Blackhorse Posted 23 March , 2008 Share Posted 23 March , 2008 Hi All, I'm seeking recommendations regarding 1st Person German accounts. In addition to Junger's Storm of Steel, Rosenhainer's Forward March, Binding's A Fatalist At War, and Hermann's The Holocaust: From A Survivor of Verdun, what others are there and which do you recommend? Thanks in Advance BH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy 60th Posted 23 March , 2008 Share Posted 23 March , 2008 ' Through German Eyes' The British & the Somme 1916 by Christopher Duffy is a really good read and has some first hand German accounts. Quote -' It looks at aspects of the battle from the German point of view,showing in particular the German's perception of the British performance and mentality in the course of that long struggle' Regards, Roger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenwoodman Posted 23 March , 2008 Share Posted 23 March , 2008 David Filsell is, I hope, shortly brining out a bibliography of German accounts. Bloehm and Sulzbach are good. Also Renn's "War". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Filsell Posted 24 March , 2008 Share Posted 24 March , 2008 Sadly the comment 'shortly' is flatteringly incorrect. I originally though that I would find 50 or so books - I have a lot still to do an have reached the books which are quite difficult to obtain (and I have been buying from dealers all over the world). Work continues, new books keep turning up on land, sea, air and homefront. Now reached about 130 German WW1 books translated into English - diaries, novels, personal accounts. Would add one well worth seeking out - available fairly easily in the US via Abe - Loretto by Max Heinz. I rate it way up there with War and After War by Renn. Also all title contributions welcome from Forumeers - I may have found the - or may not! Thanks for the mention of the project. Best regards David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barkalotloudly Posted 24 March , 2008 Share Posted 24 March , 2008 "The Whistlers Room" although only a short book is one i find very moving and well written regards John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halder Posted 24 March , 2008 Share Posted 24 March , 2008 Everything by Jack Sheldon; although the books themselves are "secondary history", they are crammed with first-person accounts you will not find elsewhere in the English tongue. Fritz Nagel's Fritz is very good. Walter Bloem's Advance From Mons is a must. And Witkop's German Students' War Letters is extremely moving. If you can read German, then Mimra's Batterie 4 is a very good account of life with the artillery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthergw Posted 24 March , 2008 Share Posted 24 March , 2008 Sulzbach, "With the German Guns", Ettighoffer, " Verdun". Many of the German High Command gave accounts of their lives and or war. Hindenburg, The Crown Prince, the Kaiser, Falkenheyn for instance and von Kluck wrote of the March on Paris. I think all of those have been translated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackhorse Posted 24 March , 2008 Author Share Posted 24 March , 2008 Thank you all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Murphy Posted 24 March , 2008 Share Posted 24 March , 2008 If you wanting something a little different try: THE MYSTERY OF THE CASEMENT SHIP, by Karl Spindler, Anvil, 1965 Captain Karl Spindler was tasked with delivering arms aboard the 'Aud' to arm the Irish Republicans for the 1916 Rising but he was caught beforehand and scuttled his ship in Cork harbour IIRC. Anyway a good read... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PeterEvans Posted 6 May , 2008 Share Posted 6 May , 2008 Work continues, new books keep turning up on land, sea, air and homefront. Now reached about 130 German WW1 books translated into English - I look forward to this bibliography. I trust that you will list the unit/s of the author and the area in which they served. Having these indexed would be worthwhile. Regards, Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Filsell Posted 6 May , 2008 Share Posted 6 May , 2008 OK - here's the plan (Plan D) and a sitrep. But first, Sadly, it only rarely possible to detail where and with whom authors served, and a number of the accounts are novels by authors who served and built their writing and reactions to war around their fictionalised service. The pattern is: overall introduction, outline overview of German writing about the war, chapter introductions based on year published in English, author by author listing with biograpohical note (where possible) brief outline of book, personal comment -like/dislike etc. It is not a work of lit-crit! The 1933 section for instance includes an outline of background to and events surrounding the large number of authors forced to leave German after Hitler came to power. Full as possible bibliograph lists title, publisher, date of publication (Germany, UK and US). Preliminary thoughts are for an appendix listing arm of service (land sea or air) fronts fought on (Home, Western, African, Russian, Turkish) and will include a number of Austro Hungarian authors. All are accounts by junior officers, other ranks or civilians - no commanders with their special pleading (although I hope to list some key works in a separate appendix). It is quirky in style and content because I have written what I have wanted to write, not what an editor wants me to write, about that which I found fascinating, new or surprising - for instance a novel about the A-H empire which actually ends at the begining if the Great War and another about the Friekorps post war. Its the Big Yin says; whatever the subject, if the joke is funny its funny - my view is if I think it's relevant then it relevant! Here's the current position. I write slowly and revise endlessly and writing will slow down during the summer (building new garden walls, pond holidays, son's wedding and etc because I have a life - and a partner who needs to be kept happy). About 15 known books still to locate (including at least 2 not in the British Library). One turn-down from a publisher (not sufficiently large market when they spoke to a book club) another "interested" but not returning calls. But lots of interest from specialist book dealers who would like copies of the bibliography! Here's the future. About 18 months more research and writing (I once wrote for a living and swore I would never write to another's deadline ever, ever, again again. This project is above all selfish and great fun. It will get finished, unless I am sniped. It may get published/it may not, I will loose no sleep either way because I am not doing it for money. I could - perhaps self publish, but not at any further cost to me. Selfish, perhaps but I have splent a bl**dy fortune already on just aquiring the books. I remain more than happy to answer individual questions, but not provide book lists or bibliogocal questions in more than outline. I welcome suggestions and I very badly need copies of Bibi Mkuba, MGK and Through a Lens(e) Darkly. best regards David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMG65 Posted 6 May , 2008 Share Posted 6 May , 2008 Junger's 'Copse 125', a deep philosophical book full of insight and reflection. Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenwoodman Posted 27 June , 2008 Share Posted 27 June , 2008 David Are you aware of Ernst Johannsen "Four Infantrymen on the Western Front 1918" Methuen & Co 1930 London? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gem22 Posted 27 June , 2008 Share Posted 27 June , 2008 I can recommend 'Wings of War' by Rudolph Stark. An airman's diary of the last year of the war. Originally published in 1933 my copy is from a 1973 edition published by the Military Book Society. Garth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Filsell Posted 27 June , 2008 Share Posted 27 June , 2008 Greenwoodman Many thanks - I have the Johannson book and rate it very highly. It was apparently filmed (directed by Pabst I believe) but I have been unable to locate a dvd. Thanks again All suggestions greatly appreciated - the hunt continues. Best regards David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenwoodman Posted 27 June , 2008 Share Posted 27 June , 2008 I'll keep looking - that one came from E J Morten's catalogue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grace Talbot Posted 4 July , 2008 Share Posted 4 July , 2008 Greenwoodman Many thanks - I have the Johannson book and rate it very highly. It was apparently filmed (directed by Pabst I believe) but I have been unable to locate a dvd. Thanks again All suggestions greatly appreciated - the hunt continues. Best regards David Do you mean this film? Westfront 1918 Westfrornt 1918 IMDB listing Looks interesting. You can get the German dvd but I'm guessing no English subtitles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Filsell Posted 7 July , 2008 Share Posted 7 July , 2008 Yogibear (or may I call you Yogi?) That's the one, but subtitles would be good, although I think it was made in Hollywood so perhaps its got German sdubtitles! best regards David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grace Talbot Posted 10 July , 2008 Share Posted 10 July , 2008 Yogibear (or may I call you Yogi?) That's the one, but subtitles would be good, although I think it was made in Hollywood so perhaps its got German sdubtitles! best regards David Yogi is fine , hmm, think I'm tempted to get this anyway after you've drawn my attention to it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenwoodman Posted 12 July , 2008 Share Posted 12 July , 2008 David Are you aware of B W Heubsch "A German Deserter's War Experiences"? If not available on an auction website as a CD-Rom @2.99. Search on "Rape of Belgium" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Filsell Posted 13 July , 2008 Share Posted 13 July , 2008 Greenwoodman Many thanks, got this one. I have been in long discussion about it with Bob Lembke. We have both concluded that it is almost certainly a propaganda fake - British/and or French. The conclusions are not absolutely definitive, but good enough for me to give a fair warning about it. If any of the rest of the team have read it, I would be interested in their conclusions. Thanks again David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Filsell Posted 13 July , 2008 Share Posted 13 July , 2008 Greenwoodman Many thanks, got this one. I have been in long discussion about it with Bob Lembke. We have both concluded that it is almost certainly a propaganda fake - British/and or French. The conclusions are not absolutely definitive, but good enough for me to give a fair warning about it. If any of the rest of the team have read it, I would be interested in their conclusions. Thanks again David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joerookery Posted 18 August , 2008 Share Posted 18 August , 2008 If any of the rest of the team have read it, I would be interested in their conclusions. I thought it was complete propaganda trash. There is a complete lack of "unit" in this individual's account. This really jumped out at me and if you follow this story he was so indebted to the Socialists that he would probably have said anything. There are too many interesting accounts out there I would not waste my time with this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Filsell Posted 19 August , 2008 Share Posted 19 August , 2008 Joe, Thanks. 'He', the author, did not, I think, exist. The book was almost certainly a Fernch or British 'construction' aimed primarily at the US market. Al;though the text bears some reference to factual events, the 'facts' do not align with reality as far as Bob Lembke and I can discern David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnBurnett Posted 6 September , 2008 Share Posted 6 September , 2008 Gentlemen: A few more titles. Schlump, which is anonymously wrtitten Zero Hour, by Georg Grabenhorst The Fiery Way, by Franz Schauwecker Private Suhren, by Georg von der Vring Pillbox 17: The Story of Comradeship in Arms, by Karl Broger Higher Command, by Edlef Koppen In the Line 1914-1918, by Georg Bucher Loretto, by Max Heinz And Don't forget Education Before Verdun, by Arnold Zweig (maybe a novel) Also, The Diary of a German Soldier, by Feldwebel C. Lastly, The passage: A Tragedy of the First World War By Gustav Ebelschauser (ed. Richard Baumgartner) I haven't read them all but I did find In the Line 1914-1918 particularly good. I have heard good things also about Grabenhorst and Heinz. Thank you, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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