2490 Soldat: Reflections of a German Soldier 1936-1949, by Siegfried Knappe and Ted Brusow (read 4 Feb 1993) This is the story of a German officer from 1936 to 1949. I fond it very interesting reading because it is so authentic. He was wounded in France, Russia, and Italy. and was in Berlin in April 1945. He spent five years as a Russian prisoner and studied in the US in 1952-1953 and immigrated to the U.S. in 1954. He lives in Ohio. He tells a story that shows him not very critical of Hitler till the Germans started to lose. I wonder what he really thinks. He is smart, though the book is not a literary masterpiece. But it was well worth reading. ( )

"Soldat" by Siegfried Knappe with Ted Brusaw. When I started reading this book I didn't really know what to expect. Even knowing German people personally, I couldn't imagine how the author would justify the atrocities attributed to the German's during W.W.II. This however seemed more like the German people I know. The typical soldier was not the stereotypical Nazi, the German people wanted to overcome the adversity inflicted on the country by the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler, took advantage of this situation and the culpability of allowing his rise to power can be much debated, That is the situation Knappe was faced with, as a professional soldier, he was not political. AS he rose in rank and exposed to more of the effects of the Nazi propaganda machine, he became more conscious of the morality of the effect the propaganda had on his compatriots. This became clearer as the war turned, and Germany suffered as their conquests had suffered under Nazi conquest. Yes the Wehrmacht caused pain and suffering, the worst came from the SS. The SS was every where, always looking for victims they could torture and murder under the guise of seeking anti-German activity. It was the SS and the Nazi upper echelon that pursued the worst ways to punish their perceived enemies. The author learned the hard way that following orders was not always the best course of action. To read this memoir is to learn the importance of understanding and analyzing the actions of the people in power. The danger posed by an ignorant or illiterate population is stressed by the author and is as important today as ever. ( )

Should be titled: recollections of a German soldier. A very good and illuminating book but at no point are we privy to any reflections by the main character. ( )

Received as a Christmas gift, I just finished reading "Soldat". A very good book.

The book is a riveting read covering the pre-war and wartime experiences of a Wehrmacht (German Army) junior officer. I found his story fascinating. He served on several fronts in various positions. By pure chance the author was either wounded and then evacuated from imminent gruesome combat situations or received chance assignments taking him out of Harm's way multiple times thus allowing him to survive the war. Unfortunately, he was ultimately taken prisoner by the Russians in Berlin at the end of the war. It may not have been the best situation for him, but he did survive his experience to author this book.

My comments could come from several perspectives. Most noteworthy, however, are:

I liked how the author did not try to overtly defend his actions during the war, but rather just tried to relay that facts of his experiences. He was not a high ranking officer with the perspective of the entire conflict. Thus his observations were more "local". I would consider the author's perspective of the war similar to that of Herbert Werner as reflected in his book, Iron Coffins, focusing on his experiences in U-boats.

The other perspective I have that made me really like this book was that I spent 8 years as a junior combat arms officer in the US Army. Though I never served in combat, I could appreciate the regularly occurring situations that he had to solve problems presented to him. During my experiences I recall many times, like the author, organizing and implementing solutions to challenges that kept coming up. His decisions involved lives of his men and the enemy. Mine were clearly more mundane in a peacetime army. Reading this book made me better appreciate the average German (officer) soldier's perspective during WW2.

I highly recommend this book. It is not hard to read and flows pretty fast. ( )