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Survivors of Stalingrad: Eyewitness Accounts from the 6th Army, 1942-43
In November 1942 - in a devastating counter-attack from outside the city - Soviet forces smashed the German siege and encircled Stalingrad, trapping some 290,000 soldiers of the 6th Army inside.
For nearly three months, during the harshest part of the Russian winter, the German troops endured atrocious conditions. Freezing cold and reliant on dwindling food supplies from Luftwaffe air drops, thousands died from starvation, frostbite or infection if not from the fighting itself.
This important work reconstructs the grim fate of the 6th Army in full for the first time by examining the little-known story of the field hospitals and central dressing stations. The author has trawled through hundreds of previously unpublished reports, interviews, diaries and newspaper accounts to reveal the experiences of soldiers of all ranks, from simple soldiers to generals.
The book includes first-hand accounts of soldiers who were wounded or fell ill and were flown out of the encirclement; as well as those who fought to the bitter end and were taken prisoner by the Soviets. They reflect on the severity of the fighting, and reveal the slowly ebbing hopes for survival. Together they provide an illuminating and tragic portrait of the appalling events at Stalingrad.
397 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2014
174 people are currently reading
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
September 11, 2025
I'm only 52 pages in. And it's harrowing stuff. One would need a heart as hard as the ground around Stalingrad in winter 1942 not to feel sorry for the men involved. But let's remember who those men were. One became a military advisor to the Syrian government after the war. Always a sure sign that he was a war criminal. Others lavish praise on Hitler. And despite the praise they lavish on Russian and Polish nurses, we must remember what the Germans did to the people of those countries. Including the appalling conditions the 3.5 million Soviet POWs had to endure. It wasn't all down to the SS. Many of the atrocities were carried out by ordinary soldiers. But soldiers writing accounts decades later aren't going to include atrocities they saw or perpetrated. There's a lot of suffering in here on the German side. But they were the baddies.
What I'm finding interesting is how much emphasis is given to the fair treatment of Russian prisoners and defectors. I'm not doubting the veracity of these accounts, but they do seem selective.
There are two basic principles to be learned here: don't allow yourself to be seduced by a madman and never invade Russia. Unless you're a Mongol (that's for basic principle no.2).
Overall I found this be an absorbing read. There're a lot of technical details in the accounts which will only be fully understandable to soldiers or military experts. But it's the personal details that hit you the hardest. The death of a friend. Thoughts of home. Getting injured. Lucky escapes. Gruesome.
What I'm finding interesting is how much emphasis is given to the fair treatment of Russian prisoners and defectors. I'm not doubting the veracity of these accounts, but they do seem selective.
There are two basic principles to be learned here: don't allow yourself to be seduced by a madman and never invade Russia. Unless you're a Mongol (that's for basic principle no.2).
Overall I found this be an absorbing read. There're a lot of technical details in the accounts which will only be fully understandable to soldiers or military experts. But it's the personal details that hit you the hardest. The death of a friend. Thoughts of home. Getting injured. Lucky escapes. Gruesome.
November 30, 2018
Excellent book about the experiences of 39 different soldiers who survived the horrors of the fighting during the battle of Stalingrad. Each story is unique and they give an all-round picture of what a German soldiers life was like during the battle. Told in a brutally honest way without any politics and gives graphic details about the battle. Highly recommended!!
November 28, 2014
Escaping the Death Trap …
I’ve been waiting for a book that compiled individual accounts of the German experience in Stalingrad and finally, with SURVIVORS OF STALINGRAD, there is one. Editor, Reinhold Busch, has compiled 39 individual and diverse accounts of German soldiers and airmen who either escaped the Stalingrad “Kessel”/pocket or became prisoners and lived to tell about it.
Busch, who has previously published his research of German surgeons in the battle of Stalingrad, provides an interesting and unique visage of the depravity experienced by an entire army left to fend for themselves after being surrounded by a motivated and vindictive Red Army. With temperatures falling to sub-zero levels and still wearing uniforms suited for spring and summer, each soldier/airman’s account echoes a recurring theme of futility and misery. The stories provide a broad perspective of the epic battle’s final days, giving readers a better understanding of the chaos and downright fear that blanketed those trapped inside the pocket … from the frontline infantryman lacking ammunition and support to airmen dealing with the flood of terrified and wounded soldiers swarming their planes in a desperate attempt to flee captivity and certain death.
Each chapter represents an individual’s account and while they are all different, most all manage to touch on the same points: personal filth, extreme hunger, the unbearable cold, unburied dead, the soon-to-be-dead wounded and the Red Army bearing down. With the exception of a few, the stories range from two to six pages in length. Some of the accounts are more interesting than others, but they all combine to provide a better overall picture of the entire situation facing Germans before von Paulus’ surrender (one account even included that moment). Unlike most books involving personal recollections of war, I found it hard to view these men (in the circumstances they were in) as instruments of the once-vaunted, steamrolling Nazi war machine, but a string of forgotten left-overs whose fate depended mostly on good-fortune. There are a few “fighting to the end” scenarios presented, but most stories reflect a desperate effort to escape certain death from hunger, freezing to death or at the hands of vengeful Russian captors. The images presented are quite bleak and I found the book less war-like and more of a collection of human interest/survival stories. The accounts are retrieved either through interviews (present and past) and/or public record … they are told from a first-person perspective (we’re seeing what they saw). A collection of glossy photos in the middle of the book allows readers to put faces to some of the stories being told.
I appreciated the way Busch provided details of almost every individual named throughout the book, not just those providing the narratives. Footnotes detail the dates, places of birth and death (if applicable), as well as the dates of promotions and stages of any decorations awarded. I found this meticulous approach to detail quite impressive. The ranks and duties of all the individual stories are varied as well, adding a ground-up perspective to the whole picture. Additionally, we are provided the post-war status of the storytellers, including steps in their careers and where they are today (if living). Several of the men actually survived being a POW of the Soviet Union … a subject I wish Busch would consider for a future project.
SURVIVORS OF STALINGRAD is a unique book in that I haven’t been able to find anything comparable to it … most books about Stalingrad are overviews told by an individual (usually a historian). Considering the scant number of Germans who survived Stalingrad are still living, I feel this book serves as an important missing-link to the battle’s entire story.
I’ve been waiting for a book that compiled individual accounts of the German experience in Stalingrad and finally, with SURVIVORS OF STALINGRAD, there is one. Editor, Reinhold Busch, has compiled 39 individual and diverse accounts of German soldiers and airmen who either escaped the Stalingrad “Kessel”/pocket or became prisoners and lived to tell about it.
Busch, who has previously published his research of German surgeons in the battle of Stalingrad, provides an interesting and unique visage of the depravity experienced by an entire army left to fend for themselves after being surrounded by a motivated and vindictive Red Army. With temperatures falling to sub-zero levels and still wearing uniforms suited for spring and summer, each soldier/airman’s account echoes a recurring theme of futility and misery. The stories provide a broad perspective of the epic battle’s final days, giving readers a better understanding of the chaos and downright fear that blanketed those trapped inside the pocket … from the frontline infantryman lacking ammunition and support to airmen dealing with the flood of terrified and wounded soldiers swarming their planes in a desperate attempt to flee captivity and certain death.
Each chapter represents an individual’s account and while they are all different, most all manage to touch on the same points: personal filth, extreme hunger, the unbearable cold, unburied dead, the soon-to-be-dead wounded and the Red Army bearing down. With the exception of a few, the stories range from two to six pages in length. Some of the accounts are more interesting than others, but they all combine to provide a better overall picture of the entire situation facing Germans before von Paulus’ surrender (one account even included that moment). Unlike most books involving personal recollections of war, I found it hard to view these men (in the circumstances they were in) as instruments of the once-vaunted, steamrolling Nazi war machine, but a string of forgotten left-overs whose fate depended mostly on good-fortune. There are a few “fighting to the end” scenarios presented, but most stories reflect a desperate effort to escape certain death from hunger, freezing to death or at the hands of vengeful Russian captors. The images presented are quite bleak and I found the book less war-like and more of a collection of human interest/survival stories. The accounts are retrieved either through interviews (present and past) and/or public record … they are told from a first-person perspective (we’re seeing what they saw). A collection of glossy photos in the middle of the book allows readers to put faces to some of the stories being told.
I appreciated the way Busch provided details of almost every individual named throughout the book, not just those providing the narratives. Footnotes detail the dates, places of birth and death (if applicable), as well as the dates of promotions and stages of any decorations awarded. I found this meticulous approach to detail quite impressive. The ranks and duties of all the individual stories are varied as well, adding a ground-up perspective to the whole picture. Additionally, we are provided the post-war status of the storytellers, including steps in their careers and where they are today (if living). Several of the men actually survived being a POW of the Soviet Union … a subject I wish Busch would consider for a future project.
SURVIVORS OF STALINGRAD is a unique book in that I haven’t been able to find anything comparable to it … most books about Stalingrad are overviews told by an individual (usually a historian). Considering the scant number of Germans who survived Stalingrad are still living, I feel this book serves as an important missing-link to the battle’s entire story.
January 8, 2018
Military history at its best. A must-read for any fan of military history - especially ww2.
Really ill at the moment, so will write the review this book deserves when I am better.
Really ill at the moment, so will write the review this book deserves when I am better.
January 5, 2020
Individual stories of survivors, invariably wounded and flown out of the pocket, who cheated death in a gruesome manner.
Just one of the most brutal battles in history. The suffering jumps off the pages.
Just one of the most brutal battles in history. The suffering jumps off the pages.
September 19, 2022
Best first person recollections of the hellish heights of unexpected beauty and humanity intertwined with the gangrenous violence and carnal horror that is
Hand yo hand combat in urban conditions. The things these men who were often farmers or merchants , miners etc in
Civilian life - all were handed a torturous fate in the “Fortress” . The amount of never found elsewhere facts and eyewitness testimony is unparalleled- at times both heart wrenching and breath taking. The lush and visceral imagery as told by these survivors will stay with you long after the last recollection. I bought it after downloading a pirated copy and bought a copy for my 98 years old German Ostfront solider and former POW in Stalinist gulag who said that during his time in the Russian pow camps which he had during his time in the Stalinist gulag ( it was wicked to let evil Stalin put the innocent German shoulder in his death camps - screw Roosevelt the kiss ass fool! My freind meant survivors of Stalingrad and said they no longer could speak/ the trauma they endured rendered them non verbal - mutes.
A wonderful worthy tome for any axis scholar
Hand yo hand combat in urban conditions. The things these men who were often farmers or merchants , miners etc in
Civilian life - all were handed a torturous fate in the “Fortress” . The amount of never found elsewhere facts and eyewitness testimony is unparalleled- at times both heart wrenching and breath taking. The lush and visceral imagery as told by these survivors will stay with you long after the last recollection. I bought it after downloading a pirated copy and bought a copy for my 98 years old German Ostfront solider and former POW in Stalinist gulag who said that during his time in the Russian pow camps which he had during his time in the Stalinist gulag ( it was wicked to let evil Stalin put the innocent German shoulder in his death camps - screw Roosevelt the kiss ass fool! My freind meant survivors of Stalingrad and said they no longer could speak/ the trauma they endured rendered them non verbal - mutes.
A wonderful worthy tome for any axis scholar
February 20, 2025
Increíble labor documental sobre el cerco de Stalingrado y las atrocidades que alli sucedieron.
October 2, 2021
Wow!
Super faina cartea!
Seamana mult cu Svetlana Aleksievici.
Super faina cartea!
Seamana mult cu Svetlana Aleksievici.
May 3, 2019
More than fifty biographical memoirs from Stalingrad, encirclement of friendly,well mannered, educated,with calm temperament, soldiers who faced tempered situation, beyond anyone's coping abilities.
Starvation,wounds,frost, the only way, it seems was to try to survive from one moment to another while.
This book is good because of its ability to imagine how it was in exact way, as these soldiers has wrote. And Polish edition has nice font that wideness that work through approximately additional 337 pages , making 583.
Starvation,wounds,frost, the only way, it seems was to try to survive from one moment to another while.
This book is good because of its ability to imagine how it was in exact way, as these soldiers has wrote. And Polish edition has nice font that wideness that work through approximately additional 337 pages , making 583.
December 24, 2018
A must read for anyone trying to glorify the WWII, or any war for that matter, regardless of what country they pretend to be patriots of. Brutal depiction of nearly unbearable human suffering in the most difficult conditions of persistent cold, hunger, and fighting.
August 2, 2023
I knew these stories would be very grim, so I wasn't at all surprised by just how grim many were. If anything, the narratives were toned-down (they were translated from German of course). Most of them came from survivors, those who were able to escape after the encirclement in November 1942, or who were injured and evacuated before that happened. A few came from those fortunate ones who were released from Soviet captivity in the late 1940s or up to 1955. The stories of those who perished are of course lost in the sands of time. I think it is very difficult to use words to describe the situations in which these men found themselves - the cold, the pain, the hunger, the fear. They were written or narrated many years after the events took place so time might have softened the memories to a degree. What is surprising is the lack of anger or hatred toward the Soviet soldiers, and the apparent respect each had for the other (that ended once the Germans were handed over from the front-line troops and moved rearwards). This book is broken down into easily readable narratives of a few pages and is, even today, well worth reading. That so many hundreds of thousands of troops could be so mislead and their lives squandered is the real horror of this story.
December 15, 2022
Horrifying
This is a collection of personal reminiscences by German soldiers who survived the battle of Stalingrad and, in some cases, Soviet captivity following the German surrender as well. It would be helpful if the reader had a general acquaintance with the Stalingrad fighting, and a Wikipedia article should suffice for that. This was one of the worst battles in the savage war between the Germans (and their allies) and the Soviet Union. The German 6th Army was destroyed, and the Soviets suffered enormous casualties as well. When the 6th Army ultimately surrendered in early 1943, only 91,000 men were left to be taken prisoner. Of those 91,000, between five and six thousand returned to Germany after the war. The others perished in captivity. The reminiscences describe in detail, sometimes in graphic detail, the brutal fighting. When reading the book the phrase "war is hell" will frequently come to mind.
This is a collection of personal reminiscences by German soldiers who survived the battle of Stalingrad and, in some cases, Soviet captivity following the German surrender as well. It would be helpful if the reader had a general acquaintance with the Stalingrad fighting, and a Wikipedia article should suffice for that. This was one of the worst battles in the savage war between the Germans (and their allies) and the Soviet Union. The German 6th Army was destroyed, and the Soviets suffered enormous casualties as well. When the 6th Army ultimately surrendered in early 1943, only 91,000 men were left to be taken prisoner. Of those 91,000, between five and six thousand returned to Germany after the war. The others perished in captivity. The reminiscences describe in detail, sometimes in graphic detail, the brutal fighting. When reading the book the phrase "war is hell" will frequently come to mind.
December 26, 2022
Stalingrad is acknowledged as the worst battle in the history of war.
This tells the personal stories of 40 German soldiers who survived the battle either by being shipped home by plane wounded or going into Russian captivity and being released to return home years later.
Fragmented in parts as there are many separate incidents described through the eyes of an individual but in the end you get the sense of how horrible it must have been in that cauldron surrounded on all sides without hope , low on ammunition, abandoned and starving in the freezing cold for months, yet still fighting till the very end.
This tells the personal stories of 40 German soldiers who survived the battle either by being shipped home by plane wounded or going into Russian captivity and being released to return home years later.
Fragmented in parts as there are many separate incidents described through the eyes of an individual but in the end you get the sense of how horrible it must have been in that cauldron surrounded on all sides without hope , low on ammunition, abandoned and starving in the freezing cold for months, yet still fighting till the very end.
May 2, 2023
Very solid book for anyone interested in the topic. It does get a bit repetitive at times, but overall it achieves the goal at showing what a horrendous, miserable experience this was for the German soldiers and their allies.
There are a few highly memorable interactions and memories, which I will not spoil here, which definitely make checking out the book memorable. But this is not a book aimed at pulling at your heartstrings or explaining military strategy. It does not cast blame either. It's just a collection of snapshots.
There are a few highly memorable interactions and memories, which I will not spoil here, which definitely make checking out the book memorable. But this is not a book aimed at pulling at your heartstrings or explaining military strategy. It does not cast blame either. It's just a collection of snapshots.
March 7, 2019
Busch has accomplished some incredible research with this work. He didn't really write it, but let aging German veterans tell their stories.
Warning -- this is one of the most gruesome non-fiction books I've ever read, on a level of the Gary Jennings historical fiction piece "Aztec." Brace yourselves. I had to take a break in the middle of this one.
Warning -- this is one of the most gruesome non-fiction books I've ever read, on a level of the Gary Jennings historical fiction piece "Aztec." Brace yourselves. I had to take a break in the middle of this one.
August 30, 2019
This is a very interesting book because it is told from the German soldiers side and we usually just get books from the American perspective. I knew Stalingrad was a blood bath but this really brought it into focus. The suffering, the cold the inhumane treatment by both sides, horrible. It is always amazing what hell the human body, mind and soul can absorb and then go on with in life.
April 9, 2019
Stalingrad remains a name synonymous with suffering and the horrors of war. Busch has captured the last voices of the survivors of that deadly conflict and brilliantly compiled them into a powerful and moving tome.
January 7, 2024
Brutal accounts of hardship and inhuman conditions.
I give it 4stars not for easy reading but for the invaluable first hand accounts
of what happened there.
Now I'd would like to read accounts from the Russian perspectives.
One thing is clear war is bad.
I give it 4stars not for easy reading but for the invaluable first hand accounts
of what happened there.
Now I'd would like to read accounts from the Russian perspectives.
One thing is clear war is bad.
May 26, 2024
First hand accounts of ‘the Pocket’ Stalingrad
Nice variety of first hand experiences in one of the deadliest conflicts.
These interviews paint a complete picture of what really happened at Stalingrad.
Humanity reduced to an unbelievable level.
Nice variety of first hand experiences in one of the deadliest conflicts.
These interviews paint a complete picture of what really happened at Stalingrad.
Humanity reduced to an unbelievable level.
May 2, 2018
It would have been nice to have a story. Instead these are flash backs, not even sketches.
February 22, 2022
a great insight
Usually, books on Stalingrad are hopelessly biased. This one is remarkably balanced. It blamed Italians and Romanians a little much
Usually, books on Stalingrad are hopelessly biased. This one is remarkably balanced. It blamed Italians and Romanians a little much
May 8, 2022
Good read about a grim war incident
September 20, 2016
A unique telling of the horrors that the doomed members of 6th Army endured while surrounded at Stalingrad because of the insane policy of the madman Hitler and because the Field Marshal, Paulus, was too frightened to save his men.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a different perspective on the tragedy that was Stalingrad.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a different perspective on the tragedy that was Stalingrad.
September 10, 2016
The true horrors of war told by people that amazingly lived through it.
The stories at times were hard to follow because the incidents related disjointed which happens to people in war but are a true reflection of the hell these men went through.
The stories at times were hard to follow because the incidents related disjointed which happens to people in war but are a true reflection of the hell these men went through.
November 28, 2015
There are few accounts of survivors who escaped the Stalingrad Kessel - this is a great collection of relatively short accounts from many different ranks, who in many cases had quite remarkable escapes, luck and good fortune play a significant part in many of the stories.
What is underlying throughout is the sheer horror of the conflict, the huge number of losses, the bitter cold, hunger, depravation and human suffering.
It adds a new dimension to the battle and is well worth adding to the collection. Great for the commute!
What is underlying throughout is the sheer horror of the conflict, the huge number of losses, the bitter cold, hunger, depravation and human suffering.
It adds a new dimension to the battle and is well worth adding to the collection. Great for the commute!
November 21, 2017
This is a bloody good book and a good read. It contains about 39 memoirs from the German side of how various people survived the battle. What amazed and hit me like a hammer was the unflinching reality this book provides - you won't get action sequences a la Michael Bay or old fashioned shoot-outs, but you'll hopefully get a feeling what it meant to survive or to die in Stalingrad, in the 6th Army. Highly recommend!
September 7, 2022
Incredibly sobering to read and digest what these soldiers went through and experienced daily. I believe it would not be far-fetched to say it is unfathomable to imagine what it would have been like to have been in their shoes.
Stalingrad is remembered as being one of if not the most bloodiest battle in the history of warfare. These accounts by the individuals who experienced that carnage gives clear insight on why it is remembered the way that it is.
Stalingrad is remembered as being one of if not the most bloodiest battle in the history of warfare. These accounts by the individuals who experienced that carnage gives clear insight on why it is remembered the way that it is.
January 1, 2017
Another excellent account of men who lived to tell the tale of the bloodies conflict in the Twentieth Century.
The story is a collection of thirty-nine individual accounts. It was very interesting following the battle around Stalingrad and then being able to fit all the participants accounts into a broad overview of the shrinking pocket.
Five stars.
The story is a collection of thirty-nine individual accounts. It was very interesting following the battle around Stalingrad and then being able to fit all the participants accounts into a broad overview of the shrinking pocket.
Five stars.
December 23, 2015
This is a stunning book - a series of recollections written in the participants own words. It digs down another layer below the usual Stalingrad histories to lay the inhumanity of war open to view. Requires a strong stomache.
July 20, 2016
Actually finished months ago, forgot to log it lol
Just an excellent book. First hand accounts are pretty surreal.
Just an excellent book. First hand accounts are pretty surreal.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews