Klaus G. Förg talked to many people who either directly or indirectly fought in the Second World War. The fates of the soldiers who witnessed this terrible conflict will not only take the reader's breath away, but will literally draw him into the course of war events. Heinz Polke acted as the lieutenant's personal driver during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, which was brutally suppressed by the Nazis. His description of the scene when he and the lieutenant arrived in a Warsaw square is depressing and at the same time shows the horrors of war. During his long and difficult journey through the Russian POW camps, Michael Strasser managed to obtain incredible photographs that were smuggled out of Russian captivity for his narrative. Josef Hamberger wandered alone on the endless plains of Russia and several times found himself in a very bad situation, but each time he was saved by his guardian angel, as he himself admitted several times in his narrative. Erich Menzel worked as a radar specialist on the famous submarine U 234 and after the German capitulation he was taken into American captivity, the conditions of which could not be compared to those of the Soviets.
*****
During our conversations, they told me with incredible openness what they experienced, what they thought and what they felt at the time. Some broke down in tears during our interviews, overcome by the power of memories of their traumatic experiences. The details of those dark years were still being recalled to the smallest detail. They assured me that the most terrifying experiences could not be suppressed. Every day they arise in the memory and every day burden life until old age. At the same time, my witnesses realized how incredibly lucky they were to survive and to be able to lead normal lives again. Among my many respondents, I did not meet anyone who glorified the war. Everyone emphasized from the bottom of their hearts that nothing like this should ever happen again. For me, these conversations became the most powerful experience of my life, despite the often terrifying descriptions. Klaus G. Förg