Overview

"""As a 15-year-old boy I fought briefly in a war. My fight was neither noble nor heroic. I saw the horrors that no 15-year-old boy should ever see. I came into war purely by happenstance, and survived it purely by luck."" Gerhardt B. Thamm grew up on his grandfather's farm in Lower Silesia, the hinterlands of Germany. In early 1945 this land, near the Czechoslovakian and Polish borders, became a battleground. The Soviets captured Lower Silesia in February, and Thamm, like many of his Hitler Youth high school classmates, was conscripted to fight on the Eastern Front until the last few days of World War II, experiencing firsthand fearsome barbarity and atrocity. Thamm's family was deported from Silesia in 1946 to West Germany. Gerhardt Thamm arrived in the United States in 1948. The 17-year-old Thamm joined the U.S. Army the same year and served more than 20 years as an enlisted man. ""Maybe, just maybe, I fought in this war to escape the barbarity. Maybe I wrote this book to still the memories."""

Full Product Details

Author:   Gerhardt B. Thamm
Publisher:   McFarland & Co Inc
Imprint:   McFarland & Co Inc
Edition:   Revised and Updated to Include New Develop ed.
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.00cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.263kg
ISBN:  

9780786431113

ISBN 10:   0786431113
Pages:   188
Publication Date:   28 February 2007
Recommended Age:   From 18 years
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In stock  
We have confirmation that this item is in stock with the supplier. It will be ordered in for you and dispatched immediately.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents Preface      Prologue      PART ONE : THEWAY IT HAD BEEN      PART TWO : ON THE HOME FRONT      1. 1939      2. 1940      3. 1941      4. 1942      5. 1943      6. 1944      7. 1945      PART THREE : GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG (APOCALYPSE)      8. The Omen      9. Distant Thunder      10. Flight      11. Retreat into the Sudeten Mountains      PART FOUR : BOY SOLDIERS      12. Oh, to Be a Soldier      13. Sergeant “One-Eye”      14. Frontline Duty      15. The “Forgotten Front”      16. The Russian Boy      17. “Routine” Patrol      18. Ah, Natascha      19. To the Bitter End      Postscript: Strangers in Their Own Land      Notes      Index     

Reviews

[an] amazing memoir...offers a youthful perspective on the politics and propaganda of Nazi Germany --C&RL News; useful...puts a human face on the suffering brought by war --The Book Report; entertaining WWII memoir --Stone & Stone Second World War Books; gives a unique perspective of World War II --The CNL Book Digest; I took my time getting through Gerhardt Thamm's Boy Soldier, A German Teenager at the Nazi Twilight , because I enjoy the way he uses words and very much enjoyed his descriptions of life in his home town before the war...intriguing --Colonel Richard Latham, USAF Ret.; A compelling personal account that is a valuable addition. --William B. Webb, Brig. Gen, USAF Ret.

[an] amazing memoir...offers a youthful perspective on the politics and propaganda of Nazi Germany --C&RL News</reviewquote>

[an] amazing memoir...offers a youthful perspective on the politics and propaganda of Nazi Germany --C&RL News useful...puts a human face on the suffering brought by war --The Book Report entertaining WWII memoir --Stone & Stone Second World War Books gives a unique perspective of World War II --The CNL Book Digest; I took my time getting through Gerhardt Thamm's Boy Soldier, A German Teenager at the Nazi Twilight , because I enjoy the way he uses words and very much enjoyed his descriptions of life in his home town before the war...intriguing --Colonel Richard Latham, USAF Ret. A compelling personal account that is a valuable addition. --William B. Webb, Brig. Gen, USAF Ret.

[an] amazing memoir...offers a youthful perspective on the politics and propaganda of Nazi Germany --C&RL News

Author Information

Gerhardt B. Thamm retired in 1987 after serving more than 38 years in intelligence and security-related operations. He has written for the Armed Forces Journal International, Periscope, Golden Sphinx, The Voice of Intelligence and Naval Proceedings. In 1994 the CIA specially honored Gerhardt for a report which was recently declassified and published in Naval Intelligence Professional Quarterly. He now lives in Fernandina Beach, Florida.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions