Please note: In order to keep Hive up to date and provide users with the best features, we are no longer able to fully support Internet Explorer. The site is still available to you, however some sections of the site may appear broken. We would encourage you to move to a more modern browser like Firefox, Edge or Chrome in order to experience the site fully.

Supporting your high street Find out how »
A Soldier of the Reich : An Autobiography, Hardback Book

A Soldier of the Reich : An Autobiography Hardback

Hardback

Available to Order - This title is available to order, with delivery expected within 2 weeks

Description

Gunter Horst Beetz was born in Berlin in 1926. Growing up as part of a typical family-his father was a banker, his mother a housewife-he joined the Hitler Youth-somewhat against his wishes-and after a short period manning anti-aircraft guns in Berlin he ultimately found himself in Normandy, fighting the Allies, where he was captured in July 1944. `A Soldier of the Reich: An Autobiography' documents one man's life in Nazi Germany.

It examines what it was like to grow up alongside the rise of fascism, exploring the consequences it had on Beetz's life, including what this meant for his relationship with his Jewish girlfriend, Ruth.

Beetz also relates his time as an unenthusiastic soldier fighting in Normandy, commenting on the ethics of war, his first sexual encounter with a French prostitute, and life in the sapper battalion with his and his comrades' bungling attempts at front-line soldiery.

He was captured in July 1944 and then describes in illuminating detail the life of an ordinary prisoner of war in America.

After two years in Pennsylvania he was transferred first for a short period in Belgium, and then to a PoW camp in Ely, England where remained until 1948.

Including previously unpublished images from the author's personal collection, this first-hand account explores a perspective rarely acknowledged in discussions of the Second World War: that of an ordinary Wehrmacht soldier, detailing the beliefs and motivations that shaped him as a person.

Information

Save 19%

£25.00

£20.05

Available to Order - This title is available to order, with delivery expected within 2 weeks
Add to Basket
Sign in to add to wishlist
 
Free Home Delivery

on all orders

 
Pick up orders

from local bookshops

Information