During a recent trip to the Netherlands, I happened to stumble over that book in a bookstore that had quite a lot of stuff about WW2 (and other conflicts). A mixture of Dutch, German and English language books, most of them second-hand. I remembered that there was a thread about Guy Sajer here in the forum (this one) a while ago, so I bought the book.
I am currently reading it and am about half-way through.
He wrote the book in 1969, so that is some 25 years after the period it describes. Had it not been for the thread here, I would not have known that its authenticity has been contested by some.
I have read quite a number of accounts of individual Germans soldiers describing their experiences in WW2. My personal impression is, that Sajer's account mirrors a number of these in their intensity. Probably, most of these have never been translated from German into other languages. Compared to others he is notably more hazy on names of places, comrades, etc. than others. Gratefully having never been subjected to the experience of war, I cannot judge which things will stick to mind and which won't.
Some authors who accounted for their story have made efforts to research the events, so that they could supplement their memories with 'correct' dates and places. This, they sometimes even expressively mention in the foreword, for example. It is my impression, that correct dates, precise places etc. are not Sajer's point. He is more concerned with personal feelings and impressions and with what 'war' did to the attitude of the individual. He describes in detail the physical and mental strains, the ordeals the common soldier is put through. Repeatedly, he writes that despite best efforts, he feels incapable of expressing in words, of finding words that can make someone who has not lived through comparable experiences understand. For this end, other details are not that relevant, I suppose. In this context, his writings seem convincing to me. But - thank God - I have not been subjected to comparable experiences, so I cannot really judge.
Altogether, reading his account so far is gripping. It is free of the 'heroics' which are found in many other personal accounts of war - more on the allied side than on the German one IMHO. This is not to say that Sajer does not describe soldiers overcoming situations beyond the comprehensible. But I don't see him describing any glory in this. And this precise point might be - I venture to propose the notion - one of the truths about war.
von Marwitz
