I think we’ve already had some discussions of “Forgotten Soldier.” Sajer did indeed purport to be an Alsatian with French as his primary language and a very limited German vocabulary. However, he apparently acquitted himself well enough in combat that his German comrades were more than willing to overlook that.
Assuming that the account is correct.
We have discussed the issue of authenticity of the account. The author may have experienced all, most or some of what took place. The balance may have been ghost written. The balance may have been based on the experiences of others. Whether the accounts in the book actually happened to one person, or whether the book is a compilation of the collective experiences of more than one person does not really matter to me. I accept the content as an accurate portrayal of life in the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front.
When it comes to military memoirs, historical accuracy is always an issue. One example that comes to mind is Mitsuo Fuchida’s “Midway, the Battle that Doomed Japan.” Having been written by a key participant, for many years his book was accepted in the United States as gospel for the Japanese account of that battle. It was even the basis of that really bad Charleton Heston movie. In Japan, however, serious historians of the IJN debunked a lot of the statements he made in his book. For example, Fuchida states that the American dive bombing attack came as the strike planes were on the decks of the carriers, warming up and ready to take off. Historical analysis though shows that the Japanese planes were actually still in the hangars being serviced, and had not been spotted on the flight decks. The best recent work on this issue is Parshall & Tully’s “Shattered Sword; The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway.” I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to know a detailed account of this battle, and exactly why the Japanese lost.
So as for Sajer, I consider it as I would any other memoir. Compared to Fuchida, it may actually be more historically accurate, even if it didn’t actually happen. Try to digest that one for a while.
Yes. I know you (henkster) and I have discussed this book not long ago. I was hoping to get more discussion in order to raise awareness of the book and discuss opinions.
We have discussed the issue of authenticity of the account. The author may have experienced all, most or some of what took place. The balance may have been ghost written. The balance may have been based on the experiences of others. Whether the accounts in the book actually happened to one person, or whether the book is a compilation of the collective experiences of more than one person does not really matter to me. I accept the content as an accurate portrayal of life in the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front.
That's pretty much my opinion as well. I have no problem with ghost writing because in the post war years, the Soviets had a long arm when it came to Germans believed to have been linked in some way to atrocities that managed to evade capture by the Red Army. Just consider the case of Jochen Peiper, what some call the last German soldier of WWII to fall...in June 1976. Actually, I have heard of other German veterans turning up missing and never seen nor heard from in the 1980s.
I can also understand how Sajer would intentionally fabricate details in order to protect not only himself but also any surviving buddies from vengeful Soviets.
When it comes to military memoirs, historical accuracy is always an issue. One example that comes to mind is Mitsuo Fuchida’s “Midway, the Battle that Doomed Japan.” Having been written by a key participant, for many years his book was accepted in the United States as gospel for the Japanese account of that battle. It was even the basis of that really bad Charleton Heston movie. In Japan, however, serious historians of the IJN debunked a lot of the statements he made in his book. For example, Fuchida states that the American dive bombing attack came as the strike planes were on the decks of the carriers, warming up and ready to take off. Historical analysis though shows that the Japanese planes were actually still in the hangars being serviced, and had not been spotted on the flight decks. The best recent work on this issue is Parshall & Tully’s “Shattered Sword; The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway.” I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to know a detailed account of this battle, and exactly why the Japanese lost.
Given the well known unreliability of eyewitness testimony in courts of law, I think it reasonable that a veteran can give an honest account yet have it wrong.
So as for Sajer, I consider it as I would any other memoir. Compared to Fuchida, it may actually be more historically accurate, even if it didn’t actually happen. Try to digest that one for a while.
I understand what you are getting at. I never have read Fujita's book. I'll have to make a note to do so.