Author Luis Raffeiner published the book “Eyewitness to Wehrmacht Atrocities on the Eastern Front: A German Soldier’s Memoir of War and Captivity” at the end of November.

I categorize this book as ‘R’ due to scenes of violence. This book is the author’s memoir. The book begins with a brief history of Raffeiner’s early life. He was born and grew up in the South Tyrol region of Northern Italy. He was called up for the Alpini, the Italian Mountain Infantry, in 1938. He goes on to describe his early days in the military and the training he went through.

South Tyrol borders Austria in Northern Italy. Many in the region are of German extraction. In 1939 shortly after the beginning of the war, those from South Tyrol were given the option of becoming Germans. Raffeiner chose this option and left the Italian Army for the Wehrmacht. The book goes on to cover his service with the German Army on the Eastern Front.

Raffeiner was trained as a mechanic and served in an Assault Gun unit. He participated in the invasion of Russia in 1941 and was eventually captured by the Russians. He mentions atrocities carried out by both the German and Russian military. After serving time as a POW, he eventually returned to South Tyrol. Many photos Raffeiner took are included in the book.

I enjoyed the 5 hours I spent reading this 198-page WWII history. I enjoy reading first-hand accounts such as this. I am more interested in the Western Front of the European Theater, but it is enlightening to read about the war in the East. I like the chosen cover art. I rate this book as a 3.8 (rounded up to a 4) out of 5.

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A telling memoir where a lack of individual responsibility accompanies non-admission of guilt.

The Third Reich, as any empire before it, consisted of ordinary people with their desires, families, and objectives. The book 'Eyewitness to Wehrmacht Atrocities on the Eastern Front' starts with childhood years like any other autobiography or biography. Luis Raffeiner was born into a low-income, burdened with many children family in South Tyrol in 1917. From the early years, he knew poverty and hunger and, after a fire that destroyed their village, a longing for home. Without him being aware, his life would soon dramatically change under the influence of Mussolini's fascism and Hitler's nationalism.

A brief (sometimes with considerable gaps in the narrative) chronicle focuses on the military training before 1941, the Eastern front of WWII, and the survival in the Russian POW camp after the war. Through the eyes of a mechanic of assault guns, a reader sees a story of contradicting emotions: joy from taking photographs with the Ukrainian peasants; disdain when a captured Russian soldier eats insides of a long-dead horse; casual cruelty toward civilians in the name of self-preservation. In opposition to the terrifying details of the German advance, numerous pictures taken by the author show life behind the German lines as nothing out of the ordinary. The story doesn't contain outlines of campaigns or provide a general picture - the view is limited to the personal perception of the war.

The book shows no admission of guilt from the author's side. Perhaps, it is due to how the book was created: Luise Ruatti, an author's friend, recorded Luis Raffeiner's confession on tape and then transcribed it. Thus, a text doesn't convey emotions during the retelling. The language is simple, with no hyperboles, metaphors, or dialogues. The clarity of the story and blatant excuses to do evil spotlight the horrors of WWII. The author formulates his thinking of that time as follows:

'But I had no feelings of guilt. In this world, it was normal, it was not a crime, even if that is not understood in today's world. That was war, that was part of it, it was about survival.'

The afterword by historian Hannes Heer that should have delivered a critical analysis looks unnecessary: it retells the book's content with short remarks and then shows after-WWII philosophers' thoughts on what constitutes guilt. Correction of wrong dates/places unintentionally made by the author is the only positive side of this chapter.

I'd recommend the book as a prelude before serious diving into WWII. The pictured atrocities are horrendous, yet they are not new to the readers with previous knowledge in the field.

I received an advance review copy, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Luis Raffeiner grew up in a poor farming area of South Tyrol. The ethnic Germans were given the option of staying in Italy or emigrating to Germany. Luis moved from the Italian army to the Wehrmacht, serving as an assault gun mechanic.
Marching into Ukraine in June, 1941, he had little knowledge of war plans and was sympathetic to the civilians and Jews. As the war continued, he became numb to people’s suffering, believing the war justified the means. They confiscated peasants’ provisions, burned their homes, stole their warm clothing, because the German army had to live off the land.
Besides his reminiscence, the editor spends a lot of time recapping and analyzing Raffeiner’s war. His words could have stood on their own.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I haven't read anything before about World War II from the German perspective and therefore was very interested to see how this is portrayed from that angle and whilst I found this book definitely provided insight of what it was like from Raffeiner's eyes, from what I have read in other books and seen in documentary's, I'm not sure how much was "missed", "forgotten" or "locked away" as the memories are too painful or too awful to talk about.

This is however a valuable read if you want to get some idea of what it was like for a "simple" German soldier; the vivid descriptions of the hardships of being on the Eastern frontline and how luck played a huge part in his life are well documented and it also gives a really good account of Raffeiner's tough early years growing up and the choices he had to make.

Whilst this isn't what I feel a comprehensive book on this subject, it is an important individual and personal story that is captivating and I need to thank Pen & Sword Books and NetGalley for a copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.

This book does not hold back on detail nor information that helps to hold up the authors story. I have never read such a story! Of the many WW2 German Biographies and accounts I can say this is the most readable and detailed in a way that held my attention to the last. War s filled with atrocities by both German and Soviet forces but try finding accounts that give much of the picture and not just snippets. The amount of death from that war is staggering IMO and this is the story that usually never gets told. If you are a history buff or just want to know the truth of war then IMO you cant go wrong reading this interesting and tragic tale.

Generously provided by NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review; this book is a fascinating piece of history. Having read many history volumes and books on World War II, it is individual stories like these that captivate the reader. While it seems sometimes that the author downplays his part on many war atrocities he does try to paint an emotional narrative of his time in war. I have not read much about the war on the Eastern Front between the Germans and the Soviet Union and this is not the book to illuminate that part of the war. What this book does do is provide an individual account which should stir up the desire to read and to learn more. Illustrated with the author’s personal pictures, reading this book is like sitting across from Mr. Raffeiner at the pub listening to the story of his life and how he came to be a participant in the Nazi War machine. The sad part is that you cannot ask him the questions that come upon you as you read. All in all, a very enlightening and personal book.

A great novel on the hardships faced by the common German soldier during the war in Russia. His hardships he faced not only during the war, but after surrendering are inspirational. This is an outstanding book.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #Danielle Steel, and #Random house for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a truthful look at the German army on the Eastern front during WWII by a solider who was there. He doesn't hide anything nor does he sugar coat it. There are times that it is hard read because it is a book about war. But it is worth the read.

Words are not adequate to capture my emotions when reading this powerful book. I have been reading many excellent books on WWII but this one is outstanding. It moved me to the point of taking my breath away. The words of soldier Luis Raffeiner are simple but potent, poignant, brutal, compelling, informative and descriptive. Oh, so effective. My mind practically clung to the book, as horrendous as some descriptions are, as so much of the information is new to me and very important to know.

Luis Raffeiner describes his tragic upbringing in Tyrol, his training on assault guns to Wehrmacht and life (and death) as a soldier (on the German side...he had to choose) through Poland to the Soviet Union. The atrocities committed by his fellow soldiers and sometimes himself are impossible to fathom but he does not gloss over facts. He is truthful and honest about what happened which makes the reading experience all the more emotionally gripping. During this time he took about 200 photographs and gave them to his staunch Nazi cousin for safekeeping but most disappeared. Still, several survived. And what photographs they are! Highly personal and often unsettling, though some are lighthearted. He even includes travel documents!

The stories are beyond riveting and memorable. He tells of his father's watch, fascism in school, traveling through Poland (those photos!), the first soldier killed, dreadful treatment of Jews, lice stories, taking over homes and killing livestock to survive, "restacking", desperation for food (and sometimes it wasn't even food), his mechanical inclinations (fashioning padlocks whilst in a camp) and the research hospital. But two of the most tragic include the exploding horse and warm ashes. Raffeiner saw war as a "moral catastrophe" and obeyed orders. He found himself "no longer human". However, what he experienced made him physically sick.
He himself suffered deplorable conditions including -40C in Moscow. It is impossible to imagine putting myself in his shoes for even one day, let alone years.

The last portion of the book details his life after the war and afterword. But war, of course, affected his entire self. Most people did not/do not wish to talk about it. They could not. I am extremely grateful his story was recorded. It should be required reading.

My sincere thank you to Pen & Sword for the honour of reading this heartbreaking and crushing book. It is difficult to read yet important. Thank you to Mr. Raffeiner who told his story. It will always stay with me.