"Guy Sajer who are you?"

It may be hard to show empathy for anyone that wore the eagle and Swastika during the Second World War. Those who find that concept inconceivable just may have a brief change of heart while reading this autobiography of a young man's journey into the War on the Eastern Front of World War Two.

At the tender age of 16 a young French/German boy entered into the Wehrmacht. He readily joined with the traditional enemy of his father's nation, choosing to fight with the solider's of his mother's land. He did not join this war for strong political reasons, whether ardent Nazism or hatred of Communism. The motivation was simply that of a 16 year old youngster who had nothing to love but the war when it was the time that young men do fall in love. For the next three years the young boy traveled to the points of the Wehrmacht's deepest penetration into Russia, then retraced his steps back through Russia, Prussia, until his eventual, and merciful capture by the Western Allies at the very close of the Second World War. During that time the young Guy Sajer is transformed into a shadow, a wraith, a man who already in every sense of the word has died, other than uttering his last breath. Within the battered body of a 19 year old, that has undergone too many deprivations, lie the collected ghosts of himself and those of his "Kameraden".

Sajer is the son of two rival countries, France and Germany. Yet, he enthusiastically begins his tour of duty in the German Army as he heads East towards the war in Russia. Throughout the story one can see the duality of his estate clearly shown in the text. While he endures hardships that would make the most stalwart of us cringe, his driving motivation is clearly shown as an attempt to cast off the French part of his being so his German attributes will be seen by his comrades, and will be truly believed by himself. This conflict gives the author great trepidation, and the reader will immediately be able to identify the struggle that he faces. It is not a struggle with guilt due to a feeling that he has betrayed any part of himself, but the struggle is one for acceptance, and to feel a sense of belonging to a group greater than ones self.

During the course of the war Sajer participated in many of the Ostfront's most memorable battles, Manstein's relief effort of Stalingrad (December/January of 1942), Zittadelle (July 1943), the Destruction of Army Group Center (Sping 1944), and the Memel Campaign (1944-45). There are also periods of rest, recreation and retraining that Sajer brings to the text that show clearly the day to day tedium, strain, expectations, hopes and frailties of all soldiers throughout the world. All of these periods are written with a frenzied pen. At times, Sajer reflectively wanders into the present time of his writing, and the reader may view the shell of a man writing in anonymity in some quiet place in the wee hours of the morning. Heartrendingly, the emotions pour forth from the memory of this man.

Sajer's narrative skillfully encompasses the vastness of the Russian war, while constantly maintaining its focus on the microscopic existence of himself and his fellow comrades. This lends another level of duality to the text, dramatically bringing about the different views war encompasses. A grand overall sense of the death throes of the Wehrmact, struggling on the vast plains of Russia against an overwhelming enemy in both material and men. The view then shifts back to the local, giving an intimate view of the individual participants living through the transition. Graphically showing the destruction of the war effort in microcosm. All the while, one is also seeing the author begin his descent into the underworld, while still being alive.

Another intriguing aspect of this book is the depth and breadth of the characters. Sajer is merciless in his depiction of some of the people who he runs across in his journeys across the East Front. Another dualism seen is the contempt for some (deserved and in retrospect clearly shown that some did not deserve contempt) while he is very forgiving in his description of some of his closest comrades, many of whom never fully accepted him. Filled with a child's naivety about acceptance into society, particularly a society as rife with national prejudices as the Wehrmacht of World War Two, Sajer struggles much more with his lack of acceptance by members of his most immediate group. Despite his stoic bearing of the most horrifying of conditions, undergone in an attempt to gain their very acceptance, Sajer painfully realizes that some will never accept him as a full "Kamerad". This creates a strong underpinning of his journey through the war. However, it would be unfair to characterize his attempts of acceptance as futile. It is obvious that many of his fellow soldiers accepted fully. Though, it is also clear to the reader, and to Sajer in retrospect, that they would have accepted him regardless of his efforts. He was with them, therefore he was accepted. The friendships discussed, and the obvious passion felt between these men in combat in many ways offers the most fulfilling sections of the book. It is best qualified as a brief respite and nepenthe into Sajer's journey in hell. Which only fills the reader with the greater sense of loss, knowing that Sajer truly longs for that feeling of brotherhood, that he was never able to come across once the war ended.

While the author may have truly lost himself, and have become a ghost of the person he never really had the chance to fully become, and therefore is forgotten, the reader will not forget this soldier. Rather, the ghost of this young boy, will come back to you as he tells his tale, and will be alive. The reader will clearly see the faces of the other ghosts.

Sadly, the jacket of the book does not reflect Guy Sajer. While it does have an effective picture of an SS trooper that has obviously reached the point of physical and emotional despair, its inaccuracies effect the reader in two ways. First, the soldier is not young in appearance. The reader must not lose focus that Sajer was 16 when he entered service, and 19 at its end. He was a child. Secondly, Sajer served in the GrossDeutschland Division, which was in the Wehrmacht, and not the Waffen SS. While some may fail to note the distinction, those foreign soldiers in the Waffen SS, motivations were most political. Sajer's motivation were not political. They were those of a boy. Fortunately, recent editions are graced by a portrait of the Guy Sajer himself. The photo does give the reader the face of the author. The photo may be viewed from this URL: http://www.rollingweb.com/habla/sajer.jpg

Recommended: Yes