The War of Our Childhood: Memories of World War II (Hardcover)

Why aren't books like these "required" reading in history classes?

This is a moving work by Wolfgang Samuel about German children in WWII, their recollections of things endured and things taken away from the experience. In the author's earlier book, GERMAN BOY, he wrote about his own childhood as a refugee during the war and the debt he owed his mother. In this book, he interviews survivors and learns the details of their stories. Some did not wish to relive those years, but did so reluctantly with the writer's encouragement. He was one of them. The reader is privileged to experience these accounts, some of which were not previously shared with anyone.

One must steel oneself to read events in these stories. Some of the things that happened are terrifying and difficult to confront. They are tragic in the truest sense. These stories are about children who lost their parents and relatives, homes, and an entire way of life. Some were strafed by low flying fighters on the way home from school, and a number saw or heard women, sometimes relatives, being raped by Russian soldiers. Most endured the elements and were hungry more often than not. These stories are about kids who survived the war with only the clothes they wore, viewed in the areas where they ended up as refugee riffraff.

Why read such a book? Perhaps, the answer is to learn more about the experience of other human beings, in a time not so distant, who were on the losing end of the war. Also, everything is not as unambiguous as one might think. For example, a number of those who were German children then report that Russian soldiers who raped women were ironically, generally kind to children, "even generous at times, sharing the little they had." One man even said he forgave the Russians who raped his mother, that it was their leaders who encouraged them to take revenge on the Germans. Other surprising information of a lighter nature in this book is that many Russians learned to speak German relatively quickly, and even low-ranking soldiers showed a remarkable language aptitude.

One comes away from this book recognizing the strength of character and resourcefulness of these people. Most give credit to the mothers who guided and saved them while their fathers were away fighting and dying in the war. They talk about how their families worked as a team under the mother's leadership, to survive. A number said that they thought of their fathers only as photographs. Surprisingly, few of them had much bitterness about what they endured. Courage and discipline was the rule among them, and it served them well in surviving. Many experienced all the adversity that one can imagine. Those of us who think we have endured difficulty in life may change our minds after reading this book. Wolfgang Samuel's accomplishment in compiling these stories is enormous and worthy of the utmost respect.

Samuel, now Colonel Samuel, United States Air Force (retired), has given us his own story in German Boy, how he survived and how he eventually found a fulfilling life and career in the US. As he recalled this phase of his life, he realized that he was part of a larger whole, a generation of children who lived through these same horrors of war and yet somehow went on to become normal and productive persons. The War of Our Childhood is his compilation of first-person stories told by members of that generation. In a series of 27 interviews, Samuel lets each tell his or her story, although some were reluctant to be interviewed, to relive those suppressed memories of long ago. The book is organized into three chapters: Those who faced the war directly on the ground; and those who were either displaced by their conquerors from the East or forced to live under them at war's end. Underlying nearly every story is the constant fear of the Russians, whose cruelty and barbarism were whetted by the additional motivation of revenge. This fear and the flight to the West of millions of Germans in the face of the advancing hordes form the single consistent background throughout this period of chaos and displacement.

In nearly every story a kind of indomitable spirit shines through, especially among the women, who somehow kept on going. Some stories are more shocking than others, but one still wonders how the German nation and culture survived such decimation and onslaught. Yet in spite of their violent and deprived start in life, these children persevered, grew up, and went on to build meaningful lives, somehow made stronger for their hardships and experience. Lessons for the reader need not be expressly articulated; Colonel Samuel lets the people speak for themselves. This reviewer, who as a six-year-old fled Pomerania with his mother and younger brother, just one step ahead of the tanks and with shots ringing in his ears, experienced many of these same events. From reading The War of Our Childhood he now comes away both enligtened and a bit saddened, but reminded one more time never to take for granted the good things he enjoys today.