German Boy: A Child in War

Rating:
Summary: How a Boy and his Family Survived the War
Review: "German Boy, a Child in War"
Wolfgang W. E. Samuel
ISBN 0-7679-0824-4
2000

This autobiography of childhood by Wolfgang Samuel is the story of a German boy growing up during World War II. When the momentum of the war turned against Germany, the Russians attacked from the east and routed the German army and civilian population as well. The book recounts how Samuel and his family abandoned their home and possessions and fled for their lives. In the following years, they survived under circumstances that most of us can hardly imagine. This is a very touching story, largely about the writer‘s mother, who did whatever was necessary and paid any price for the survival of her children, the author and his younger sister. Although it is a story of deprivation and terror, it is also about acts of incredible courage and noble behavior under terrible circumstances by ordinary people.

This book is admirable in its originality and all the more powerful in having been written by the person who lived it. Above all, it is a remarkable story of courage and tenacity of the human spirit.

Rating:
Summary: Personal Memoir Filled With Reproaches.
Review: "German Boy: A Child In War" by Wolfgang W. E. Samuel
Wolfgang turned ten years old in February 1945, just as Soviet tanks were marching towards the town of Sagan in East Germany. (Sagan is now Zagan in Poland). The author has written an excellent book about being a boy in that time. This book is NOT about Germany's losing Pomerania, Silesia East Prussia, etc. Col. Samuel has been able to capture the memory of his feelings as a small boy as his world collapses around him. Besides the usual trials and tribulations of a boy growing up, Wolfgang had to deal with being afraid and distrustful of adults, of being the refugee outsider in close-knit German villages and being "from the big city" in these small villages. All of these things most boys do not want to be. Somehow, Col. Samuel has been able to capture the boyish feelings he had years ago and write them down in this very personal memoir.

The adult Samuel was able to capture the childhood way of thinking. For example, on page 70, he writes, " I became uneasy at seeing the barrier. If they had build tank barriers, they must be expecting Russian tanks. My sense of security diminished... ." In other sections, he records his childhood reproaches of mostly his mother, and somewhat, of his father. It is as if his parents were somehow to blame for much of the difficulties he experienced. He does not, however, record any feeling of reproach for himself, as when, e.g. foolishly, he walks through a raging blizzard to go to school, even though his mother had warned him not to do so. His distrust of adults is further justified when the baker, to whom he is apprenticed, switches Wolfgang form the union-inspected room to housing in a bombed -out ruin, after the union inspector has left the premises. On the other hand, he has only good things to say about both sets of grandparents.

Colonel Samuel's childhood experiences would make most of us very cynical; he has survived them to have a productive thirty year career in the United States Air force.

Rating:
Summary: Personal Memoir Filled With Reproaches.
Review: "German Boy: A Child In War" by Wolfgang W. E. Samuel
Wolfgang turned ten years old in February 1945, just as Soviet tanks were marching towards the town of Sagan in East Germany. (Sagan is now Zagan in Poland). The author has written an excellent book about being a boy in that time. This book is NOT about Germany's losing Pomerania, Silesia East Prussia, etc. Col. Samuel has been able to capture the memory of his feelings as a small boy as his world collapses around him. Besides the usual trials and tribulations of a boy growing up, Wolfgang had to deal with being afraid and distrustful of adults, of being the refugee outsider in close-knit German villages and being "from the big city" in these small villages. All of these things most boys do not want to be. Somehow, Col. Samuel has been able to capture the boyish feelings he had years ago and write them down in this very personal memoir.

The adult Samuel was able to capture the childhood way of thinking. For example, on page 70, he writes, " I became uneasy at seeing the barrier. If they had build tank barriers, they must be expecting Russian tanks. My sense of security diminished... ." In other sections, he records his childhood reproaches of mostly his mother, and somewhat, of his father. It is as if his parents were somehow to blame for much of the difficulties he experienced. He does not, however, record any feeling of reproach for himself, as when, e.g. foolishly, he walks through a raging blizzard to go to school, even though his mother had warned him not to do so. His distrust of adults is further justified when the baker, to whom he is apprenticed, switches Wolfgang form the union-inspected room to housing in a bombed -out ruin, after the union inspector has left the premises. On the other hand, he has only good things to say about both sets of grandparents.

Colonel Samuel's childhood experiences would make most of us very cynical; he has survived them to have a productive thirty year career in the United States Air force.

Rating:
Summary: A Fascinating and Important Book
Review: Colonel Samuel,USAF ret., was born in Nazi Germany to a woman raised in a small town to the north of Berlin and to an officer in the Luftwaffe. German Boy: A Child in War is an account of his life from the age of 10, when he, his mother, and sister became refugees fleeing the advance of Soviet forces in January 1945, to the age of 15, when he emigrated to the United States with his mother and step-father. In between, he lived in both the Soviet and British zones of occupation. This book sets forth Colonel Samuel's vivid, honest, and unsentimental recollection of the devastation, privation, degradation, brutality, and starvation that he and his family witnessed and experienced during those years. It is well written and it takes hold of the reader from the first paragaph and stays with one long after the last sentence has been read.

"German Boy" is an important work. As a history, it relates something about a period of history that is not commonly known -- the horrors of World War II in Europe continued long after the fighting ended in May of 1945. As a personal account, it offers hope. Wolfgang Samuel, like millions of children before, during, and since World War II, directly experienced events through which no child should ever have to suffer. His story highlights the resilience of the individual and illustrates that with the will, the perseverance, optimism, and some luck, one can survive disaster and live a better life. This volume would make excellent supplemenary reading for high school and college history courses.

Those who find "German Boy" to be of interest may also consider reading another excellent book, which is titled, "A Woman in Berlin." The author is anonymous. As the title suggests, the book is a published journal written by a young woman while she was living in Berlin during the weeks before the fall of the city to the Soviets and through the first weeks of the Soviet occupation. It was published during the 1950s and is now out of print. However, it is not too difficult to find and it is well worth the effort.

Rating:
Summary: Authentic as Little House on the Prairie
Review: Finding this book was one of life's pleasant surprises. There's no trace of self-pity, but Samuel does chronicle in great detail horrific events in the life of a young German refugee fleeing the Soviets in the wake of WWII. In the final analysis, what are the lessons of living on the edge of survival? This book provides a partial answer.

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Summary: TERRIFIC BOOK, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED READING
Review: I bought this book because I was going on vacation and wanted something to read. Once I started it I could not put it down. Mr. Samuel's story is fascinating. I had no idea that for the German people the fallout from the war continued for many years. This book explains the horrors visited on people who were the victims of despots and murderers posing as "leaders". This story tells of his mother's struggle for the survival of the family. All of her actions were not perfect or moral choices but given his families desperate situation Mr. Samuels mother did what she thought had to be done to survive. I would think this caused pain to the author and was traumatic for a young boy.After many years Mr. Samuels has chosen to respect, forgive and understand his mother's actions in the context of the extreme circumstances with which they had to contend in post war Germany. I appreciated his heartfelt expression of gratitude for friends and strangers who helped the family. I was moved by the depth of his feeling for his grandparents. I was heartened by his continued optimism and his strong belief that America would offer him a better life. This book is a must read!

Rating:
Summary: Heartbreaking story of a child caught up in madness
Review: I read this book in 2 days; it's one of those I just couldn't seem to put down until I had finished it. The story of young Wolfgang, especially the beginning of the book when he really doesn't understand what is happening, almost brought me to tears as I was reading it, and I am a veteran of the Marine Corps and the Army. In the later part of the book, when Wolfgang is a teenager, he still shows an innocent naievity, since he has not received a formal education due to his refugee status. My only complaint, and it is a minor one, is that the narrative ends rather abruptly. I wanted to know more about what happened to some of his family members, such as Oma Grapentin. It is a testament to the author's writing abilities, however, that he made me care so much about his own family members that I want to know more about them. Excellent book.

Rating:
Summary: A very moving book
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book, and I was engrossed in the story. It was very moving to read about how this boy and his family survived and eventually thrived after the war. It really felt like I was traveling with Wolfgang through his childhood. It is also interesting to hear of all of the different attitudes within the family and the community. I think it is very instructive for any country where there are war refugees, and makes me more concerned about the fate of women in Afganistan, Iraq, and other countries. One of the most interesting elements was the part about how money stopped women from having to rely primarily on sex to survive. I hope this can someday be made into a movie so these issues can have more exposure. I highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: War Isn't Over When the Fighting Stops
Review: In the final weeks before the fall of Germany in 1945, thousands upon thousands fled in terror to escape persecution from the advancing Russian army.

This compelling memoir is the true personal account of Wolfgang W. E. Samuel, who then only a boy of 10, recounts his own flight from Sagan Germany, along with his mother and younger sister, as they struggle to stay alive as refugees in their war torn country.

In this extraordinary personal and moving account, Wolfgang, even for a boy of 10 is still very innocent and does not really understand all the reasons for what is happening. Yet at other times is keenly aware that danger is imminent, and initially is often angry with his mother for not realizing sooner that they are not safe. When she is finally convinced, it is almost too late. Thus the struggle begins.

From tyranny to internment camp, from the bitter taste of Communism, and finally to freedom, "German Boy" will show you that humans are capable of overcoming incredible odds through sheer determination and sacrifice. The vast numbers of refugees, confronted with their very existence, were recipients of both merciful deeds of kindness, along with despicable acts of exploitation, showing us in clear detail how human nature decays when it's everyone for themselves.

This is a book where the writing is so descriptive that you will be placed inside the story as if you were a witness to all that happens. His admiration for the Americans, especially the pilots, is evident as he recalls kindness in the form of a simple stick of chewing gum, to the enormous efforts of the life saving Berlin air lifts.

Wolfgang Samuel, who so much admired the Americans after the war and eventually joined the US Air Force, has written a wonderful book here.

Rating:
Summary: This was....unbelievable...
Review: No words can describe this book enough. It was the most emotional book that I have read to date. The story was unbelievable...just unbelievable...
Pick up this book and read it, absorb it, let it take you back to the 1940's and see what Wolfgang saw. Please, read this book today.