The Jew with the Iron Cross: A Record of Survival in WWII Russia Paperback – June 9, 2006

The Jew with the Iron Cross, by George Rauch, is a well-written and well-translated (by Phyllis Rauch) personal account of World War II. The author is part Jewish, and as a young boy he helps his Jewish mother hide relatives and other refugees in their Austrian home. Under the circumstances of WWII Austria, however, he finds himself a teenager forced into the infantry of the German war machine who then struggles to both survive and retain his identity. In this sense, the book could be summarized as a story of survival under the most adverse of circumstances. However, the book is much more than that.

In its personal, first-hand account of the battles, both inner and outer, confronted by this young man as he struggles to make sense of the multiple contradictions brought on by the war, this book is also about the dehumanizing and depersonalizing nature of war. Through the author's experiences, from conscription to the army in Vienna to killing opposing soldiers on the Russian front, we are reminded of the way in which war erases personhood and individual identity. The individual Russians, after all, may be just like him, captives of circumstance forced into a conflict they do not wholly understand and do not support. War, waged by governments and states, does not consider the individual sensibilities of those persons who will do the fighting. More importantly, once in a state of war, individuals lose many of the luxuries of decisionmaking, choice, agency, and autonomy that may have existed prior to the war. Starker still, at the front lines of wars, boys become soldiers, soldiers become killers, and the best chance of survival lies in becoming one of the best killers out there. And, in a tragic stroke of irony, those who fight the hardest to survive seem to lose the most upon survival.
War, in short, does not care. In the midst of this war, however, the author cared very much, and managed to survive both in person and in spirit. This book, then, is about more than the irony of an openly Jewish soldier fighting in the Nazi army, a young man removed from his family, a man forced to fight other men he had never met, or an artist's sensibilities tested, in the truest sense of the word, by the brutality and savagery of war. This book is about the impersonal and dehumanizing nature of war, and one man's struggle to retain his personality and humanity.

One of the unique aspects of this book is the correspondence between the author and his mother throughout the war. The book includes over 100 letters written by the author during the war and carefully saved by his mother in war-torn Austria. The letters fill in minute details of daily life on the front, and the absence of letters during the author's internment in a Russian prisoner camp only help to accent his isolation.

This book is a good reminder of how important it is to self-consciously consider our rationales for war. The author reminds us that war is very, very ugly. In addition to all the physical destruction, we also destroy and lose ourselves -- our sense of personhood and humanity -- in the impersonal and inhuman act of war. The book stands as an implicit indictment of war. Thus, in times of conflict, or impending conflict, we should ask more questions about who we are and who our supposed "enemies" are, rather than resorting to simplistic rhetoric that dehumanizes the other side and turns "we" and "they" into "us vs. them". The author's physical survival could be fairly categorized as miraculous, but his moral survival -- his humanity -- is of even greater substance and significance. It is this moral survival that should generate optimism about the future of the world. But we should pay tribute to this moral survival not by counting on our ability to do the same in times of conflict, but by struggling to prevent such conflicts in the first place.

This was a great book! It was very well written and easy to read. I have been reading about WWII all my life(and I am 43) and this book is up there amongst some of the best that I have read. I have read numerous autobiographies and this one is upfront, honest and very revealing of His(Georg's) life and what extreme things He had to endure. I found it every bit as enjoying as The Forgotten Soldier. This book was written to establish a form of closure for Georg, and I know you will not be dissapointed in buying it. Along with the help of His Great and longtime partner(wife...)Phyllis, they made this extaordinary accomplishment come to life in book form. Thanks for sharing this with us all. A+

Regards,

Michael

"k9mike"

This engrossing first-hand account of war on the horrendous Eastern Front of World War II presents a vivid picture of life in the German army as it waned in power and was eventually routed from Russia. At the time, the author was a young anti-war Viennese who was drafted into the German army when he reached his eighteenth birthday and was soon sent to the front. His letters home form a large part of the book, and together with the linking narrative they tell in breathtaking detail of his frequent escapes from death, sometimes by luck and often by quick-wittedness.

Peripherally, other aspects of the times come to light. Rauch was considered a Jew by the army because he had a Jewish grandmother. On this account he was not eligible for officer training, which was open to others at his educational level. This prejudice accounts for his being sent to the trenches so rapidly. We learn of his family, which was nonreligious but socially conscious, and their efforts to save Jews who were threatened by the Gestapo. And we also get glimpses of prewar Vienna and of the city under occupation, first by the Germans and then by the victorious Allies.

At the end I found myself amazed that anyone could live through so many harrowing experiences. The telling was lively, and I highly recommend the book.

Austrian draftee Georg Rauch did so well in Hitler's army that he earned an assignment to officer school. When Rauch told his commanding office he had to decline because he was 1/4 Jewish, he was sent instead to spend the remaninder of the war at the Russian front, miraculously escaping death several times and surviving to become a prominent artist.

A compelling story, beautifully told; so grippingly dramatic that, when I opened it merely to get a feel for what it was like, I couldn't put it down and read it in one sitting. It is also a story subtly infused with the love and respect for each other of a son and his mother, and of their graceful and indomitable spirits triumphing through horrific times.

The prose is supple and georgeous, thanks to the wondrous translation from the German by Rauch's American wife, Phyllis. A great story, compellingly told, and a very great treat to read.

The Jew with the Iron Cross is a compelling read, one that drew me in from the first few pages. Georg Rauch emerges as endearing and resourceful. In his letters home to his mother, he exhibits a depth of character and emotional maturity beyond that expected of a 16-year-old boy. I particiularly enjoyed how his love of food ended up bettering his own lot and that of his fellow soldiers. This book made me laugh and made me cry. I highly recommend it.