To Die in Spring

by Ralf Rothmann, Shaun Whiteside (Translator)

Walter Urban and Friedich 'Fiete' Caroli work side by side as hands on a dairy farm in northern Germany. By 1945, it seems the War's worst atrocities are over. When they are forced to 'volunteer' for the SS, they find themselves embroiled in a conflict which is drawing to a desperate, bloody close. Walter is put to work as a driver for a supply unit of the Waffen-SS, while Fiete is sent to the front. When the senseless bloodshed leads Fiete to desert, only to be captured and sentenced to death, the friends are reunited under catastrophic circumstances.

In a few days the war will be over, millions of innocents will be dead, and the survivors must find a way to live with its legacy.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, War, World War II, German Literature, Germany, Historical

208 pages, Hardcover

First published June 20, 2015

About the author

Ralf Rothmann wurde am 10.05.1953 in Schleswig geboren und wuchs im Ruhrgebiet auf. Nach der Volksschule (und einem kurzen Besuch der Handelsschule) machte er eine Maurerlehre, arbeitete mehrere Jahre auf dem Bau und danach in verschiedenen Berufen (unter anderem als Drucker, Krankenpfleger und Koch). Er lebt seit 1976 in Berlin.

Reviews

[Colin Baldwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unembellished anti-war novel told from the German perspective. No clear heroes in this one. The text and dialogue are matter of fact, impassive and detached, which, for me, added some authenticity because there was nothing easy or poetic about the last days of WWII. It was difficult to fully connect with the characters, just as these damaged people tried to connect with each other through the generations.
War - don’t get me started!
A dismal tale, yet a satisfactory read.

[Mark Porton · Rating 3 out of 5]

To Die in Spring by Ralf Rothman takes us to the end of WWII, the Allies are closing in on Germany from the West and the Russians from the East. Walter Urban and Fiete Caroli are two young lads, working on a diary farm in Northern Germany in 1945 and are recruited to the armed branch of the SS – the Waffen SS. This period saw many young boys recruited to the Nazi armed forces, even though Nazi defeat was inevitable.



Walter was recruited as a driver to keep the front line supplied, and Fiete was sent to the front lines to fight. Of course, it was brutal – these guys were smashed by the Russian air force, day in, day out. The Russian infantry , in particular, were brutal - particularly to the SS troops.

The sky over the park was bright. The burning air made their lungs ache and their eyes stream. The Russians had bombed the part of the town on the other side of the lake with phosphorus. Stuck to the melting tarmac, soldiers burned up in black smoke

The author here paints a very grim picture of the battlefield, and the utter destruction of the towns and cities of Germany at the time. The drama involving the two boys escalates when one decides to desert. This results in a trail of devastating events for these boys, something that one will have to live with for the rest of his life.

Fiete spat out some tobacco ‘and once when I mentioned my dreams, he told me that the cells of our bodies have memories, semen, and ovaries too, and that’s what gets passed down. If you’re mentally or physically injured it does something to the next generation'

The author describes the battlefront environs graphically, it’s horrible. However, I had an issue with the lack of development of the characters, even the main ones – the boys. I didn’t real feel much for the boys, as they lacked depth – a bit wooden. I should have been bawling my eyes out, this from someone who sobs during the nightly weather forecast.

It’s a shame – as the scene was set for a real emotional experience here. It’s good enough to keep one interested though.

3 Stars

[Zuky the BookBum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me start this review with this: I cried on the train because of this novel.

Towards the end of WWII, the Russians and the Americans were closing in and Germany were desperate. Boys, as young as 8 !!, were being forced into becoming soldiers and pushed to the front to fight for a country that were losing, brutally. Thousands of children’s lives were lost.

In this book we meet Walter and Fiete, both young men, aged 17, who are forced into becoming SS soldiers. They are best friends, but they’re very different. Walter is reserved and respectful, Fiete is loud, sarcastic and happy to voice his opinion on what he thinks of the war. Unfortunately, Fiete gets pushed on the front line, fighting a war he thinks is idiotic, so he attempts to desert. Deserters get executed by their own men.

This novel is so beautiful yet so horrible. You can’t really think of this novel as fiction when you know the contents within probably happened to thousands of teenagers. It’s so distressing when you think about how people were treated and how they lived during the war and this book represents it perfectly.

Reading this book, the fear and melancholy of being a soldier fighting a losing battle creeps through your bones. You’re there, stuck in a rotting basement, scared of death yet willing it on, just to get out. I applaud Rothmann for making those feelings so real in me… A young woman, sat on her train going into another day of work, of safety, but with goosebumps, because in her mind, she’s stuck outside in the cold, desperately trying to find a hiding place from the American war planes flying over.

This novel is an emotionally charged story about the brutality of war and the awful things young men were forced to do, just to have their pathetic Fuhrer shamefully kill himself and the battle be lost. I urge any person who likes to read war books, to read this one. The writing is stunning, the characters are real, and the story is harrowing.

Thanks to Picador Books for providing me with an arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 5 out of 5]

(revised for readability in July 2024).

A powerful novel about two ordinary German working class boys, who are apprentices on farms learning how to milk cows, and are drafted into the army in the last harrowing months of the war when Hitler's Nazi Gauleiters were determined that every possible male would be thrown away in pointless fighting (well every man that is except for themselves). This is a horrifying tale told beautifully about two ordinary boys caught in the most horrendous of circumstances. It is a tale of how ultimate evil consumes everything. Although brief it has deservedly been compared to All Quiet on the Western Front.

It is a fabulous novel, one that lingers in the mind and emotions. I can't help commenting on the wealth of both memoir and literary accounts now available in English which tell the story of ordinary Germans, particularly during the later part of WWII. It is a voice that was for too long, even if for understandable reasons, absent from our view of WWII. Acknowledging those voices and experiences doesn't excuse, justify or diminish what was done to the many who suffered at German hands, it ways their sufferings adds an additional dimension to the monstrousness of the Nazi regime. It consumed everyone and everything indiscriminately in a way that is impossible to completely grasp.

If we weep for ordinary German boys like those in 'To Die in the Spring' it doesn't mean we are taking tears away from all the others who suffered and died, we are simply sharing our tears. There will never be enough tears to assuage the pain and horror of those years but, least we fall into the trap of Nazis of reserving our emotions only for certain worthy people, we must weep for everyone.

[Geevee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Late in WWII Germany, Walter is eighteen and a farmhand training to be a milker [of cows]. He is press-ganged, with his friend Fiete, into the Waffen SS and is assigned, after a few weeks' training, as a transport driver in the Waffen SS, where he is deployed to Hungary as the continued retreat on the Eastern front from the Russians in progress.

Told through the eyes of some notes/writings made by Walter to his son in later life, the weeks leading up to Walther's press-ganging give us a understanding of life on the farm and the wishes of Walter, his friends Fiete, Elizabeth (Liesel), Ortrud and Hedwig and the families lives.

Once press-ganged, and following that brief training the story shows both Walter and Fiete join their unit. Days are long, dangerous - notably from Russian and Allied fighter aircraft - and fraught with rough conditions and harsh treatment.

Events led them to question the point of the war and how long will it last. Decisions are made that create circumstances in the moment they have to deal with and also ones that are life changing events.

To Die in Spring is a good fictional story of young Germans thrust into the final weeks of WWII.

Published in German as Im Frühling sterben by Suhrkamp Verlag in 2015. My copy was the Picador (Pan Macmillan) hardback 2017 version translated by Shaun Whiteside.

[Argos · Rating 5 out of 5]

2. Dünya Savaşı’nın farklı bir pencereden, Almanların gözünden anlatıldığı çok etkileyici bir roman. Çoğunlukla Hitler faşizmini ve nazi vahşetini onların kurbanları üzerinden anlatılan hikayelerden, yahudi soykırımı, toplama kampları gibi konuları içeren romanlardan okumuşuzdur. “Baharda Ölmek”de bu kez kurbanlar bizzat Alman halkı, tabii masum olanlar.

Hem başlarındaki Führer delisinin ari ırk ve büyük Germen imparatorluğu yalanlarına inanan hem de yoksulluk ve propaganda sonucu nazilere yaslanan insanlardan başka, bir de iradeleri dışında savaşa sürüklenen Alman halkının varlığını Ralf Rothmann çok güzel anlatmış. Yazarın yaşına bakmasam kitapta anlatılanları yaşamış zannedecek derecede içten bir anlatım var. Dilinin kusursuzluğunun yanısıra, çaresizlik, tükeniş, çöküş duygularını mükemmel bir anlatımla veriyor Rothmann.

Daha ergenlikten yeni çıkmış savaş nedir doğru düzgün bilmeyen bir genç, sivil hayatta çiftlikte ineklere bakan Walter üzerinden anlatılıyor roman. Zorla askere alınan Walter’in yanında yakın arkadaşı Fiete de vardır. Bu delikanlılar gibi binlerce genç ne olduğunu anlamadan Reich ordusuna alınırlar önce orada üstleri ve ruh sağlığı bozuk SS subayları tarafından, daha sonra da esir düştükleri müttefik devletlerin orduları tarafından ruhsal ve fiziki işkence ve ardından zulme uğrarlar. Bu travmalarla birlikte savaşın doğaya, çevreye, kültür ve sanat eserlerine, bina ve yapılara tabii ki insanlara hangi tarafa ait olduğuna bakılmaksızın zarar verdiğini, yarattığı trajediyi içiniz burkularak okuyorsunuz.

[Banu Yıldıran Genç · Rating 5 out of 5]

milliyetçi ve militaristlere döve döve okutulacak kitaplar listeme kafadan girdi.
savaşın kaybedilmesi aşikar olduğu halde zorunlu gönüllü olarak askere alınan süt sağıcısı 17 yaşındaki walter’ın yaşadıkları, en yakın arkadaşının ölümüne şahit olması hatta öldürmesi gerekmesi... hayvanların, suçsuz insanların ölümleri... kaybedeceği belliyken iyice vahşileşen nazi askerleri. korkunç korkunç.
walter tüm bu vahşetin içinde iyi kalmaya çalışıyor. bir yahudiye konserve et, yorgun bir eşeğe şeker vermeye çalışması gözleri yaşartıyor. ralf rothmann çok iyi bir anlatıcı, insanı da doğayı da duyguları da incelikle aktarıyor.

[Sandra Deaconu · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 steluțe. Stilul seamănă cu cel al lui Sven Hassel: rece, obiectiv, care pune accent pe fapte și nu îți dă vreme și voie să te atașezi de personaje. A devenit mai profundă abia în ultima parte, când s-a revanșat cu câteva momente emoționante.

,,S-aduci ceva pe lume. Asta-i munca cea mai dură. Să omoare și să distrugă poate orice idiot.''

[Kris McCracken · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the more brutal coming of age novels that I've read in a while. The story begins at the end of a life, as a son struggles to understand an aloof father who is going through a slow, albeit uneventful death. Then we flash back to the youth of the father, exploring the most formative period of his life. A diary apprentice who is press-ganged into the Waffen-SS in the dying days of World War II.

Here, things get rough.

Intimate, beautiful, delicate and brutal all at once, this is a magnificent work.

[nettebuecherkiste · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sprecher: Thomas Sarbacher

Dauer: 6 h 16 min

Anfang 1945 ist Deutschlands Niederlage im 2. Weltkrieg absehbar, doch die beiden erst 17-jährigen Melker Walter und Fiete werden für die Waffen-SS zwangsrekrutiert. Walter hat das Glück, einen Führerschein zu haben, und wird daher als Fahrer eingesetzt, Fiete hingegen wird zur Front geschickt. Einmal verletzt davongekommen, ist es für ihn undenkbar, kurz vor Kriegsende noch einmal zur Front zurückkehren zu müssen. Es kommt, wie es kommen muss, Fiete desertiert, wird gefasst und Walter soll zum Erschießungskommando gehören, das seinen Freund hinrichten muss. Es wird ihn für immer prägen.

Ralf Rothmanns Roman über die Grausamkeit des Krieges befasst sich mit einer besonders perfiden Praxis des deutschen Militärs gegen Ende des zweiten Weltkrieges, und zwar der “Verheizung” der eigenen Jugend für das sinnlose Ankämpfen gegen den sicheren Untergang. Eine Praxis, die – wie ich finde – ganz besonders schwer zu ertragen ist. Ich erinnere mich daran, wie ich das erste Mal den Film “Die Brücke” von Bernhard Wicki gesehen habe, der diese unsägliche Grausamkeit besonders eindringlich darstellt. Dieser Aspekt ist natürlich nicht der einzige, der schwer zu ertragen ist an dem Buch, die Entsetzlichkeiten des Kampfs, Grausamkeiten gegen die Zivilbevölkerung, die Tatsache, dass die Kameraden ihren eigenen Freund erschießen müssen, das alles macht den Roman zu einer schwer zu schluckenden Lektüre. Die man jedoch gelesen haben sollte, genauso wie man den noch unerträglicheren Roman “Im Westen nichts Neues” von Erich Maria Remarque gelesen haben sollte, nicht nur, um das Bewusstsein für die Unerbittlichkeit des Krieges zu stärken und dazu beizutragen, weitere Kriege unbedingt zu verhindern, sondern auch, um die vom Krieg traumatisierten und unter den Spätfolgen leidenden Generationen besser zu verstehen. Schließlich führt uns Rothmann auch vor Augen, dass Mitglieder der Waffen-SS keineswegs automatisch Unmenschen waren, oft ließ man ihnen keine Wahl.

Rothmann wählt dabei eine schnörkellose, gut lesbare Sprache, der man sich nicht entziehen kann. Umschlossen wird das Buch von einer Rahmenhandlung, Walter ist inzwischen alt und todkrank, hat jedoch sein ganzes Leben über die Vorfälle im Krieg geschwiegen, wie es so typisch ist für diese Generation. Erst durch alte Bilder erfährt sein Sohn von der Geschichte seines Vaters.

Zum Hörbuch: Thomas Sarbacher liest angenehm, in einem für das Buch angemessenen Ton, solide Leistung.

[George K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Πρόκειται για ένα μικρό σε μέγεθος μυθιστόρημα αλλά μεγάλο σε εικόνες και συναισθήματα, το οποίο συνδυάζει το πολεμικό δράμα με την ιστορία ενηλικίωσης. Γινόμαστε μάρτυρες των τελευταίων μηνών του Β' Π.Π. στην Ευρώπη, και συγκεκριμένα στη Γερμανία, όπου το καταραμένο Γ' Ράιχ καταρρέει με πάταγο. Ως γνωστόν, στους τελευταίους μήνες του πολέμου, οι Ναζί δεν δίστασαν να χρησιμοποιήσουν εφήβους ως στρατιώτες και να τους στείλουν στο μέτωπο, για να αντιμετωπίσουν τους εχθρούς της χώρας. Παιδιά της πόλης και αγροτόπαιδα στάλθηκαν στα πεδία μάχης για να καταλήξουν τροφή για τα σκουλήκια. Κύριο πρόσωπο της ιστορίας είναι ο Βάλτερ Ούρμπαν, που από εκεί που άρμεγε γελάδια, κατέληξε με ένα όπλο στο χέρι. Η ιστορία είναι αρκετά δυνατή και εξαιρετικά καλογραμμένη, με τις περιγραφές των διαφόρων τοπίων και γεγονότων να είναι ωμές, ρεαλιστικές αλλά συχνά πυκνά και ποιητικές. Ο συγγραφέας κατάφερε να με καθηλώσει από τις πρώτες κιόλας σελίδες και να με κάνει ένα με τον πρωταγωνιστή, που έζησε και είδε πολλά άσχημα πράγματα. Μιλάμε για ένα σαφώς αντιπολεμικό δράμα που φωτίζει ένα από τα πολλά σκοτεινά σημεία της ιστορίας του Β' Π.Π. Ουσιαστικά για μικρολεπτομέρειες δεν του βάζω πέντε αστεράκια. Σίγουρα είναι ένα αντιπολεμικό μυθιστόρημα που προτείνω με κλειστά μάτια.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are, of course, many novels that focus on the extreme inhumanity of Germany’s Waffen SS during the World War II years. I don’t recall, though, reading a novel that showcases what involuntary conscription did to Germany’s own soldiers. To Die in Spring fills that gap.

Two teenage German dairy farm apprentices, Walter and Friedrich, are on the precipice of claiming their lives when they are forced to join the losing Waffen SS effort – right at the time when Russia is advancing. In doing so, they are plunged into a hellish world of continual bombardments, the dying and amputated, and shell-shocked commanders. As the war efforts give up their last gasp, the innocent, pink-cheeked boys are lost in a Dante’s inferno landscape – Walter as part of the supply chain unit and cynical and caustic Fiete (as he is known) as more fodder for the frontline.

There are searing and unforgettable scenes: the bodies of emaciated German deserters labeled “coward” hanging from trees, starving livestock, a tortured blind woman and her hunchback husband who were deemed to be complicit and so forth. Perhaps no scene is quite as haunting as the reunification of the two young friends at one critical juncture in the novel – every word vibrates with meaning and the scene is so galvanizing that it literally took my breath away. Spare and harrowing, this novel serves as a poignant look at the lunacy of war.

[Leylak Dalı · Rating 4 out of 5]

Çok etkileyici bir okuma idi. İkinci Dünya savaşının sonlarına doğru askere alınan iki süt sağıcı gencin yaşadıkları ve savaşın travmaları incelikli ve ayrıntılı bir dille anlatılmış. Çok trajikti, bir o kadar da edebi yönü kuvvetli bir kitaptı. Okuyun derim...

[Christos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Οι τελευταίες καταστροφικές μέρες του Γ' Ράιχ μέσα από τα μάτια ενός "εθελοντικά" στρατολογημένου στα SS αγροτόπαιδου και πως η ζωή τελικά βρίσκει πάντα τον τρόπο να συνεχιστεί ακόμα και μέσα από έναν τέτοιο όλεθρο. Ένα καλό αντιπολεμικό βιβλίο.

[Paola Rinaldi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Se avete pensato a De André e a La guerra di Piero, ci avete quasi preso. Si parla di primavera e di guerra, l’ultima primavera della Seconda Guerra Mondiale, quando la Germania nazista è prossima alla sconfitta ma rastrella le campagne e le città in cerca di ragazzini da mandare a morire sul fronte con una divisa che sembra sempre troppo grande. I rametti di betulla che si vedono sulla sobria e drammatica copertina dell’edizione originale sono quelli che si usavano per costruire improvvisate croci da mettere sulle sterminate distese di soldatini uccisi e lasciati lì, mentre si avanza nonostante tutto, quasi con la speranza di essere catturati dagli Americani, perché l’alternativa è morire per le ferite o trapassati dai russi.
Di nuovo un altro libro sulla guerra? E che noia, si potrebbe pensare. Ma mentre la guerra è sempre la guerra, anche se spostata nel tempo e nello spazio, ci sono libri e libri sulla guerra. E di romanzi come questo, credetemi, ce ne sono pochissimi e vanno proprio letti.
Walter e Fiete sono due ragazzi di 17 anni che di mestiere mungono mucche, perché senza latte come si farebbe, anche e soprattutto in guerra? Certo sono più utili lì che sul fronte, dove i russi e gli americani stanno chiaramente per avere la meglio, nonostante i messaggi roboanti della propaganda nazista (anche i tedeschi ascoltano la radio del nemico), ma le SS non sembrano essere della stessa opinione: ormai si ricorre agli stratagemmi più puerili per obbligare gli adolescenti ad arruolarsi, e una sera ci cascano anche i due amici. Spediti tutti e due in Ungheria, lasciandosi dietro le due fidanzate e il posto in stalla, per Walter le cose vanno meno peggio (fa l’autista), mentre Fiete finisce al fronte, viene ferito, alla bell’e meglio ‘ricucito’ e di nuovo mandato al fronte. Fiete, un po’ poeta un po’ contadino insieme, non regge e fugge, solo per venir catturato dai suoi dopo pochi passi e condannato a morte. Il plotone d’esecuzione è fatto dalla camerata in cui si trova anche Walter. Non serve andare oltre con la trama, perché c’è già tutto quello su cui il lettore si sente costantemente interrogato durante la lettura del romanzo: di fatto, la narrazione si apre con il figlio di Walter che si interroga sui silenzi di suo padre, morto a sessantuno anni di vecchiaia, di logorio, consumato dai punti interrogativi di domande che non è mai nemmeno riuscito a tradurre in parole. Cosa avremmo fatto noi al posto di Walter? Al posto di Fiete? Saremmo partiti, avremmo obbedito o ci saremmo opposti, accettando le conseguenze (leggi: la morte)? E cosa avremmo fatto al posto delle fidanzate (oddio, a 17 anni si hanno già fidanzate?!), dei genitori, dei datori di lavori rimasti a casa ma non per questo risparmiati dagli orrori della guerra? Cosa avremmo fatto al posto degli ungheresi occupati? Cosa faremmo, se fossimo in guerra? Perché se Walter e Fiete sono due ragazzini sfigati mandati a morire a pochi mesi dalla fine della guerra nel 1945, ci sono ragazzini e bambini spediti al fronte ogni giorno di ogni anno. Quei loro interrogativi devono essere anche i nostri. Rothmann questo fa: tace, non esprime giudizi né prende posizioni morali, usa una lingua spoglia, realistica, che non ci risparmia nulla, eppure non è mai iperbolica, anzi nella misura di una esposizione quieta e precisa sta la sua violenza, la sua forza. Non c’è pathos, ma d’un tratto in quel lazzaretto ci siamo noi, ci siamo noi su quella BMW alla ricerca della tomba del padre morto nella stessa guerra, noi siamo quelli che non ce la fanno più e non sanno di che pallottola sia meglio morire, siamo noi a vedere quello che non sapremmo raccontare. D’altronde, non è che uno a diciassette anni possa davvero rielaborare l’orrore, non vi pare? Non trova le parole per commentare, registra e basta, passivamente, incapace di reagire se non con qualche lacrima, a bocca aperta ma muta, perché nemmeno un urlo riesce a prendere forma. Cosa rimane dell’amicizia in guerra? Cosa diventa la pietà? Fiete racconta di una teoria secondo cui le cellule hanno la memoria e quindi ai nascituri passeranno anche gli incubi e i ricordi delle sensazioni: il proiettile ferirà non solo il soldato ma anche i suoi figli non ancora nati. E Walter, disperato, si chiede e ci chiede cosa erediteranno dunque i figli di quelli che il proiettile lo hanno dovuto sparare. Un grande monito, questo romanzo: non c’è nessuno che esca salvo dalla guerra, non c’è futuro che non porti segni dell’orrore, anche se continuiamo a fare finta di non vederli.

[gesztenye63 · Rating 5 out of 5]

„Meine Ehre heißt Treue”, vagyis „Becsületem a hűség”.
Ez a rövidke mottó, azon túl, hogy kiagyalóinak emlékezete által csodálatos, fennkölt emberi tulajdonságokat aljasít a legmélyebb mocsokba, sokezer nyomorult, kényszersorozott gyermekkatona életét is pokollá tette a háború végén, vagy okozta egyenesen a végzetüket. Hiszen azok a túlélők, akiknél az összeomlás után megtalálták a hírhedt SS-derékszíjat, akár bele is halhattak az óvatlanságukba.
Fura ez a regény. Furán egyszerű, mégis rendkívül összetett – és tökéletesen kerek. Keveset mond, mégis az egész világ benne foglaltatik. Élet értelme, halál értelmetlensége, sokmillió porszem, és köztük két ártatlan gyerekember, Walter és Friedrich, a Waffen-SS végső győzelemért harcba küldött szerencsétlen talpasai.
Keretes szerkezet, ha jól emlékszem, ezt valamikor így tanultuk. Ráadásul Ralf Rothmann regényében többszörösen is az. Először is a narrátor kerete, amely apja kimondhatatlan múltját kutatja, az elborult őrületben, az elhallgatott tragédiákban értelmet keresve. Aztán az apa emlékei, aki a mintegy idilli észak-német tájról kirándul néhány hónapra a magyar Dunántúl tűzviharába, majd ugyanoda tér vissza, ahol a táj zöldell, a tehenek elégedetten kérődznek. Ez is egyfajta keret, azonban átkozottul csalóka ez az idill. Nem tudok hinni a virágok színében, a természet friss, buja illatában, miközben a következő lapon már Dante poklának kénköves bugyrait járom és itt a halál maga a megváltás, és a lélek sem tud már jobban fájni.
Alig kétszáz oldal, kevéske történés, mégis szinte emészthetetlen, feneketlen emberi dráma. Az olvasmány nagyon rövid, de „utóélete” valószínűleg annál hosszan tartóbb lesz. Semmi patetikus hősi ének, egyszerűen csak nehezen feledhető, kristálytiszta memento. Szép emlékezés „a másik oldal” kiskatonáira. Bikovot juttatja eszembe – de csak azért, mert még csak nem is hasonló.
A második világháborús angolszász, vagy éppen szovjet-orosz széppróza ellentételezéseként is feltétlenül ajánlott.

[SusanneH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Traumatisierung im Krieg, nicht in brutalen Schlachten beschrieben, sondern in eher leisen Tönen und dadurch noch viel beeindruckender. Lesetip!
Klappentext
Im Frühling sterben ist die Geschichte von Walter Urban und Friedrich – »Fiete« – Caroli, zwei siebzehnjährigen Melkern aus Norddeutschland, die im Februar 1945 zwangsrekrutiert werden. Während man den einen als Fahrer in der Versorgungseinheit der Waffen-SS einsetzt, muss der andere,Fiete, an die Front. Er desertiert, wird gefasst und zum Tod verurteilt, und Walter, dessen zynischer Vorgesetzter nicht mit sich redenlässt steht plötzlich mit dem Karabiner im Anschlag vor seinem besten Freund ...

In eindringlichen Bildern erzählt Ralf Rothmann vom letzten Kriegsfrühjahr in Ungarn, in dem die deutschen Offiziere ihren Männern Handgranaten in die Hacken werfen, damit sie noch angreifen, und die Soldaten in der Etappe verzweifelte Orgien im Angesicht des Todes feiern. Und wir erleben die ersten Wochen eines Friedens, in dem einer wie Walter nie mehr heimisch wird und noch auf dem Sterbebett stöhnt: »Die kommen doch immer näher, Mensch! Wenn ich bloß einen Ort für uns wüsste ...«

[N · Rating 5 out of 5]

Néhány hónap történetét hordtam magammal mindenhova. Annyira mindenhova, hogy utazás közben, az útszéli fákat, a mezőn kérődző teheneket nézve is arra gondoltam, hogy a háborúkról ők aztán tényleg nem tehetnek, viszont megszenvedik. Azért kezdem így a mondandómat, mert ebben a történetben, az ember által okozott pusztításban, ők élnek, ők azok akik sem érte, sem ellene nem szólhatnak annak, ami körülöttük zajlik. Csak állnak az etetőnél, itatónál, néznek erre-arra, mintha a tudatlanságuk védelmet adna, lehetőséget nyújtana a túlélésre. Körülöttük pedig ott az ember, aki gondolkodásra, bölcsességre teremtetett és öl, gyilkol, feláldozza embertársait egy olyan cél érdekében, aminek a vesztesége dögcédulák adatai. Nekem Ralf Rothmann regénye az emberek és az állatok háborús regénye. Annak az elbeszélése, ahogy kattan a fegyveren a zár, a ló pedig, szinte ösztönösen megrántva fejét, félre néz mindattól, ami következni fog. És a tizenévesen megöregedett fiú, aki alig szavaival, de tanít, példát ad az emberségből.Ezek az apró, életigenlő mozdulatok teszik széppé, könnyebben olvashatóvá ezt az egyébként nagyon szomorú, de olvasásra ajánlott könyvet.

[Alberto Delgado · Rating 3 out of 5]

La historia la escriben los vencedores y durante décadas todo lo que recibíamos sobre las guerras mundiales en libros y películas era desde ese punto de vista. En los últimos años están apareciendo interesantes propuestas como "el hundimiento" en cine, "hijos del tercer reich" en tv o libros como este en el que vemos ese conflicto desde el otro lado. El narrador nos cuenta la historia de su padre en la que vemos como no todos los alemanes eran los psicópatas que se hicieron con el poder y que llevaron a su país y al resto del mundo a uno de los momentos mas negros de la humanidad. Le doy solo 3 estrellas porque a pesar de que la historia es impresionante justo este verano vi la serie que he mencionado anteriormente y en comparación este libro me ha dejado mas frío.

[Korcan Derinsu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yazarla ilk tanışmam "iyi ki" dedirten türden oldu. Anlatılan hikaye basit ama bir o kadar da etkili. Savaşın çirkin yüzünü, türlü insanlık hallerini 17 yaşındaki karakterini merkeze alarak yapan yazar, iyi olmaya dair gayreti o kadar güzel veriyor ki etkilenmemek elde değil. Yazarın yalın üslubunu çok sevdim, diğer kitaplarını da listeye aldım.

[Cititoare Calatoare · Rating 5 out of 5]

In ultimele luni ale celui de-Al Doilea Razboi Mondial, doi tineri (copii) de 17 ani, sunt recrutati cu forta in armata germana si trimisi pe front.
....
Este un roman emotionant, ce prezinta cruzimea evenimentelor, explorind efectele devastatoare ale razboiului asupra psihicului uman, prieteniei si umanitatii.

Gasiti recenzia completa pe pagina mea de instagram @reading_on_my_way

[John Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fittingly, I finished reading this on Remembrance Day, but not by design. Nothing ‘glorious’ here about war. Two very young German friends and work mates are pulled into ‘fighting’ in the dying days of World War 2. We experience the utter foulness of their experience and of the brutalisation of
our species.

We have heard lots in recent times about PTSD; the wonder to me, after reading this, is that there weren’t many more mental cripples around post 1945/6. Whilst this is a novel, it is horribly realistic and, I imagine, well researched. Much of it is set in and around Hungary with Ivan (as the Germans referred to the fearful Russians) in damnable pursuit.

Sparsely but beautifully written and translated (Shaun Whiteside). Choose your time for reading it though: if you think your life is shitty now prepare to read that it could get worse, much worse.

[Ena u zemlji knjiga · Rating 2 out of 5]

Prevarila sam se s procjenom ove knjige što mi se jako rijetko dešava. Nije mi se dopalo što nema poglavlja tako da nema neke zaokružene cjeline u radnji, a onaj preokret iz sadržaja je tek pred sami kraj knjige...

[Come Musica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Si può descrivere l'umanità della guerra, che è per definizione dis_umana?
Ralf Rothmann ci riesce: un bel libro straziante.

[Ferda Nihat Koksoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kötülük yapabilme gücünü ellerine geçirenlerin, savaşın bitmek üzere olduğu açıkça bilinirken bile zulüm ve gaddarlıktan vazgeçmemelerinin, hatta bundan zevk almayı sürdürmelerinin romanı; yaşayanların ruhunu ele geçirecek ve hayatını belirleyecek kadar inanılmaz trajediler.

Rothmann sanki 2.DS'na katılmış denli duyarlı ve sanki yaşadıklarını anlatıyormuşçasına anlatım ustası.

"...ciddi, otoriter görünümü ve melankolik hali, günlerin ağır ağır akışının verdiği bıkkınlıktan ya da bedenen yıpratıcı işinden, öfkeden ya da gerçekleşmemiş hayallerden ileri gelmiyordu; bu, daha önemli şeyler görmüş, hayat hakkında söyleyebileceğinden fazlasını bilen ve bildiklerini anlatacak kelimeleri bulsa bile bunun kendisi için kurtuluş olmayacağını sezen birinin ciddiyetiydi."

[Kusaimamekirai · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the opening pages of “To Die in Spring”, our narrator is describing the slow death of his father. The war his father fought in has long since ended and his son is now taking stock of the man his father was. He was:

“In spite of his bent back, his continual seriousness lent him an intimidating authority and his melancholy didn’t just consist of the tedium of the daily grind, didn’t stem from back-breaking labour, irritation or unfulfilled dreams. People didn’t clap him on the shoulder and say, ‘Come on, Walter, chin up!’ His was the seriousness of someone who had seen something more potent than the others, who knew more about life than he could say and who sensed that even if he had the language to express what he had seen, there would be no redemption for him.”

We are soon taken back to when his father was a young man in the countryside in the closing days of the war. Germany was a broken country but continued to struggle to its last man or boy. It is here that the narrator’s father, Walter, finds himself tricked into conscription in the German army and goes on to find himself in indescribable horrific situation after situation. When Walter escapes with his life each time despite being surrounded by the most brutal of circumstances, I found myself taking a deep breath thinking that maybe the worst for Walter had past. It couldn’t possibly get any worse than what had just occurred right?
And yet it always does. Occasionally Walter is able to escape from the truly terrible but at other times he is faced with moral life and death dilemmas that no human being should have to confront. But in the end, the author seems to tell us that this is war. People will die. People close to us will die. This happens regardless of what paths we choose along the way to speed up or retard the inevitable.
And yet it isn’t so simple. When the physical war is over, the war of reconciling who we’ve become with what we’ve done truly begins and unlike in wars with bombs and bullets, this war has only losers. Walter is one of those men. While he physically survives, it’s clear he can never be the person he once was or could’ve been. The war has destroyed his physical world to be sure, but it’s his mental and spiritual world that will always bear the scars of what’s been done.
Or as someone observes early on the book:

“He hasn’t understood a thing about life, has he? Eventually it’s just over, no matter how much of a fuss you make about it. We all have to go.”

[Susanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walther Urban ist über sechzig und sterbenskrank. Dennoch verweigert er seinem Sohn jede Auskunft über seine Vergangenheit. Er hinterlässt ihm nur einige Ortsnamen und die Aufforderung, doch selbst etwas zu schreiben. Was der (fiktive) Autor im Roman dann auch tut. So ist "Im Frühling sterben" ein Rückblick auf das Leben von Walther Urban, der als Siebzehnjähriger gemeinsam mit seinem Freund Friedrich "Fiete" Caroli, kurz vor Kriegsende noch zur Waffen-SS eingezogen wird. Beide sind keine Anhänger der Nationalsozialisten und wissen wie alle anderen auch, dass der Krieg für Deutschland sehr bald schon verloren sein wird.
Mir hat sehr gut gefallen, wie sich Rothmann diesem Abschnitt deutscher Geschichte angenommen hat. Die nüchterne, sehr präzise Sprache und die harten Schnitte in der Erzählung passen zu dem Soldatenleben, in das die beiden Jungens hineingeworfen werden. Der Autor verzichtet auf Überschriften, Überleitungen, so dass der Leser erst nach einigen Augenblicken weiß, wo sich die Protagonisten jetzt befinden, wie viel Zeit verstrichen ist. Walther und Fiete sind als Charaktere in ihrer Gegensätzlichkeit nicht nur überzeugend, sondern auch überaus sympathisch dargestellt. „Ata“ (Markenname eines Scheuermittels) ist Walthers Spitzname, weil er so „sauber“, tüchtig und gewissenhaft ist. Er ist jedoch kein Angeber, eher freundlich und zurückhaltend. Fiete dagegen ist charmant-leichtsinnig, respektlos, zynisch und hat ein loses Mundwerk. Der Leser – und vor allem diese Leserin – leidet mit, wenn sich die Jugendlichen den Kriegsgräueln nicht entziehen können.
Die Handlung fand ich historisch glaubwürdig, auch spannend, da man auf das Ereignis wartet, das Walther Urban im Alter zu einem solch verschlossenen und traurigen Menschen gemacht hat. Nur die Episode um die Suche nach dem Grab seines eigenen Vaters schien ein wenig zu lang. Ich habe mich außerdem gefragt, ob die genaue und damit schonungslose Darstellung von Grausamkeiten überzogen ist, denke aber, dass sie der Untermauerung einer Botschaft des Romans dient: Dass man nicht im Krieg sein und anständig bleiben kann.
Für mich zählt „Im Frühling sterben“ zu den Romanen, die man nicht nur 2015, da sich das Ende des Zweiten Weltkrieges zum siebzigsten Mal jährt, lesen sollte.

[Kuszma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Azért mindig meglepődöm, hogy egy második világháborús könyv még mindig, még most is tud valami újat mondani. Pedig Rothmann igazából nem csinál semmi unikálisat: feszes, erőteljes jelenetekkel dolgozik, valamint egy nagyon nyilvánvaló kettősséggel, ami a címben is tetten érhető: hogy ezekben a részegységekben szinte mindig kontrasztba állítja a szépet, egyszerűt vagy tisztát és a háború borzalmát – ez a „tavasszal” és a „meghalni” ellentéte. A szerző központi figurái kamaszok – 17, 18 éves srácok, akiket a Waffen SS névleg önkéntesként, valójában brutális ráhatással besoroz, hogy utolsó égőáldozatként dobja őket a szovjetek elé. (Felmerül a kérdés: milyen ország az, aki saját túlélése érdekében a gyermekeit áldozza fel? Mit nyerhet, aki a jövőjével fizet meg egy napnyi jelent?) Ezek a srácok egy normál világban egy közönséges beavatásregény főhősei lehetnének – okíthatná mondjuk őket egy germán Matula bácsi a természet szeretetére, egymás tiszteletére, vagy lehetne mesterük akár egy buja Mrs. Robinson is, aki a szexualitás szederindás ösvényén vezetgetné végig őket. De nem. Ezeknek a srácoknak ocsmány nácik a tanítómesterei, akiknek vagy eleve rohadt a lelkük, vagy a keleti fronton vált normává számukra a gyilkolás – ilyen mocskok próbálják meg beleszuszakolni őket egy mindenestül embertelen rendszerbe, ahol a becsület csak fedősztori, amire hivatkozva akár legjobb barátunk is agyonlőhető. Ebben a világban az a legnagyobb hős, aki ellenáll a tanításnak, aki képes megőrizni valamit – akár csak egy cseppnyit is – saját autonómiájából. Tisztelet a hősöknek.

[Valentin Derevlean · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stele. Nu cred că ajunge la 4.

Un roman bine scris, sumbru, întunecat, despre finalul celui de-al doilea război mondial, atunci când e clar că trupele germane pierd peste tot și e nevoie de carne de tun proaspătă. Așa se face că orice puști e pregătit puțin și trimis pe front. Walter și Fiete, doi văcari, fără prea multă școală sau pregătire militară aterizează pe frontul maghiar. Experiența unei mari armate distruse, panicate și pusă pe crime de război dă peste cap orice fel de aștepări.

Scriitura lui Ralf Rothmann aduce puțin cu cea a lui Sven Hassel. La fel de dur, critic și cinic, însă fără umorul celui din urmă. 4 stele bune, însă finalul m-a cam enervat, așa că scad la 3 jumate.

[Dvd (#) · Rating 4 out of 5]

27/09/2025 (****)

Letto d'un fiato. Molto ben scritto, racconta il tragico inverno del '44 e l'ancor più tragica primavera del '45 dal punto di vista di un ragazzino di 17 anni, Walter, apprendista mungitore in una grande fattora vicino a Kiel. Lo scenario è la Germania già semidistrutta e già sconfitta, prossima all'annientamento, dove i nazisti al comando sono resi ancora più spietati e fanatici dalla piena consapevolezza della catastrofe in corso.

Nel delirio finale, viste le colossali perdite registrate (soprattutto sul fronte orientale) si raschia il fondo del barile, mandando al macello tutti coloro in grado -più o meno - di tenere in mano un fucile: minorenni, pensionati, zoppi, malati, carcerati. Fra questi, il povero Walter e l'amico del cuoro Fiete, arruolati forzosamente dalle Waffen SS e spediti in Ungheria, il primo come autiere e il secondo come soldato semplice al fronte.

Con gli americani e gli inglesi sul Reno e sulle Alpi, e i russi ormai a Berlino, in un'atmosfera di totale disfacimento di un esercito e di una nazione, che per paura del regime dittatoriale nazista continua comunque a combattere, a Walter - fra varie peripezie e tragedie - va meglio che all'amico Fiete, uno dei moltissimi che la guerra, per un motivo o per l'altro, ha fagocitato senza pietà.

Sullo sfondo, Walter perde anche il padre in guerra, cercandone senza fortuna la tomba fra i vari cimiteri tedeschi in Ungheria; e questo aspetto si ricollega al finale, quando è l'autore - che non è nient'altro che il figlio di Walter - decenni dopo a cercare senza fortuna la tomba dei genitori nel cimitero della Ruhr dove dopo la guerra si sono trasferiti.

Finale molto malinconico, che tocca un pò tutti.

Bella sorpresa, lo consiglio.