Halder Posted 3 August , 2010 Share Posted 3 August , 2010 I stumbled across this last week while killing time between researching WW2 in the German archives. It's an excellent collection of first-hand accounts from German soldiers, based on interviews, unpublished memoirs, Feldpost. - the nearest comparison might be Max Arthur's various volumes, although it's arranged much more thematically rather than chronologically, covering issues daily life, the 1918 battles, war's end etc. There really isn't a lot of new WW1 material in German bookshops (mercifully Guido Knopp's not got his hands on the Great War yet...) so this is a very welcome addition for Germanophones; for none German speakers, you'll have to hope there's a translation - although British publishers might baulk at translating 500+ pages. http://www.amazon.de/Hineingeworfen-Weltkrieg-Erinnerungen-seiner-Teilnehmer/dp/3940731307/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1280857705&sr=8-1 As for the title, well, literally it's "thrown into it". The nearest English translation might be "In the thick of it" although I'm sure far better German speakers could come up with a better translation... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiegeGunner Posted 3 August , 2010 Share Posted 3 August , 2010 They might go for a selection of the accounts, though - say 250 pages - or perhaps even the lot in two parts. If any publishers are interested and listening, my rates are very reasonable ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Dunlop Posted 3 August , 2010 Share Posted 3 August , 2010 Very interesting, and reasonably priced as well. Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken S. Posted 3 August , 2010 Share Posted 3 August , 2010 Would it be possible to post scans of the table of contents? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halder Posted 4 August , 2010 Author Share Posted 4 August , 2010 Sorry, I didn't actually buy a copy. I spent too much money on WW2 unit histories as usual and ran out of money... The blurb on the Osburg Verlag website's identical to that on Amazon and there's no precis on Google Books, sadly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiegeGunner Posted 4 August , 2010 Share Posted 4 August , 2010 This review says that 'Hineingeworfen' is a revised edition of a book originally published in 2000 under the title 'Und plötzlich bist du mitten im Krieg' - http://www.kulturbuchtipps.de/archives/548 In the context, I think that 'In the thick of it' would be a very suitable translation - but a UK publisher would probably want to retitle it as something like 'Forgotten German Voices of the First World War' ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halder Posted 4 August , 2010 Author Share Posted 4 August , 2010 Thanks for that Mick. I didn't realise it was an expanded reprint ( http://www.amazon.de/bist-mitten-Krieg-Zeitzeugen-Weltkriegs/dp/3402054132/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1280917974&sr=8-1 ). The original edition also gets very good reviews (I think it was on my Amazon.de recommendations list for a long time). British publishers might baulk at "In the thick of it" as a title; it might be confused with a certain foul-mouthed political satire! I'm sure they'd snap your hands off if you offered 'Forgotten German Voices of the Great War'... then expect you to translate it for peanuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiegeGunner Posted 4 August , 2010 Share Posted 4 August , 2010 'Hineingeworfen' has a flavour of 'Up to your neck in muck and bullets' about it - or a bit more literally 'Thrown in at the deep end'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken S. Posted 4 August , 2010 Share Posted 4 August , 2010 How about Into the Maelstrom ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiegeGunner Posted 4 August , 2010 Share Posted 4 August , 2010 How about Into the Mealstrom ? 'Maelstrom', even ... If translated and published in English, I'm fairly sure the publisher would want a title that ties in more closely with other collections in the same genre. They might also baulk at a book from the German viewpoint with a Scandinavian word in its title. And I wouldn't be surprised if they also wanted to edit in contributions from some German 'celebrities' - Richtofen, Rommel, Göring, if not actually Hitler himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken S. Posted 4 August , 2010 Share Posted 4 August , 2010 'Maelstrom', even ... Geez, sorry for misspelling, Kamarad... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiegeGunner Posted 4 August , 2010 Share Posted 4 August , 2010 Touché ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halder Posted 4 August , 2010 Author Share Posted 4 August , 2010 Doubt an English publisher would go for Into the Maelstrom... although not because it's a foreign word... There's a very similar sounding WW2 memoir by a Red Army soldier, Through the Maelstrom. All of which, of course, is academic because there is no translation. That said, I wouldn't rule it out. Pen & Sword translated Hirschfeld's volume (Scorched Earth) and Hineingeworfen, from a quick glance, looks a far more likely candidate because of its Forgotten Voices-esque style. An entire book's beyond my skills sadly (if a sentence is too tricky it sort of gets left out...). Right, back to the Rostocker Anzeiger and lots of lovely Fraktur. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 5 August , 2010 Share Posted 5 August , 2010 Can anybody of the German language experts tell me please what the heck a "Maelstrom" is? I have consulted a German friend who happens to speak the language fluently as it is his mother language -and he does not know what a Maelstrom is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halder Posted 5 August , 2010 Author Share Posted 5 August , 2010 Can anybody of the German language experts tell me please what the heck a "Maelstrom" is? I have consulted a German friend who happens to speak the language fluently as it is his mother language -and he does not know what a Maelstrom is. Probably because it's Scandinavian, with a bit of Dutch thrown in. It's a whirlpool or swirling body of water, or, figuratively, a chaotic, swirling mass of something. I have to say it's a word I've used quite a lot to describe the tumult of battle (particularly artillery barrages...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Sheldon Posted 5 August , 2010 Share Posted 5 August , 2010 If he did that to an Anglophone audience, nobody would understand. Mahlstrom (German) = Maelstrom (English). The derivation, at least as far as the English word is concerned (and probably the German too), is out of early modern Dutch: malen to grind or whirl; stroom stream: hence whirlpool, literally or figuratively. Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete1052 Posted 5 August , 2010 Share Posted 5 August , 2010 Can anybody of the German language experts tell me please what the heck a "Maelstrom" is? Ist es ein "sap trench"? Mein Deutsch ist gans upgefeucht. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete1052 Posted 5 August , 2010 Share Posted 5 August , 2010 Sprechen-sie langsam bitte. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Sheldon Posted 5 August , 2010 Share Posted 5 August , 2010 Egbert Quite, which is why I concentrated on the English derivation. The etymology of the word is quite clear to scholars of the English language. As a proper noun it is first recorded in use by Dutch cartographers, such as Mercator, who used it in an atlas of 1595. He spelt the word as Maelstrom and the Anglophone audience retained that spelling, though in modern Dutch I understand it to be Maalstroom. According to the OED, Dutch philologists regard it as native. It is true that it appears in all modern Scandanavian languages, but Danish experts believe it to have been a borrowing out of Dutch or Low German, because it first appeared in print in 1673. It would be interesting to know what the first attested use of Mahlstrom is in German. Doubtless you will be able to enlighten us. Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiegeGunner Posted 5 August , 2010 Share Posted 5 August , 2010 A maelstrom is something that goes round and round in ever-diminishing circles ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthergw Posted 6 August , 2010 Share Posted 6 August , 2010 Twenty Thousand Leagues, Under the Sea, ends in the Maelstrom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now