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by Alexander De Chastelaine.
Hardback (6.3×9.3 inches). 212 pages. 2026.
This is a tale of two Germans, the author’s father and grandfather, under Nazi rule. The two could not be more different.
The grandfather protested against the Nazis and was arrested twice and imprisoned. The second time, in 1939, he was given a choice: get sent to a concentration camp or receive a pardon by volunteering for the German armed forces. He chose the latter and picked the Luftwaffe as his service. He rolled into France without firing a shot. That would change in 1942 with Fall Blau and his assignment to the 5th Luftwaffe Division.
The father was a pro-Nazi kid who worked his way through the Hitler Youth and eventually found himself in the Hermann Goering Division. He was sent to suppress the Warsaw Ghetto in 1944.
The book intertwines the stories of grandfather and father and their service in the Luftwaffe ground forces during WWII.
Both survived initial combats, witnessed a variety of horrors and genocides, and lived to see the end of the war. Both made it to surrender to Western troops and the grandfather escaped a train full of German POWs being sent to France to work in the mines.
The book contains 60 black and white photos, one black and white illustration, and one black and white map.
The story rolls right along for a very personal and fascinating look at two German soldaten during war.
Enjoyed it.
— Reviewed by Russ Lockwood
