Blood Red Snow: The Memoirs of a German Soldier on the Eastern Front [Paperback]

Gunther K Koschorrek (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 2005

For the German soldier fighting under Hitler, keeping a diary was strictly forbidden. So Gunther Koschorrek, a fresh young recruit, wrote his notes on whatever scraps of paper he could find and sewed the pages into the lining of his winter coat. Left with his mother on his rare trips home, this illicit diary eventually was lost—and did not come to light until some 40 years later when Koschorrek was reunited with his daughter in America. It is this remarkable document, a unique day-to-day account of the common German soldier’s experience, that makes up the memoir that is Blood Red Snow.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This memoir is the first-person account of a German soldier who served on the eastern front during World War II. The author is not concerned with examining the reasons for the war or the tactics used to fight it. Rather, he sets out to present the day-to-day realities of the German soldiers by naming them and then relating their fates, which too often was violent death. Many of Koschorrek's compatriots were run over by Soviet tanks or blown to pieces by Soviet shells. This memoir by a former German soldier is reminiscent of accounts by American GIs, such as Charles Reis Felix's recent Crossing the Sauer. For capturing so unsparingly the banality and horror of war, this book is highly recommended for large public and academic libraries. Robert J. Andrews, Duluth P.L., MN
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Gunther K. Koschorrek was a machine gunner on the Russian front in WWII. He lives in Germany, having retired from his job as managing director of a sales company.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Zenith Press (October 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0760321981
• ISBN-13: 978-0760321980
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #330,674 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blood Red Snow - An enlightening Ost Front biography, February 12, 2003

By 

john m price, md (monroe, la United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blood Red Snow: The Memoirs of a German Soldier on the Eastern Front (Hardcover)

Blood Red Snow is yet another personal account of life for a common landser on the Ost Front from 1942-45.From the forword where the author describes his unlikely retrieval of manuscripts, I was gripped by this narrative. The author was able to convey the chaos of the retreat from Stalingrad, from which he narrowly escaped, in a very personal manner. Intimate details of his life with comrades at the front are interesting and add validity to this piece. I would rate this book as highly as Gottlob Bidermann's recent biography, In Deadly Combat. Both are hard hitting,touching, and, I believe, factual. Students of the Ost Front should not miss this excellent read.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A riveting memoir, February 11, 2007

By 

R. Hillis "splatters" (Tennessee, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blood Red Snow: The Memoirs of a German Soldier on the Eastern Front (Hardcover)

I really enjoyed the book. There were a few areas that a good editor could have polished, but overall an enjoyable book. The combat was brutal, but you felt at the end of the book that you were there too. It wasn't written by a war college, or compiled from after action reports. If you want orders of battle or such you will be disappointed, however, if you want to read about the eastern front and what it was like for the regular Wermacht grunts, you will love it. I have had it for over a year, and even now when I am between books, I find myself reading it again.....it never gets old.

63 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Memoir of the Eastern Front, February 25, 2003

By 

Matthew P. Arsenault (SW Michigan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blood Red Snow: The Memoirs of a German Soldier on the Eastern Front (Hardcover)

Koschorrek's work serves as an interesting memoir of an aspect of World War II not often discussed in the West. Yes, we often hear tales of the horrors of a winter invasion in Russia, and of Hitler's faults in directing the campaign, but we seldom hear a first person account of the conflict on the Russian steppes. I knew the battle for Stalingrad was full of blood and violence, but Koschorrek's work brought the actual sights of frontline combat to the fore. His descriptions of waves of Russian soldiers assaulting his machine gun position, and the incessant barrage of artillery shells draws a chilling reminder of the utter horror and destruction faced on all sides during WW II.

I also found the records of Koschorrek's growing disillusionment with Hitler and his Nazi party very enlightening. As a frontline soldier, Koschorrek doesn't claim to have been an expert on the political situation in Germany. Many times he announces that he was fighting for the German people, rather than the Third Reich. And towards the end of his extremely long time on the Eastern Front, Koschorrek claims only to be fighting for his fellow soldiers. It must have been a terrible struggle to continue on in a failing attempt to capture Stalingrad, and then endure a savage retreat all the way to the gates of Berlin. To see one's homeland utterly destroyed would be terrible in itself, but then to realize this destruction was caused by the ideas of a madman would almost be too terrible to bear. Koschorrek's book serves as yet another good reminder of the lunacy and horror that is war.

The one disappointment I found in Koschorrek's book was the writing. Although I understand that he was probably attempting to vanquish some long standing demons, the use of a co-author would have made the book more readable. His complete use of first person narration, at times, becomes trying. I see that he was attempting to retain the vision of frontline life as it happened, but this reader would have rather seen him use some other literary methods in order to bring more cohesion to the story. Still, Blood Red Snow is a good book.