The holocaust;: From a survivor of Verdun

by William Hermanns

Book by Hermanns, William

Genres: History

141 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

William Hermanns (1895-1990) was one of the best personally informed authorities of the events in Germany from World War I through the Hitler era who recorded and expressed his experiences primarily as a poet, but also as a writer of books plays and a couple of songs, which we will feature on this site.

Dr. Hermanns was an academician, as well, having earned his doctorate in Sociology, and was prepared for a diplomatic career with the League of Nations, but that international attempt at peace had an early ending with Mussolini's march into Abysinia (Ethopia). He would later in the United States become a Professor in German Language and Literature at San Jose State College (now University).

His gift to the world was as a Poet Sociologist shining light on conscience, that he learned to respect on his journey from the imaginary hero self as a volunteer soldier marching at the side of his Kaiser victoriously through the Arc de Triomphe to his discovery of conscience and its guiding power in the trenches of war.

His vow, screamed from the battlefield of Verdun upon being half-buried by an exploding shell, "God, save me and I will serve You as long as I live!" remained present to him everyday of the rest of his life.

William Hermanns died 26 years ago on April 6, 1990 - on July 23, 2015 he would have been 120 years old (which was his goal because of some biblical king who achieved it). May the Principles he cherished be recognized in you.

Reviews

[Ken Norton]

This is an excellent account of a young man's discovery of his conscience after his passionate volunteering to join the army with dreams of marching triumphantly through the enemy's capitol. This battle for his loyalty between patriotism and his conscience sense of a shared humanity is graphically portrayed amidst the horrors of the battlefield. Whether German, American or another citizen, in 1916 or 1966, 2006, or 2016 many young people will face this choice.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This tragically misnamed book has no direct connection to The Holocaust, but refers to a holocaust, namely the quixotic battle of Verdun during WWI. There is no doubt that this was a battle of enormous proportions -- one of the longest and largest ever waged -- but one simply has to wonder why, given the author's obvious skill with words, he could not have chosen a title which was more apropos. Be that as it may, William Hermanns' first-hand account is a chilling, fast-paced read which traces his journey from an idealistic German youth with visions of honor and glory, and ambitions to become an officer, to a defeated, disillusioned, contrite prisoner of war. The book end with Hermanns' letter to the Kaiser, written from a French POW camp, in which he minces no words in accusing his supreme commander of the most myopic and petty sorts of power lust. As a protest against war in general, "The Holocaust" is as effective as any autobiographical tale of modern warfare can be, and it is significant that it was written at the height of the Vietnam War, when Hermanns had settle in the U.S. as a writer and academic. Still, one cannot help but wish he had drawn a stronger connection to the subsequent events which allowed for the ascendency of Adolph Hitler, the rise to power of Nazi party, and The Holocaust, events which, after all, did directly impact Hermanns and his family: he was forced to flee Germany as an intellectual enemy of the state while his sister, to whom this volume is dedicated, lost her life in a Nazi concentration camp.

[Linda Morand · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story of a young man coming to terms with how wrong war is.