes, “The calculations came in hundreds, thousands, the noughts multiplying; the horror of the death count would stretch the ability of those left behind to imagine and to feel pity, would stretch them to destruction as had the shells the bodies. How could anyone determine the fitting degree of mourning for more than a million dead, men who had perished for just one ruined city, when the ordeal for just one man alone was impossible to measure?”
This is war without mercy or honor, where courage, sacrifice, and morality count for nothing, as every action fails to improve the situation, leads to more destruction, and finally, loss of hope. In short, this is warfare on a grand scale which exposes its inanity. Anyone who is concerned with the survival of humanity as we glide into the future—whether unheedful or willingly supportive of the real motivations and consequences of war—should read this book.
I received a copy of this book from the author. This is a voluntary review. While I'm not an avid reader of war novels, I am interested in the causes and outcomes of World War II, which I think are still relevant today.
In the beginning, the young German Leutnant Hans von Wetzland and his small band of soldiers believe this attack will follow the time-honored rules of warfare. Very soon, though, they discover that atrocities are being committed against Russians, including civilians. Because the Germans have committed these atrocities, they’ve destroyed any expectation of being treated humanely by the Russians, who respond with equal savagery. As the grim reality of Stalingrad sinks in, As the grim reality of Stalingrad sinks in, the soldiers find any advances or moments of peace are quickly followed by brutal retaliation or fatal mistakes by their own side.
Fromm vividly depicts the moral challenges each soldier in this group faces. He also shows that people with greedy and evil, as well as those with generous and good intent and actions, meet similar fates in the hell of war. Having human feelings can lead to fatal results, but also offer the only way out, although it’s a slim chance of survival. The images of freezing weather, hunger, illness, small acts of kindness, egregious acts of evil, hand-to-hand combat, and the senselessness of it all, are told from multiple points of view within this group, and are unforgettable.
While describing the horrors of war, Fromm delivers much beautiful and effective writing: “Shells and bullets tore to shreds not only the body, but the senses and the spirit, too.” And: “Figures swayed in the glow, as if in slow motion, as if some sadistic deity were holding back the passage of time for his own pleasure.” And: “Everyone had their own way of weeping.” There is also humor, bitter and obstinately humane. These far outweigh repetitious descriptions and unlikely chance meetings, as well as occasional grammatical errors.
After months of struggle against lack of food, clothing, and shelter, and merciless slaughter on both sides, the soldiers begin to realize things have gone terribly wrong. They discover officers who are corrupt, selfishly pragmatic, or incompetent. Their previously held beliefs break down beneath the weight of betrayal and unbridled brutality. A turning point comes with the realization they have been abandoned by Hitler. As an army in defeat, they are to expect no support from their leader. Instead, they are being sent to their deaths.
One soldier, Gross, who is attuned to the irony of the situation, says, “You thought Hitler was clearing out just Jews and Bolsheviks? Wrong. The Führer does the whole job. Now it’s the German soldier’s turn, and next it’s the German people!”
When the soldiers comprehend that all is lost, they rebel, and try to survive as best they can. Some rant about Hitler and the generals. Others realize they have been duped by propaganda. But many knew full well what they were going along with. Some are disgusted by their Hauptmann who still believes in the myths of war, or chooses to do so in order to salvage some sense of meaning. Young von Wetzland mutters, “It’s all been a lie.” All “his life it was untruths he had loved, and the more he knew them to be untruths, the more he loved them; and he loved them with a lust that could not be satisfied…” One by one each soldier reaches his breaking point.
As Fromm writes, “The calculations came in hundreds, thousands, the noughts multiplying; the horror of the death count would stretch the ability of those left behind to imagine and to feel pity, would stretch them to destruction as had the shells the bodies. How could anyone determine the fitting degree of mourning for more than a million dead, men who had perished for just one ruined city, when the ordeal for just one man alone was impossible to measure?”
This is war without mercy or honor, where courage, sacrifice, and morality count for nothing, as every action fails to improve the situation, leads to more destruction, and finally, loss of hope. In short, this is warfare on a grand scale which exposes its inanity. Anyone who is concerned with the survival of humanity as we glide into the future—whether unheedful or willingly supportive of the real motivations and consequences of war—should read this book.
I received a copy of this book from the author. This is a voluntary review. While I'm not an avid reader of war novels, I am interested in the causes and outcomes of World War II, which I think are still relevant today.
March 6, 2023
Wow!!!
No easy reading, very emotional and brutal in his openness...
The fate of german soldiers during second World War in the hell known as stalingrad!!!
Very good written, I read it in the original version of german language because I live here for a very long time...
But you can get it in english too...if you want.
One of the best war novels I've read so far...
No easy reading, very emotional and brutal in his openness...
The fate of german soldiers during second World War in the hell known as stalingrad!!!
Very good written, I read it in the original version of german language because I live here for a very long time...
But you can get it in english too...if you want.
One of the best war novels I've read so far...
November 20, 2016
STORY LINE STALINGRAD THE LONELIEST DEATH:
Author Christoph Fromm created an intense emotional novel in Stalingrad The Loneliest Death. Set in 1942, German Leutnant von Wetzland will face his own mortality; as well as the vile nature of himself and his comrades. Von Wetland begins his journey as an idealist, believing in rules and proper conduct in war. He will face not only his but his fellow-man's basest nature. For the baseness of man's morality is ugly; he will find war is vile and ugly without rules or morals.
Stalingrad is a place of pain, blood, and death. It will bring Von Wetland face to face with the darkness of man's nature. He finds he can not control the ultimate evil in man's heart as he spirals into the abyss. My contemporary military war novel review of Stalingrad The Loneliest Death follows.
CHARACTERS, PLOTTING, AND DEVELOPMENT:
Author Christoph Fromm created an intense character driven novel of war. This is not a pretty novel for war is ugly. In a time period in which movies glorify war, Fromm presents war at its ugliest without frills or pretty words. As man achieves the ultimate evil against his fellow-man, Fromm's characters fall further into the blackness.
Furthermore, Fromm developed his characters to their full potential. Fromm's main character progressed from an idealist to find humans have a dark side just beneath their thin veneer. Unable to control the SS, his fellow combatants, or himself, he will face the dark pit of war.
Although a work of fiction, Fromm extensively researched his subject. Seen from the view-point of the participants, Fromm skillfully shows the evil of human nature and war. This book was not my cup of tea. The vileness of my fellow-man was hard for me to stomach. However, anyone who enjoys a solid well-written military novel based on fact will enjoy this book.
Additionally, I found Stalingrad The Loneliest Death well-written and the characters well-developed. If you enjoy military war novels, this book will hold your interest and give hours of entertainment.
STALINGRAD THE LONELIEST DEATH RECOMMENDATION: STARS 4
In addition, due to violence, language and mature subject, I recommend Stalingrad The Loneliest Death for adults only.
FINALLY, PLEASE NOTE:
Additionally, I received this book from the author. I chose to voluntarily review the book with an honest contemporary military war novel review.
Lastly, book reviews of any novel are dependent on the book review author’s opinion. Consequently, all book reviews on-line and under my name, are my opinion. Without a doubt, the ARC did not affect my voluntary contemporary military war novel review.
Author Christoph Fromm created an intense emotional novel in Stalingrad The Loneliest Death. Set in 1942, German Leutnant von Wetzland will face his own mortality; as well as the vile nature of himself and his comrades. Von Wetland begins his journey as an idealist, believing in rules and proper conduct in war. He will face not only his but his fellow-man's basest nature. For the baseness of man's morality is ugly; he will find war is vile and ugly without rules or morals.
Stalingrad is a place of pain, blood, and death. It will bring Von Wetland face to face with the darkness of man's nature. He finds he can not control the ultimate evil in man's heart as he spirals into the abyss. My contemporary military war novel review of Stalingrad The Loneliest Death follows.
CHARACTERS, PLOTTING, AND DEVELOPMENT:
Author Christoph Fromm created an intense character driven novel of war. This is not a pretty novel for war is ugly. In a time period in which movies glorify war, Fromm presents war at its ugliest without frills or pretty words. As man achieves the ultimate evil against his fellow-man, Fromm's characters fall further into the blackness.
Furthermore, Fromm developed his characters to their full potential. Fromm's main character progressed from an idealist to find humans have a dark side just beneath their thin veneer. Unable to control the SS, his fellow combatants, or himself, he will face the dark pit of war.
Although a work of fiction, Fromm extensively researched his subject. Seen from the view-point of the participants, Fromm skillfully shows the evil of human nature and war. This book was not my cup of tea. The vileness of my fellow-man was hard for me to stomach. However, anyone who enjoys a solid well-written military novel based on fact will enjoy this book.
Additionally, I found Stalingrad The Loneliest Death well-written and the characters well-developed. If you enjoy military war novels, this book will hold your interest and give hours of entertainment.
STALINGRAD THE LONELIEST DEATH RECOMMENDATION: STARS 4
In addition, due to violence, language and mature subject, I recommend Stalingrad The Loneliest Death for adults only.
FINALLY, PLEASE NOTE:
Additionally, I received this book from the author. I chose to voluntarily review the book with an honest contemporary military war novel review.
Lastly, book reviews of any novel are dependent on the book review author’s opinion. Consequently, all book reviews on-line and under my name, are my opinion. Without a doubt, the ARC did not affect my voluntary contemporary military war novel review.
January 8, 2021
This novel takes you to the terrifying reality of fighting in the battle of Stalingrad. Reading about the immense suffering of every single soldier at the east front while fighting, wandering and questioning himself and the ideal he is fighting for made me think about how it is possible to survive without any humanity. "Stalingrad" also allowed me to comprehend the everyday life of the soldiers in no mans land surrounded by cold and accompanied by the certainty of death by revealing certain events from the perspective of lieutenant Hans von Wetzland and his unit.
It is shockingly authentic and instructive and definitive worth a read, because it makes you think about what human beeings are capable of.
It is shockingly authentic and instructive and definitive worth a read, because it makes you think about what human beeings are capable of.
November 23, 2015
I found this novel a harrowing read, brutal in its realism, a disturbing glimpse into the hell that was Stalingrad, one of the bloodiest battles in history, Hitler's first defeat and the turning point in the Second World War. You feel as though you are there, in the cellars and ruined buildings dodging snipers and artillery fire, on the snowy wastes outside the city clearing roads by hand in a penal unit, itchy with lice, cold and frostbitten, hungry, filthy, a witness to the horror of field hospitals with no bandages, medicines or space to accommodate huge numbers of wounded, dying men.
I am not sure what the connection is to the German film Stalingrad made in 1993 by Joseph Vilsmaier but there definitely is one, and I would not be surprised to learn Fromm was an uncredited screenwriter. If you have seen the film (which makes interesting companion viewing with Russian director Fedor Bondarchuk's film from 2013 also called Stalingrad, that even shares a star, Thomas Kretschmann) you will be familiar with the book's main characters, a close-knit group of soldiers led by Leutnant Hans von Witzland in an elite Wehrmacht unit that arrives in Stalingrad in November 1942 fresh from victory in North Africa. The story follows their increasingly desperate fight for survival, leading to the Germans' ultimate defeat and surrender.
The book mixes the kind of tense battle scenes and interludes familiar from films/novels with philosophical reflections on the nature of war, what it does to ordinary soldiers required to fight, brought up under the Nazi regime and trained unthinkingly to obey orders and the military code. In broad outline the story follows the film version but has greater depth and complexity, and a different ending. Like the best fan fiction it delves into characters and their situations to examine experiences, feelings, thought processes, and their consequences. I wonder whether the original intent with the story was a TV mini-series subsequently cut down to a film length feature? There's a disjointedness about the film, which now makes more sense to me after reading Fromm's novel. I only wish they could have filmed this version, a more serious mediation on what war does to those who take part. I recommend watching the film before you read the novel.
It's bleak, brutal and shattering but the characterisation and its depiction of the German experience at Stalingrad are effectively handled, in a way that stays with you. Fromm shows comradeship between soldiers and isolated examples of common humanity as the only positives to emerge from catastrophe, no glory or honour in this account of disillusion, disaster, the desperate will to survive while knowing even those pitifully few who get out alive will be marked irrevocably by what they have seen and done. Not that the book is unrelentingly grim, there are humorous moments in the close relationships of the soldiers.
I must comment, too, on the excellent translation; in no way do you feel frustration at not being able to read the original German. There are unbearable images and men in desperate situations grappling with morality, duty, survival, and it all feels horribly real. History books can give you the facts but only a novel makes you feel lives and experiences. Hard as it was to contemplate some parts of the novel, I know I want to read it again, to fully appreciate the more meditative passages.
I borrowed this book from the Kindle Owners Lending Library.
I am not sure what the connection is to the German film Stalingrad made in 1993 by Joseph Vilsmaier but there definitely is one, and I would not be surprised to learn Fromm was an uncredited screenwriter. If you have seen the film (which makes interesting companion viewing with Russian director Fedor Bondarchuk's film from 2013 also called Stalingrad, that even shares a star, Thomas Kretschmann) you will be familiar with the book's main characters, a close-knit group of soldiers led by Leutnant Hans von Witzland in an elite Wehrmacht unit that arrives in Stalingrad in November 1942 fresh from victory in North Africa. The story follows their increasingly desperate fight for survival, leading to the Germans' ultimate defeat and surrender.
The book mixes the kind of tense battle scenes and interludes familiar from films/novels with philosophical reflections on the nature of war, what it does to ordinary soldiers required to fight, brought up under the Nazi regime and trained unthinkingly to obey orders and the military code. In broad outline the story follows the film version but has greater depth and complexity, and a different ending. Like the best fan fiction it delves into characters and their situations to examine experiences, feelings, thought processes, and their consequences. I wonder whether the original intent with the story was a TV mini-series subsequently cut down to a film length feature? There's a disjointedness about the film, which now makes more sense to me after reading Fromm's novel. I only wish they could have filmed this version, a more serious mediation on what war does to those who take part. I recommend watching the film before you read the novel.
It's bleak, brutal and shattering but the characterisation and its depiction of the German experience at Stalingrad are effectively handled, in a way that stays with you. Fromm shows comradeship between soldiers and isolated examples of common humanity as the only positives to emerge from catastrophe, no glory or honour in this account of disillusion, disaster, the desperate will to survive while knowing even those pitifully few who get out alive will be marked irrevocably by what they have seen and done. Not that the book is unrelentingly grim, there are humorous moments in the close relationships of the soldiers.
I must comment, too, on the excellent translation; in no way do you feel frustration at not being able to read the original German. There are unbearable images and men in desperate situations grappling with morality, duty, survival, and it all feels horribly real. History books can give you the facts but only a novel makes you feel lives and experiences. Hard as it was to contemplate some parts of the novel, I know I want to read it again, to fully appreciate the more meditative passages.
I borrowed this book from the Kindle Owners Lending Library.
April 2, 2016
I was sent a copy of this book by the author.
I really enjoyed this book a lot. It was dark, intense and heartbreaking at times. It took me a month to finish this book because I read the whole 400+ page book on my cell phone, but it was enjoyable the whole time. The characters in this novel felt real and their struggles came through in the novel full force. Although I've read many books about World War II, they were always from prisoner or civilian perspectives so reading about German soldiers on the front lines of Stalingrad was something completely new and it kept me firmly attached to my phone for hours. The battle scenes in the book were intense and seemed to portray how soldiers would actually feel and react in those situations. Since I've never read a book about soldiers in battle during this war, it's hard to know how accurate the book is in those terms but the writing, story and characters were the high points for me in this novel. It's been a while since I've read historical fiction and I'm glad that I got back into the game with this one.
I really enjoyed this book a lot. It was dark, intense and heartbreaking at times. It took me a month to finish this book because I read the whole 400+ page book on my cell phone, but it was enjoyable the whole time. The characters in this novel felt real and their struggles came through in the novel full force. Although I've read many books about World War II, they were always from prisoner or civilian perspectives so reading about German soldiers on the front lines of Stalingrad was something completely new and it kept me firmly attached to my phone for hours. The battle scenes in the book were intense and seemed to portray how soldiers would actually feel and react in those situations. Since I've never read a book about soldiers in battle during this war, it's hard to know how accurate the book is in those terms but the writing, story and characters were the high points for me in this novel. It's been a while since I've read historical fiction and I'm glad that I got back into the game with this one.
October 30, 2015
I thought that a book about Stalingrad would be hard torelate to from my modern point of view. The reality of war is pretty far away from my daily experiences. But I was sucked right into the world of Lieutenant von Wetzland’s and his unfathomable subordinate Gross’s thoughts. I was able to follow the transformation of a war romantic to a war defector in detail. Why someone who hates war, can not rid himself from it, like an addict can not rid himself from his drug.
The book is based on eye witness accounts and it does not leave anything out, sugarcoats nothing. By reading this book I realized one thing: No matter how modern the devices of war may become, the destruction caused in our minds will always be the same.
The book is based on eye witness accounts and it does not leave anything out, sugarcoats nothing. By reading this book I realized one thing: No matter how modern the devices of war may become, the destruction caused in our minds will always be the same.
January 8, 2021
Dieses Buch ist in meinen Augen absolut empfehlenswert, denn es zeigt erschreckend nah und authentisch den Alltag der einfachen Soldaten im Kessel von Stalingrad. Die beschriebenen Ereignisse sind von einer eindrücklichen Grausamkeit, mit der sich die Soldaten pausenlos konfrontiert sehen. Dabei werden die Geschehnisse aus der Sicht dieser Soldaten geschildert, wodurch der Krieg nicht politisch abstrakt, sondern real und dadurch umso erschreckender erscheint. Dabei wird auch die Sinnlosigkeit des Krieges betont. Dieses Buch hinterlässt auch nach dem Lesen einen tiefen Eindruck und man hinterfragt unwillkürlich, ob die eigenen Moralvorstellungen in einer solchen Extremsituation überhaupt aufrecht erhalten werden können.
January 18, 2016
I am not even sure where to start on this novel. MIND BLOWN! It was wonderfully written and fully engrossing. I am a sucker for historical fiction and rarely do I find a novel that so vividly brings the horrors of war to life. Many times with WWII books we get things from the winning sides perspective but to see things from these soldiers' point of view was an emotional ride. It is a long book but worth every page. For the history lovers this book will hit an emotional cord as you live out these events through the eyes of those who suffered through them.
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March 12, 2017Full disclosure: I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
If war stories are in your wheelhouse, I would recommend this book!
Unfortunately, this genre is just not my cup of tea. And because the story begins right in the middle of the action, I felt like I started things off on the wrong foot. I just couldn't keep any of the characters straight in my head because there were so many of them introduced all at once. Through the action, I still couldn't keep track of who each person was.
I did really like the writing itself though! So please do not let my review deter you from reading.
Favorite lines:
"Hold your tongue, Obergefreite, and sit down on that part of your anatomy which has so decisively shaped your character," said the young lieutenant, without looking up from his book.
"Ideals are a wonderful thing, but if a man doesn't know how to get things in perspective at deciding moments, then they can have a destructive effect. It's like with medicine, working out the right dosage as to whether it will heal or poison."
If war stories are in your wheelhouse, I would recommend this book!
Unfortunately, this genre is just not my cup of tea. And because the story begins right in the middle of the action, I felt like I started things off on the wrong foot. I just couldn't keep any of the characters straight in my head because there were so many of them introduced all at once. Through the action, I still couldn't keep track of who each person was.
I did really like the writing itself though! So please do not let my review deter you from reading.
Favorite lines:
"Hold your tongue, Obergefreite, and sit down on that part of your anatomy which has so decisively shaped your character," said the young lieutenant, without looking up from his book.
"Ideals are a wonderful thing, but if a man doesn't know how to get things in perspective at deciding moments, then they can have a destructive effect. It's like with medicine, working out the right dosage as to whether it will heal or poison."
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July 14, 2017I was given an e-copy of this book in exchange for a review.
I personally couldn't get into this book because the writing style didn't exactly click with me. Although I had to DNF in the first 100 pages, I do hope that someone else may try out this book and enjoy it.
I personally couldn't get into this book because the writing style didn't exactly click with me. Although I had to DNF in the first 100 pages, I do hope that someone else may try out this book and enjoy it.
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