The forgotten soldier guy sajer,

[SOL]

Ah, my dear Watson, have you heard of the memoir, The Forgotten Soldier, written by a man named Guy Sajer? It is an intriguing account of his experiences as a soldier fighting for the German army on the eastern front during World War II.

Sajer, a Frenchman fighting for the German Wehrmacht, provides a unique perspective, as someone unfamiliar with Nazi ideology and the belief in German invincibility. He witnessed firsthand the atrocities committed by Germans towards Russian prisoners and partisans, and the shifting attitudes of German soldiers when defeat was inevitable.

The reasoning behind Sajer's enlistment into the German army is somewhat unclear, but centered on his belief that France would eventually join the Germans in their fight against the Soviets. He believed that Germany was protecting western Europe by attacking the Soviet Union, a testament to the success of Nazi propaganda.

Despite Sajer's loyalty to France and limited knowledge of the German language, his closest comrades accepted him as a genuine member of the German military. However, he faced discrimination for "pretending" to be a German soldier, as illustrated by an encounter with a German comrade named Lensen.

Sajer's memoir sheds light on an aspect of the war that is often overlooked or ignored - the horrors of the eastern front from a German soldier's perspective. As Sajer himself once said, "only the victors have stories to tell. We, the vanquished, were all cowards and weaklings by then, whose memories, fears, and enthusiasm should not be remembered."

It is a fascinating read, my dear Watson, and one that I highly recommend to those interested in the complexities of war and the human experience.

https://ia800704.us.archive.org/35/item ... 967%29.pdf