Tales of an American Soldier: From KP to seeing his former Nazi leaders in the dock at Nuremberg [Paperback]

Werner H. Von Rosenstiel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 10, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0759693390 | ISBN-13: 978-0759693395

This is the true tale of a German lawyer and former member of Hitler's army who becomes an American lawyer and is drafted into the U.S. Army. Subjected to interrogations and posted to units where the army can keep him away from anything important, this private pulls a lot of KP, gets sent to a unit consisting of enemy aliens, and assigned to a Quartermaster Laundry Battalion. When it is determined that he is not a spy, he is shipped to Europe with an airborne unit. Eventually the army uses his background to its advantage, promoting him to second lieutenant and sending him to the War Crimes Unit in Germany to read secret files. He encounters Hermann Goering, Albert Speer and other Nazis when is assigned to Justice Jackson's staff for the War Crimes Trials in Nuremberg.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Born into Prussian nobility in 1911 during the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm, Werner von Rosenstiel lived in Germany through an especially volatile period. Germany would lose World War I, suffer debilitating inflation following the Treaty of Versailles, and undergo a revolution that established the Weimer Republic--all events that planted the seeds of Hitler's Third Reich.

Von Rosenstiel studied at Gymnasium and University, taking a degree in Law, with the presumed outcome of becoming a judge. Following University, he served in the German Wehrmacht.

Keenly observant and aware of the changes in his country resulting from Hitler's rise to power, von Rosenstiel emigrated to the United States and eventually became a U.S. citizen.

Drafted into the U.S. Army, von Rosenstiel was assigned into a unit of "enemy aliens" until his loyalty was established to the Army's satisfaction, after which he was assigned to the European theater and later to the War Crimes Unit to read secret German files.

His service to his adopted country culminated in duty as an interpreter at Nuremburg, where he saw Hermann Goering, Albert Spear, and his other former Nazi bosses tried for war crimes.

Following the war, von Rosenstiel practiced law and raised his family and today lives in St. Petersburg, Florida with his wife, Anne. He is a much-sought-after lecturer on World War II and Germany in the 20th Century. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: 1st Book Library (July 10, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0759693390
• ISBN-13: 978-0759693395
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,440,728 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More amazing than fiction., March 14, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Tales of an American Soldier (Hardcover)

Dr. Von Rosenstiel's story may seem unbelievable at first blush, but it is indeed one of the most fascinating stories I've heard from the WWII era. In fact, Von Rosenstiel's captivating story begins well before the outbreak of world war, and even before Hitler's rise to power in 1933. I have had the honor of hearing Dr. Von Rosenstiel speak of his life story on several occasions and can say that the book is just as authentic as the man.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fascinating true stories of an extraordinary life, August 26, 2001

By 

Kathleen Kingsford (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tales of an American Soldier (Paperback)

Werner Von Rosenstiel's life started in Germany in 1911. He grew up and became a lawyer and started work in Hitler's judicial system and quickly realized that he was not able to support Hitler's legal policies. He came to America, where he was tried unsuccessfully as an undesirable alien and was able to join the Army. Still suspected of being a spy, he was given the lowest of jobs, until authorites realized that his knowledge of German and German law was an asset to the American forces. Sent back to Germany to fight on the opposite side from his family, he rescued his sister from the Russians, and is later assigned to organize the German evidence used in the Nueurenberg Trials. This stand alone volume describes the war years and the Trials from a different perspective. Mr Von Rosenstiel tells his extraordianary story in an entertaining and perceptive manner. He makes you feel as though you are right there with him, and he is a delightful companion.

1 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars "Heroes" before and after WW II, September 11, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Tales of an American Soldier (Paperback)

It seems that the author was extremely successful during Hitler's reign. Only active members of the party or enthusiastic "fellow travelers," as they were called after WW.II. would have been sent abroad and given the advantages related in the book. Does the author or any of his readers realize how much harm was done to Germany and all of the world, one may say , by the opportunistic support given to Hitler by German intellectuals? The author was one of them. He certainly was not a member of any resistance group(die weisse Rose, Kreisauer Kreis, die bekennende Kirche). After the USA had defeated Germany, it was easy to see to it that prominent Nazis and their generals would be hanged.