Description
A revealing, fast moving, graphic, and at times entertainingly funny account of a German soldier’s experiences during World War II.
Beginning with his father’s time in the trenches of the Western Front in WW1, the carefully constructed narrative places the reader at the very heart of Heini Elfner’s story. Heini grew up in Germany during the chaotic inter-war years of hyper-inflation, the rise of Hitler, and the lost hope of the Munich Crisis leading to World War II.
Joining the Kriegsmarine Coastal Artillery, he served on Heligoland and at Emden where he experienced the terror of carpet bombing. Posted to the Adriatic, death was a constant companion at the hands of naval gunnery and the daily low level strikes by fighter-bombers.
He fell in love with the enemy; a beautiful young Italian femme fatale, who unbeknown to him was part of the Resistance. The information which he innocently shared with her nearly cost him his life. Later captured by Yugoslav partisans, his abilities as a waffenmeister [weapons master] saved him from their all-female execution squad.
Following a daring escape, he was hidden by Italian friends in Trieste before surrendering to the British after several hilariously failed attempts. In 1946, Heini came to Britain as part of a POW UXB team digging out unexploded Luftwaffe bombs, but rather than return to his home, by then under Russian control in communist East Germany, he stayed, married, and worked for GKN Sankey engineering.
Details
Publisher - Laundry Cottage Books
Author(s) - Kenneth Ballantyne
Paperback
Published Date -
ISBN - 9780955060151
Dimensions - 21.5 x 14 x 1.7 cm
Page Count - 312
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