Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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.

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.