Overview

Farm boy. Franciscan Seminarian. Waffen SS Obersturmführer. American POW. Doctor in Vietnam A private person, devoted to his career, Sepp rarely mentioned his past, even to his own family. When in the late 1960s US secret documents about WW II interrogations and illegal eavesdropping were leaked to him, he decided it was time to tell his eldest son Herwig the truth in a letter. Sepp's letter forms the basis of this remarkable memoir. From an almost medieval childhood in an impoverished hill-village near Graz, proceeding to his years at a Franciscan seminary, contemplating God whilst Austria passed from Civil war to the orderly insanity of Nazi rule. And on to Sepp's own part in it: explaining why he joined the Waffen SS in 1939, recounting his medical studies and his front-line service in the last brutal conflict of the Second World War, his growing horror at the realities of Nazism, and his reasons for surrendering to the U.S. military. As the war ends, his battles continue: to justify his actions to the Allies, to betray former comrades, to carve out a future in a country still run by Nazis. This is a compelling and provocative true story, confronting readers, not only with the atrocities of the time, but with an insight into the ordinary people who took part in them and lived with the consequences.

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9782059720610

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University Professor Dr. phil. Alois Kernbauer, Karl-Franzens University Graz, Austria, History Department. Published 'Die SS Ärztliche Akademie' ('The SS Medical Academy' in Graz, 1939-1945) in an email to the author: 'EVERYTHING is extremely interesting to me. There is no comparable informative description of any of the 'Junkers' [students] of the SS Medical Academy like his [Sepp Salmutter's] life and thus of these years. Your very interesting manuscript indicates that your father wrote you lengthy letters. This gives the text great liveliness.'

Author Information

Herwig Hans Salmutter is the eldest son of seven children, coming from two generations of practicing medical doctors. He spent his childhood at the end of the Second World War in an impoverished hill village near Graz in Austria where he attended the local Elementary school. At the age of eleven, in 1954 and at the height of the Cold War his father moved the family to Eastern Germany where the author spent seven years near the Baltic Sea and later in Dresden where he passed his communist Baccalaureate with Russian as his first foreign language. While in Dresden, from the age of 16 to 18, he spent most of his time flying solo gliders having become a member of a paramilitary sports club. During his time in Eastern Germany, being young and impressionable, propaganda and subtle brainwashing inclined him towards communism. At the age of 18 the author returned to Austria to study Petroleum Engineering at the Mining University of Leoben. By the time he had obtained his Master degree and, following the Russian Red Army march into Prague in 1968 he had thrown off the shackles of any still lingering communist ideology. Now begins a twenty years odyssey working as a Petroleum Engineer mainly in jungles and deserts around the globe. His first assignment was Cotonou in Dahomey, then Warri in Nigeria, followed by four years in Hassi-Messaoud in the middle of the Algerian Sahara. Tarakan in Indonesia and three years in Ahvaz in Iran under the rule of the Shah of Persia followed. Subsequently Houston, Texas and Calgary in Canada before ending his petroleum career as Vice President ODECO (Gabon) Petroleum Inc. in Port Gentil in Gabon, West Africa.The author's English wife Christine faithfully shared all overseas assignments creating a peaceful accommodating home space for them wherever they went. She got involved in the established customs, and made life-long friends with local women exchanging cooking recipes and garments. She artfully overcame any challenging language struggles.Working in far-away places could have been times of hardship. Mobil phones did not exist. Phone calls back to Europe had to be organized and could take two days before getting through. The lack of newspapers and English language TV required self-reliance and acceptance. Mail took three weeks to arrive. Satellite TV or even video cassettes did not yet exist. Looking back, however, the author believes that these were wonderful years full of exciting experiences and personal happiness.After twenty years overseas Herwig Salmutter came back to England and a few years later became a naturalized British Citizen. He and his wife started a successful property rental company in London. The author and his wife have traveled extensively allaround the world. They now live in London, UK and in Graz, Austria and share their interest in art history, reading, photography and fine dining in gourmet restaurants.

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