Frontsoldaten

September 4, 1995
Drawn from letters, diaries and memoirs, this impressive study presents a rounded, detailed picture of the daily life of the Landser-the ordinary German infantryman of WWII-and takes an unblinking look at the stark realities of combat, particularly on the Russian front, where 80% of the German soldiers fought; the hardships endured; and the crushing anxiety of being surrounded by death and killing. The evidence that surfaces in these pages demonstrates that the remarkable unit cohesion and fighting performance of the Landser was due in large part to the bonds of military friendship inherited from Prussian tradition; Wehrmacht leaders ``raised the concept of camaraderie almost to the level of strategic doctrine.'' The study also reveals ways in which the German soldier embraced ideological commitment to National Socialism and how, encouraged by Nazi propaganda, he was free to engage in virtually unlimited criminality if it was directed against the so-called enemies of the German people. Fritz, who teaches history at East Tennessee State, makes edifying comparisons between the Landser and his American, British and Russian counterparts. His book helps explain why the German army was so relentlessly efficient in battle.

September 1, 1995
The experience of the British and American common soldier in World War II has been extensively studied. Not so, at least in English, that of his principal opponent, the German "Landser" (infantryman). Fritz draws on both published and unpublished material, little of it previously translated, to make up for the deficiency. The German soldier survived far more rigorous training than his Allied counterparts (which explains much of his superior proficiency), survived (on the eastern front, at least) indescribable conditions, and was more sympathetic to the objectives and attitudes of National Socialism than has been admitted previously. He also feared death and wounds, mourned comrades overtaken by them, yearned for home, and took a dim view of mud, lice, brutal NCOs, inept or martinet officers, and hostile artillery. In short, he was a soldier doing his duty; the tragedy is that he did it so well in such an abominable cause. ((Reviewed Sept. 1, 1995))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1995, American Library Association.)