[Captain Walker]

It's been 20+ years since I've read this book and if you caught the DOB in the book itself, you've got a pretty sharp eye; this is the first time I am hearing of this.

The site that oh8eleven links to states that Sajer was 16 when he volunteered to join the Wehrmacht in July of 1942; no DOB is provided in that article. (The article is discussing a debate about the veracity of Sajer's work.)

I couldn't take a side on this if I wanted to; this is the first time I am hearing that the book has been called into question.

Interestingly, Sajer died just a couple of days before his birthday last month.

actualitte.com

("Sajer" was his mother's maiden name which he adopted for use during his military service, as his mother was German and it fit better with the names of the Germans he served with; his family name was "Mouminoux".)

[Captain Walker]

ping

[Enterprise]

I couldn't help notice that! Just 2 days before his 95th birthday! I am not disparaging the author or his book. But the discrepancy between his DOB and his age when he was drafted into the Wehrmacht caught my eye.

Guy Mouminoux (13 January 1927 – 11 January 2022), known by the pseudonym Guy Sajer, was a French writer and cartoonist who is best known as the author of the Second World War memoir Le Soldat Oublié (1965, translated as The Forgotten Soldier), which recounts his experience serving in the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front from 1942 to 1945, in the elite Großdeutschland Division.

"The author states that he was an inhabitant of Alsace drafted into the German Wehrmacht at age 16, in 1942"

[oh8eleven]

Sajer died just a couple of days before his birthday last month

Thanks for the ping and Sajer's obit.
As much as I was aware of him I had no idea he was still alive.

May he RIP ...