What do you think?
Rate this book
Mark of Shame
German
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1957
About the author
Willi Heinrich
59 books33 followersWilli Heinrich was born in Heidelberg, and during the Second World War he experienced heavy fighting on the Eastern Front with the 1st Battalion 228th Jäger Regiment of the 101st Jäger Division. The same infantry unit featured in Das Geduldige Fleisch (The Willing Flesh; Cross of Iron).
During the war the 101st Jäger Division sustained a seven hundred per cent casualty rate; Heinrich himself was wounded five times.
After the war, Heinrich became a writer. His first novel, In Einem Schloss zu Wohnen, was written over a two year period (1950–1952). It was unpublished until 1976, after Heinrich was an established novelist. His first commercial novel, Das Geduldige Fleisch (The Willing Flesh), was published in 1955, and almost immediately was translated into English and published as The Willing Flesh (1956), by Weidenfield & Nicolson in the United Kingdom, and as Cross of Iron (1957), by Bobbs-Merrill in the U.S. To date, the novel remains in print, and is his most well known outside of Germany.
Though he began his writing career writing about the German experience in World War II, Heinrich later concentrated on writing melodramatic romances in the 1970s and 1980s. Willi Heinrich passed-away in 2005.
During the war the 101st Jäger Division sustained a seven hundred per cent casualty rate; Heinrich himself was wounded five times.
After the war, Heinrich became a writer. His first novel, In Einem Schloss zu Wohnen, was written over a two year period (1950–1952). It was unpublished until 1976, after Heinrich was an established novelist. His first commercial novel, Das Geduldige Fleisch (The Willing Flesh), was published in 1955, and almost immediately was translated into English and published as The Willing Flesh (1956), by Weidenfield & Nicolson in the United Kingdom, and as Cross of Iron (1957), by Bobbs-Merrill in the U.S. To date, the novel remains in print, and is his most well known outside of Germany.
Though he began his writing career writing about the German experience in World War II, Heinrich later concentrated on writing melodramatic romances in the 1970s and 1980s. Willi Heinrich passed-away in 2005.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
Read
August 3, 2010In English language,translated from German,fiction,novel,post-WWII Germany
July 30, 2010
Heinrich's story of post war Germany, the disparities
between those making it, even though with shadowy pasts,
and those struggling; the returning soldiers who were on
the Eastern front at the end of the war had to serve 7 years
in Russian concentration camps are now looking for acceptance,
redemption and a job.
I liked Heinrich's writing style so I enjoyed the book. It's
related, but a side-step out of his usual war genre.
December 14, 2020
Willie Heinrich is one of Germany most talented authors, he is as good as Erich Maria Remarque. This is the smartest and the most vivid portrait of Germany after the second world War and how the war affect different generations in Germany.
Masterpiece of literature and highly recommend 👌
Masterpiece of literature and highly recommend 👌
December 16, 2023
I sorta skimmed throught this. Its a well written book, but my interest in post-war Germany is very limited.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews