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Damned Strong Love: The True Story of Willi G. and Stefan K.
When the Nazis overran Poland in the fall of 1939, fifteen-year-old Stefan K.'s father was sent off to a German labor camp. Now, in the tense days of occupation, Stefan scrambles to help take care of his family. Yet when his brother, Mikolai, takes him out after curfew to celebrate his sixteenth birthday, Stefan makes a life-changing he yearns for men the way his brother does for women. As he juggles his time between his day job at a bakery and his evening work in the theater, Stefan becomes more aware of his desires. And then he meets Willi, his one true love.Everything about Stefan's love affair with Willi is damned. They are both men. Willi is an Austrian airman, a Nazi soldier. Stefan's brother is actively fighting the Germans in the Polish Resistance. Yet Stefan and Willi's love sees no boundaries of nation, race, or gender. It is too strong to deny. And too passionate to survive. When the Gestapo discovers their affair, not only their love but their lives are in great danger.Based on the true story of Stefan K., who has written a letter to readers at the end of the book Damned Strong Love is a novel that shows the power and importance of love even as it describes the terrible price of intolerance and hatred. Stefan and Willi's love was damned, but it was strong; Lutz van Dijk's powerful and humane novel is their legacy.
138 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
July 29, 2018
Solche Geschichten dürfen nicht in Vergessenheit geraten, damit sie sich nicht wiederholen.
Während der NS-Zeit wurden viele Menschen wegen ihrer Homosexualität verfolgt und sind umgekommen. Es ist eine Schande, dass es heute noch immer Länder auf der Welt gibt, wo dies geschieht.
Nicht der Liebende ist ein Verbrecher, sondern derjenige, der den Liebenden bestraft.
Während der NS-Zeit wurden viele Menschen wegen ihrer Homosexualität verfolgt und sind umgekommen. Es ist eine Schande, dass es heute noch immer Länder auf der Welt gibt, wo dies geschieht.
Nicht der Liebende ist ein Verbrecher, sondern derjenige, der den Liebenden bestraft.
November 2, 2018
Niezwykle cenne i rzadkie świadectwo okrutnej wojny, zwłaszcza jeśli chodzi o mężczyzn skazanych z paragrafu 175. Trudno uwierzyć, że ta historia wydarzyła się na prawdę. I to w Polsce. Wzruszająca historia Stefana i Williego, która chwyta za serce.
April 21, 2020
“Cholernie mocna miłość. Prawdziwa historia Stefana K. i Williego G.” autorstwa Lutza Van Dijka (tłum. Agata Chmielecka, Filip Fierek) to opowieść o mieszkającym w Toruniu Stefanie, który podczas wojny zakochuje się (ze wzajemnością) w niemieckim żołnierzu i zdemaskowany jako gej trafia na podstawie niesławnego paragrafu 175 do obozu koncentracyjnego. Do dzisiaj - dzięki tej książce i świadectwom zostawionym przez prawdziwego Stefana, a więc Teofila Kosińskiego - pozostaje on jedynym znanym Polakiem uwięzionym podczas II wojny światowej za homoseksualizm. Teofil Kosiński ukrywał prawdę o sobie prawie całe życie i dopiero pod koniec lat 80. zaczął ją opowiadać, ale tylko poza granicami Polski. W tzw. “archiwum Spielberga” (USC Shoah Foundation), dostępnym w warszawskim Domu Spotkań z Historią, znajdziecie długi wywiad z Kosińskim, w którym sporo o sobie mówi i to jest relacja wstrząsająca. Niestety nie jest taką książka Van Dijka. Napisana w manierze powiastki obyczajowej, moralizatorsko-ideologicznej jest czytadłem mdłym, płytkim i bardzo szybkim. Oparta na wypowiedziach Kosińskiego być może miała oddawać jego sposób mówienia i opowiadania, ale to równie dobrze można było spisać i wydać dokumenty z nim związane. Choćbym nie wiem jak cenił rolę tej książki dla podniesienia tematu “różowych trójkątów” i choć wiem, że w Polsce postać Teofila Kosińskiego wymaga pogłębionej refleksji i “Cholernie mocna miłość” może być w tej kwestii ważną publikacją, tak nie mogę przejść obojętnie wobec zwyczajnie złej literatury, którą w istocie ona jest.
Za to jest inny powód, dla którego kupcie proszę tę książkę. Znajdziecie w niej obszerne posłowie autorstwa Joanny Ostrowskiej (poszukajcie na dwutygodniku jej wywiadu z Van Dijkiem!), które zasługuje na rozbudowę i osobną, choćby najskromniejszą, publikację. Ostrowska po zaangażowaniu w publikację przez Ośrodek KARTA książki Heinza Hegera “Mężczyźni z różowym trójkątem” (też literacko niezbyt udanej) konsekwentnie walczy o przypomnienie polskim czytelnikom i czytelniczkom o “różowych trójkątach”. Może czas zatem na własną publikację? Patrząc na zgromadzone przez Ostrowską materiały i zdolności pisarskie myślę, że byłaby to lektura tysiąckrotnie ciekawsza od książki Van Dijka. Oczekuję zatem!
Za to jest inny powód, dla którego kupcie proszę tę książkę. Znajdziecie w niej obszerne posłowie autorstwa Joanny Ostrowskiej (poszukajcie na dwutygodniku jej wywiadu z Van Dijkiem!), które zasługuje na rozbudowę i osobną, choćby najskromniejszą, publikację. Ostrowska po zaangażowaniu w publikację przez Ośrodek KARTA książki Heinza Hegera “Mężczyźni z różowym trójkątem” (też literacko niezbyt udanej) konsekwentnie walczy o przypomnienie polskim czytelnikom i czytelniczkom o “różowych trójkątach”. Może czas zatem na własną publikację? Patrząc na zgromadzone przez Ostrowską materiały i zdolności pisarskie myślę, że byłaby to lektura tysiąckrotnie ciekawsza od książki Van Dijka. Oczekuję zatem!
October 14, 2020
It's hard to say "It was a good or I liked it" to an autobiography when it tells about a dark and shameful period of the history. More people should read this book and think about the afterthoughts of Stefan K.: "... it is always a crime to punish love and tolerate violence".
September 9, 2018
Heartbreaking and beautiful, you know?
I hope they found each other on the other side and are spending eternity together as I type this.
I hope they found each other on the other side and are spending eternity together as I type this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 15, 2016
‘The Soul records only growth not time. This is why some people have such a great impact on our lives even though we only know them for a short time whereas others we’ve known a lifetime have no effect at all’. From Kung Fu.
This book is marketed as a gay autobiographical love story set in the Second World War in Poland. In some respects that is true but the context is more the micro effects of Paragraph 175 and 175A of the German Penal code which put homosexual activity – even of the mildest sort – on a par with sex with animals. In the law’s eyes they were the same thing.
Our narrator is Sefan K who is 16 years old when the story begins. He is handsome and bright and rather confused about himself as he has no feelings for girls and experiences a lot of deep shame and remorse about the feelings he has for his attractive older brother. It is with him that he has his first (harmless) sexual experience. In a staunchly conservative Catholic country such as Poland in the 1930s this was something to bother the conscience of any male. His brother wasn’t bothered as access to females was strictly off limits until marriage. Harmless self relief with other males was counted as nothing but for Stefan it meant a lot more.
When war was declared the effects of the German occupation were felt immediately. Schools were closed to Poles; his family was unceremoniously dumped out of their home and sent to a one room flat – a bit of a squeeze for 5 people. His father disappeared early on in the narrative to fight with the resistance but was sent to a forced labour camp in Germany. He is never mentioned again. Stefan’s brother joins the partisans and is suspicious of his brother who can pass as a German, gets a job in a theatre and can get work delivering bread – something he can’t do. We learn of the petty restrictions placed by the Nazi’s on everyday activities which rendered Poles foreigners in their own country.
Then all changes. He is followed one day by an attractive older German soldier in his mid-twenties named Willi G. Initially suspicious Stefan becomes besotted by the young man as he is the first person he can be open with about his feelings for men. It also becomes his first love – his first Great Love the memory of which was to consume the rest of his life. They keep their meetings as secret as possible but his brother still considers it as ‘fraternising with the enemy’. Willi G is from Vienna, Austria and was forcefully conscripted into the army at the barrel of a gun so he not completely at ease with the ideology that he is associated with and has to enforce. He comes from a wealthy cultured family.
They eventually find a small shed on the outskirts of the town which becomes their place. They have to be very careful because they had the SS on one side and the Polish partisans on the other – neither of which would hesitate to shoot them for collaborating with the enemy let alone what they were doing in the shed. Actually what goes on has a veil drawn over it but you get the hint that they did more than hold hands. The love nest was all rather basic, cold and inconvenient but love is blind (literally) and they live for a few months in this love bubble. Then the inevitable happens – Willi is deployed to the Eastern Front in a matter of days so the relationship came to an abrupt halt. Stefan is devastated and for a now 17 year old with little experience of life his world collapses.
Having heard nothing from Willi for months Stefan takes it into his own hands and writes a short love letter to him via the German central clearing house. He was very very naïve that the letter would reach him unread and uncensored by the authorities – but love is blind and young love even blinder (but the neighbours aren’t). The inevitable call from the Gestapo comes and the rest is fairly predictable. He followed the 15,000 or more gay Germans who were arrested and deported to Labour/concentration camps never to be seen again. [Fewer than 10 were known to be left alive in 2000].They were expendable labour and it was assumed that they would die or be killed doing the worst types of work imaginable – and of course they did. They were marked out by the Pink Triangle but Stefan makes no mention of having one as he was sent to a prison in Poland because of his age. He wasn’t expected to live either – but he did survive largely because of the kindness of an old Jewish man who became his mentor and showed him how to survive the system. His knowledge of German made him a valuable commodity to the Polish prison authorities and he landed a soft job in the office – which didn’t result in better food or lodging but got him out of the deadly manual labour which would have killed him.
He survived a long march to Germany with the other prisoners despite injuries and eventually was liberated by the Allied Forces. And there the story ends. In the appendix to the American edition –which I had – he writes that he settled in Western Europe but found his way back to Poland where he studied Economics but suffered because of his sexuality and could never progress. He depended on gay charities in the West to supplement his income to pay for his medication from injuries sustained from his prison experiences. No compensation was ever received from the German authorities. He never found out what happened to Willi or whether he ever survived the Eastern Front – most likely not. Consider the final scene from The Name of the Rose and you will have some idea of how the ending came across to me.
The book is easily read and can be finished in 3 or 4 hours at a normal pace {134 pages]. Some have complained that it lacks any emotional punch. I could agree with that but this is not a novel but the memoir of an old man writing to get some money to buy medication in a country that had tried to erase his sort off the map! It was also not written in English of course. It was translated from the Polish into German and then English (and possibly Dutch) so I imagine quite a lot got lost in the translation. Also it is used in Germany to teach school children about this part of their history so it couldn’t be too complicated or graphic. A worthwhile read which - in the hands of a novelist - could be a really great read. I refer you to the films Paragraph 175 (available on YouTube) and ‘A Love to Hide’ which cover the same theme.
This book is marketed as a gay autobiographical love story set in the Second World War in Poland. In some respects that is true but the context is more the micro effects of Paragraph 175 and 175A of the German Penal code which put homosexual activity – even of the mildest sort – on a par with sex with animals. In the law’s eyes they were the same thing.
Our narrator is Sefan K who is 16 years old when the story begins. He is handsome and bright and rather confused about himself as he has no feelings for girls and experiences a lot of deep shame and remorse about the feelings he has for his attractive older brother. It is with him that he has his first (harmless) sexual experience. In a staunchly conservative Catholic country such as Poland in the 1930s this was something to bother the conscience of any male. His brother wasn’t bothered as access to females was strictly off limits until marriage. Harmless self relief with other males was counted as nothing but for Stefan it meant a lot more.
When war was declared the effects of the German occupation were felt immediately. Schools were closed to Poles; his family was unceremoniously dumped out of their home and sent to a one room flat – a bit of a squeeze for 5 people. His father disappeared early on in the narrative to fight with the resistance but was sent to a forced labour camp in Germany. He is never mentioned again. Stefan’s brother joins the partisans and is suspicious of his brother who can pass as a German, gets a job in a theatre and can get work delivering bread – something he can’t do. We learn of the petty restrictions placed by the Nazi’s on everyday activities which rendered Poles foreigners in their own country.
Then all changes. He is followed one day by an attractive older German soldier in his mid-twenties named Willi G. Initially suspicious Stefan becomes besotted by the young man as he is the first person he can be open with about his feelings for men. It also becomes his first love – his first Great Love the memory of which was to consume the rest of his life. They keep their meetings as secret as possible but his brother still considers it as ‘fraternising with the enemy’. Willi G is from Vienna, Austria and was forcefully conscripted into the army at the barrel of a gun so he not completely at ease with the ideology that he is associated with and has to enforce. He comes from a wealthy cultured family.
They eventually find a small shed on the outskirts of the town which becomes their place. They have to be very careful because they had the SS on one side and the Polish partisans on the other – neither of which would hesitate to shoot them for collaborating with the enemy let alone what they were doing in the shed. Actually what goes on has a veil drawn over it but you get the hint that they did more than hold hands. The love nest was all rather basic, cold and inconvenient but love is blind (literally) and they live for a few months in this love bubble. Then the inevitable happens – Willi is deployed to the Eastern Front in a matter of days so the relationship came to an abrupt halt. Stefan is devastated and for a now 17 year old with little experience of life his world collapses.
Having heard nothing from Willi for months Stefan takes it into his own hands and writes a short love letter to him via the German central clearing house. He was very very naïve that the letter would reach him unread and uncensored by the authorities – but love is blind and young love even blinder (but the neighbours aren’t). The inevitable call from the Gestapo comes and the rest is fairly predictable. He followed the 15,000 or more gay Germans who were arrested and deported to Labour/concentration camps never to be seen again. [Fewer than 10 were known to be left alive in 2000].They were expendable labour and it was assumed that they would die or be killed doing the worst types of work imaginable – and of course they did. They were marked out by the Pink Triangle but Stefan makes no mention of having one as he was sent to a prison in Poland because of his age. He wasn’t expected to live either – but he did survive largely because of the kindness of an old Jewish man who became his mentor and showed him how to survive the system. His knowledge of German made him a valuable commodity to the Polish prison authorities and he landed a soft job in the office – which didn’t result in better food or lodging but got him out of the deadly manual labour which would have killed him.
He survived a long march to Germany with the other prisoners despite injuries and eventually was liberated by the Allied Forces. And there the story ends. In the appendix to the American edition –which I had – he writes that he settled in Western Europe but found his way back to Poland where he studied Economics but suffered because of his sexuality and could never progress. He depended on gay charities in the West to supplement his income to pay for his medication from injuries sustained from his prison experiences. No compensation was ever received from the German authorities. He never found out what happened to Willi or whether he ever survived the Eastern Front – most likely not. Consider the final scene from The Name of the Rose and you will have some idea of how the ending came across to me.
The book is easily read and can be finished in 3 or 4 hours at a normal pace {134 pages]. Some have complained that it lacks any emotional punch. I could agree with that but this is not a novel but the memoir of an old man writing to get some money to buy medication in a country that had tried to erase his sort off the map! It was also not written in English of course. It was translated from the Polish into German and then English (and possibly Dutch) so I imagine quite a lot got lost in the translation. Also it is used in Germany to teach school children about this part of their history so it couldn’t be too complicated or graphic. A worthwhile read which - in the hands of a novelist - could be a really great read. I refer you to the films Paragraph 175 (available on YouTube) and ‘A Love to Hide’ which cover the same theme.
Read
March 29, 2023Damned Strong Love was something I can only describe as simultaneously inspirational and tragic. I could feel through the pages the scars left on the author of this book Stephan K. and how being treated less than human in every sense affected him. From the way it was written I could also tell the inner strength he held even in the most horrifically brutal of circumstances enduring persecution and torture from the Nazis. This book also calls upon the strength of the LGBTQIA+ community and the strides we have made to ensure that the pain endured by Stephan K. never happen again to us. After just finishing the novel at the time of writing I have the utmost appreciation for the author's honesty and strength to come forward to show tell his story.
May 20, 2023
Stefan's full name is Stefan Kosinski and there are some wonderful interviews with him on YouTube done by the USC Shoah Fondation. Sadly, he apparently died in 2003 without ever learning the fate of Willi.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 12, 2021
4.5 stars
June 11, 2010
It’s always hard to review true stories, because you can’t fault the history, or the plot. I do feel though that perhaps some of the heart went out of the story in the dictation to Lutz Van Dijk and then the translation because I was never really gripped by the love that Stephan undoubtedly felt for Willi G. Perhaps it’s because it was re-told from such a span of years, and a 16 year old’s love is difficult to describe when one gets to old age. I know I would find it hard, even to write out my own feelings, let alone transpose someone else’s.
I would have liked a little more description of the affair itself; not so much the sexual contact, but the meetings that they had, what they talked about and more about how they felt about what was happening to the world around them. I particularly liked Stephan’s description of his family and their relationship with him, especially with his brother Mikolai who is his first crush, until he meets Willi G.
Their discovery was caused by an idiotic love letter, sent from Stephan K to Willi G at the Eastern Front- and this surprised me – the fact that he’d make such a silly mistake – in fact his very naivety surprised me throughout, but it was another time and place and it’s impossible to imagine the mind set of a Polish boy in 1942.
Don’t let the subject matter of this put you off reading a copy if you come across it, because Stephan K doesn’t dwell too heavily on the (frankly dreadful) things that happened to him after his arrest and incarceration. One can’t really imagine what those years must have been like for him, and it’s probably better that we don’t.
Above all he comes over as an optimist, and although he doesn’t say that he found love and happiness in what he admits was a life in Communist Poland, I hope he did. He has campaigned for gay rights and was around to see the lessening of the restrictions in his beloved country.
I was touched by this book, and although it’s probably not for those who dislike “real, unpleasant, history” it opens a little window into a quite dreadful time but gives hope to the future – something that Stephan K never lost.
I would have liked a little more description of the affair itself; not so much the sexual contact, but the meetings that they had, what they talked about and more about how they felt about what was happening to the world around them. I particularly liked Stephan’s description of his family and their relationship with him, especially with his brother Mikolai who is his first crush, until he meets Willi G.
Their discovery was caused by an idiotic love letter, sent from Stephan K to Willi G at the Eastern Front- and this surprised me – the fact that he’d make such a silly mistake – in fact his very naivety surprised me throughout, but it was another time and place and it’s impossible to imagine the mind set of a Polish boy in 1942.
Don’t let the subject matter of this put you off reading a copy if you come across it, because Stephan K doesn’t dwell too heavily on the (frankly dreadful) things that happened to him after his arrest and incarceration. One can’t really imagine what those years must have been like for him, and it’s probably better that we don’t.
Above all he comes over as an optimist, and although he doesn’t say that he found love and happiness in what he admits was a life in Communist Poland, I hope he did. He has campaigned for gay rights and was around to see the lessening of the restrictions in his beloved country.
I was touched by this book, and although it’s probably not for those who dislike “real, unpleasant, history” it opens a little window into a quite dreadful time but gives hope to the future – something that Stephan K never lost.
July 5, 2022
The author‘s notes at the end genuinely made me cry, which is a rare thing in books for me.
June 22, 2017
Es siempre difícil leer sobre lo que las personas perseguidas por los nazis vivieron. En este caso, Stefan, en cuya historia está basada esta novela, fue perseguido por ser un hombre homosexual y por mantener una relación con un soldado alemán, Willi.
Me alegro muchísimo de que este libro exista. Es espantoso pensar que las personas homosexuales no solo fueron torturadas y encarceladas por los nazis, sino que, además, tras la guerra también fueron encarcelados porque las leyes de la época las consideraba criminales. A todo eso se le suma que sus historias fueron silenciadas durante décadas y a día de hoy pocos quedan con vida que puedan contar su historia. Eso me da mucha rabia. A parte de sufrir, sus sufrimientos quedan olvidados porque nunca fueron contados.
Por tanto, leer esta pequeña novela es más que recomendable (aunque Willi me molestase en cierta ocasión por defender a Alemania). Me gustaría mucho saber si Stefan sigue vivo a día de hoy (difícil lo veo, tendría 112 años) y, más importante aún, si alguna vez llegó a descubrir si Willi estaba vivo (y en caso de que, milagrosamente, así fuera, espero que se rencontraran y pudieran revivir los momentos de felicidad).
Me alegro muchísimo de que este libro exista. Es espantoso pensar que las personas homosexuales no solo fueron torturadas y encarceladas por los nazis, sino que, además, tras la guerra también fueron encarcelados porque las leyes de la época las consideraba criminales. A todo eso se le suma que sus historias fueron silenciadas durante décadas y a día de hoy pocos quedan con vida que puedan contar su historia. Eso me da mucha rabia. A parte de sufrir, sus sufrimientos quedan olvidados porque nunca fueron contados.
Por tanto, leer esta pequeña novela es más que recomendable (aunque Willi me molestase en cierta ocasión por defender a Alemania). Me gustaría mucho saber si Stefan sigue vivo a día de hoy (difícil lo veo, tendría 112 años) y, más importante aún, si alguna vez llegó a descubrir si Willi estaba vivo (y en caso de que, milagrosamente, así fuera, espero que se rencontraran y pudieran revivir los momentos de felicidad).
December 20, 2024
There are only a few books on the persecution of homosexuals, especially no detailed eyewitness accounts, and we all know why that is. Unfortunately, homosexuality is still not something that is accepted by everyone.
This book commemorates all those who were persecuted and describes the love story between Willi and Stefan K., a true story. A moving story, describing the unimaginable, yet not so long ago. It is written like a novel, not like a non-fiction book, but it is still incredibly educational and includes a timeline of the persecution of homosexuals and footnotes with notes for better understanding.
I am glad that people like Teofil Kosinski had the courage to tell their stories. It is important that these stories are written down and preserved for the future.
This book commemorates all those who were persecuted and describes the love story between Willi and Stefan K., a true story. A moving story, describing the unimaginable, yet not so long ago. It is written like a novel, not like a non-fiction book, but it is still incredibly educational and includes a timeline of the persecution of homosexuals and footnotes with notes for better understanding.
I am glad that people like Teofil Kosinski had the courage to tell their stories. It is important that these stories are written down and preserved for the future.
November 6, 2023
Има ли по-хубаво нещо на този свят от любовта? Любовта, омагьосваща и въодушевяваща. Любовта, стопляща и издигаща. Любовта, учеща и променяща човек към по-добро!
Любовта трябва да се случва в мирен свят, но любовта намира място и в най-размирното време.
Книгата „Прокълната любов” разказва истинската история на Стефан К. и Вили Г. по време на нацистката окупация на Полша, но тази книга същевременно представя тъгата на всяка влюбена двойка, разделена от военен конфликт.
А тези конфликти, за мен, се разпалват от хора, непознаващи любовта и предали се на омразата!
Любовта трябва да се случва в мирен свят, но любовта намира място и в най-размирното време.
Книгата „Прокълната любов” разказва истинската история на Стефан К. и Вили Г. по време на нацистката окупация на Полша, но тази книга същевременно представя тъгата на всяка влюбена двойка, разделена от военен конфликт.
А тези конфликти, за мен, се разпалват от хора, непознаващи любовта и предали се на омразата!
August 12, 2022
+ Historia, w której piękno przeplata się ze smutnym, poruszającym zakończeniem. Wszystko dzieje się dość szybko, bez zbędnych szczegółów, ale to co najważniejsze jest w tej książce pokazane. Poruszająca jest walka bohatera o samego siebie, do samego końca.
"...by ludzie we wszystkich krajach świata w końcu pojęli, że karać za miłość i tolerować przemoc to zawsze przestępstwo."
"...by ludzie we wszystkich krajach świata w końcu pojęli, że karać za miłość i tolerować przemoc to zawsze przestępstwo."
January 3, 2024
Oh this old Book? Nah its just my favorite Book of all time. So touching, so sad, so heart wrenching, so admirable and beautiful. A Story of two young boys falling for each other even though the circumstances of their time don't allow it.
The emotional roller coaster i went on reading this Book was…. Intenseeeeere
Stefan K.: "..
... it is always a crime to punish
love and tolerate violence"
The emotional roller coaster i went on reading this Book was…. Intenseeeeere
Stefan K.: "..
... it is always a crime to punish
love and tolerate violence"
September 15, 2019
Ta historia po prostu musiała być opisana, wstrząsająca, obezwładniająca. Choć język jest prosty to czyta się te historie dobrze, jest wciągająca i ciekawa. Na mnie jednak największe wrażenie zrobiło posłowie w wykonaniu samego bohatera. To dopiero jest story!
February 6, 2021
Ein Buch, welches jeder lesen MUSS!
Selten konnten mich 160 Seiten emotional so berühren. Die wahre Geschichte von Stefan der sich in einen deutschen Soldaten im zweiten Weltkrieg verliebt und dafür verurteilt wird, haben mich mitfühlen und leiden lassen.
Selten konnten mich 160 Seiten emotional so berühren. Die wahre Geschichte von Stefan der sich in einen deutschen Soldaten im zweiten Weltkrieg verliebt und dafür verurteilt wird, haben mich mitfühlen und leiden lassen.
May 12, 2017
Excellent look into how people lived during WWII. It was harrowing, though, to the point where I could only continue reading because I knew the author lived to see the book published.
January 11, 2018
great book and a thrilling, touching true story. i am so moved by this. good to have Polish translation finally.
May 26, 2023
i really liked this book actually. it was really interesting read. it's unbelievable that these kind of things happened...
July 8, 2023
3.75
April 5, 2024
Ein Zeitzeugenbericht eines Homosexuellen in der NS-Zeit. Eher für Teenager und weniger für Erwachsene.
March 3, 2017
Pierwsza książka jaką przeczytałem po niemiecku - ta determinacja ;)
Nie no, historia jest niezwykła i podobno prawdziwa (nie no, jest prawdziwa ale to aż trudno uwierzyć). Jest to historia romansu młodego Polaka i austriackiego żołnierza Wehrmachtu w okupowanej Polsce... Człowiek czyta takie rzeczy i myśli sobie... rok 1942 a oni się po prostu spotykają na ulicy, idą na kawę i zakochują w sobie, a dziś mamy 2017 i to nie jest takie proste :D
Forma i w ogóle przypomina trochę takie książki dla nastolatek :D ale jest ok, zwłaszcza jak na pierwszą książkę w innym języku obcym ;)
Co jeszcze warto dodać - ciekawie było przeczytać taką trochę inną relację o wojnie - z perspektywy Polaka, który znał nieźle niemiecki, żył względnie normalnie w czasie wojny i wchodził w kontakty z Niemcami, a później z powodu oskarżenia o homoseksualizm trafił w prawdzie do niewoli, ale dla odmiany nie do obozu tylko do więzienia (choć warunki nie były jakoś o wiele lepsze...).
No szkoda tylko... no nie chciałem spojlerować ale napiszę - szkoda, że to nie był jakiś happy end, że Stefan nigdy nie dowiedział się co z Willim...
Aha i jeszcze taki fajny cytat opisujący... miłość? zauroczenie? w każdym razie TO uczucie:
- fajnie ujęte... (amatorskie tłumaczenie: "Takie łaskoczące uczucie w brzuchu, wiążące i wyzwalające zarazem, ogromne przyciąganie do drugiego człowieka, pragnienie dotknięcia go?")
Nie no, historia jest niezwykła i podobno prawdziwa (nie no, jest prawdziwa ale to aż trudno uwierzyć). Jest to historia romansu młodego Polaka i austriackiego żołnierza Wehrmachtu w okupowanej Polsce... Człowiek czyta takie rzeczy i myśli sobie... rok 1942 a oni się po prostu spotykają na ulicy, idą na kawę i zakochują w sobie, a dziś mamy 2017 i to nie jest takie proste :D
Forma i w ogóle przypomina trochę takie książki dla nastolatek :D ale jest ok, zwłaszcza jak na pierwszą książkę w innym języku obcym ;)
Co jeszcze warto dodać - ciekawie było przeczytać taką trochę inną relację o wojnie - z perspektywy Polaka, który znał nieźle niemiecki, żył względnie normalnie w czasie wojny i wchodził w kontakty z Niemcami, a później z powodu oskarżenia o homoseksualizm trafił w prawdzie do niewoli, ale dla odmiany nie do obozu tylko do więzienia (choć warunki nie były jakoś o wiele lepsze...).
No szkoda tylko... no nie chciałem spojlerować ale napiszę - szkoda, że to nie był jakiś happy end, że Stefan nigdy nie dowiedział się co z Willim...
Aha i jeszcze taki fajny cytat opisujący... miłość? zauroczenie? w każdym razie TO uczucie:
"So ein prickelndes Gefühl im Bauch, fesselnd und befreiend zugleich, eine ungeheure Anziehung zu einem anderen Menschen, der Wunsch, ihn berühren zu wollen?"
- fajnie ujęte... (amatorskie tłumaczenie: "Takie łaskoczące uczucie w brzuchu, wiążące i wyzwalające zarazem, ogromne przyciąganie do drugiego człowieka, pragnienie dotknięcia go?")
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 25, 2016
This was a German book that got a good recommendation in a German magazine as young adult literature. (The English translation is"Damned Strong Love.") It's the true story of a young Pole (Stefan) during World War 2. When he turns 16 he realizes he is gay. He meets a young German soldier, go for coffee and end up falling in love. They hide out in a barn in the evenings after the Willi's shift and Stefan's work at the theater. Then Willi finds out he is being sent to the front, but promises to write. Stefan doesn't hear from him and finds out where he can write to him, but is very naive and includes his return address. He is then arrested and beaten by the Nazis and sentenced to 5 years. He suffers a lot in prison, but toward the end of the war is transferred and meets an older man in the cell who helps keep him healthy and safe and he gets an easier job until they are forced on a march at the end of the war. He ends up surviving. (I won't say any more to not give the end away.)
Stefan ist vierzehn, als sich mit dem Überfall Deutschlands auf Polen im Sommer 1939 sein Leben über Nacht ändert. Er, der immer ein guter Schüler war, darf nun nicht mehr die Schule besuchen, sein Vater wird als Zwangsarbeiter nach Deutschland deportiert. Bald geht es für ihn und seine Familie nur noch ums Überleben.
Zwei Jahre später lernt er Willi kennen, einen jungen deutschen Soldaten. Für beide ist es Liebe auf den ersten Blick – doch Liebe zwischen Männern verfolgen die Nazis streng. Trotz der ungeheuren Gefahr, die eine Beziehung für sie beide bedeutet, gehen sie das Wagnis ein.
Nach einigen Monaten des heimlichen Glücks wird Willi an die Ostfront versetzt. Stefan ist verzweifelt. Als er über Wochen keine Nachricht von Willi erhält, schreibt er ihm einen verhängnisvollen Brief. Wenig später wird er verhaftet, gefoltert und zu fünf Jahren Haft verurteilt.
Wird er überleben? Und was ist aus Willi geworden?
Stefan ist vierzehn, als sich mit dem Überfall Deutschlands auf Polen im Sommer 1939 sein Leben über Nacht ändert. Er, der immer ein guter Schüler war, darf nun nicht mehr die Schule besuchen, sein Vater wird als Zwangsarbeiter nach Deutschland deportiert. Bald geht es für ihn und seine Familie nur noch ums Überleben.
Zwei Jahre später lernt er Willi kennen, einen jungen deutschen Soldaten. Für beide ist es Liebe auf den ersten Blick – doch Liebe zwischen Männern verfolgen die Nazis streng. Trotz der ungeheuren Gefahr, die eine Beziehung für sie beide bedeutet, gehen sie das Wagnis ein.
Nach einigen Monaten des heimlichen Glücks wird Willi an die Ostfront versetzt. Stefan ist verzweifelt. Als er über Wochen keine Nachricht von Willi erhält, schreibt er ihm einen verhängnisvollen Brief. Wenig später wird er verhaftet, gefoltert und zu fünf Jahren Haft verurteilt.
Wird er überleben? Und was ist aus Willi geworden?
October 13, 2016
A short novel based on a true story related to the author by an old man, Stefan, in the 1990s telling of his first love, a German soldier, Willi, stationed in his small Polish town during WWII. As you'd expect under the circumstances of war and occupation this isn't HEA m/m romance but real, lived experience, Stefan's coming of age, discovering his sexuality and falling in love aged 16, at a time of persecution and horror. The book is short on detail, and in some regards this is a blessing because Stefan's experiences do not make easy reading. Despite the dark times, however, ultimately this is an uplifting story of self-discovery and survival. I enjoyed Stefan's description of his warm and loving relationship with his family, in particular older brother Mikkal who was Stefan's first crush. Stefan's innocence and naivety lead to terrible consequences but he was only 16 and in love. I would've liked to hear more about the times he and Willi spent together, but can appreciate how painful it must have been for him to recall at such a distance in years. Thankfully, his life thereafter seems to have been long and happy enough, an active campaigner for gay rights.
March 31, 2010
This is a novel of WW2 based on the true story of Stefan K., a Polish teen coming to terms with his country being overrun by the Nazis and his own insecurity with his homosexuality. Stefan K. confides in his brother about his feelings and his brother accepts his him, but Stefan must be on his guard constantly. When he meets a young German soldier Willi, he realizes that there is a connection and he and Willi fall in love. Willi is eventually sent to the Eastern Front and Stefan hears nothing from him. Stefan writes a letter, only to have it siezed by the Gestapo. Not only does he have to suffer an interrogation, torture, and imprisonment, he has to accept the fact that his letter probably meant the execution of Willi. After the war, he searched for Willi, but found no information.
I only give it three stars because of the awkwardness of the translation. The story is important and one that will haunt students. GBLT students need to see that teens struggled with their feelings of love even in the darkest moments of WW2.
I only give it three stars because of the awkwardness of the translation. The story is important and one that will haunt students. GBLT students need to see that teens struggled with their feelings of love even in the darkest moments of WW2.
April 11, 2008
This is an amazing love story between a young Polish actor and a German soldier set in WW2 just before the German occupation of Poland. It describes the Third Reich's persecution of homosexuals in a very vivid and honest manner with horrifying descriptions of the prisons and labor camps the Polish boy is forced to endure when his homosexuality is uncoverd through his communication with the German solidier he is in love with.
March 20, 2008
This is an amazing novelized account of Willi G's life in Poland during WWII. The story is compelling, and the meeting between the characters that drives the rest of the story is sweet and will make any hardcore Christian feel saddened by the events.
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