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26th out of 74 books
—
71 voters
German Boy: A Child in War
“I think German Boy has all the qualities of greatness. I love the book.” -- from the Foreword by Stephen Ambrose
As the Third Reich crumbled in 1945, scores of Germans scrambled to flee the advancing Russian troops. Among them was a little boy named Wolfgang Samuel, who left his home with his mother and sister and ended up in war-torn Strasbourg before being forced farther...more
As the Third Reich crumbled in 1945, scores of Germans scrambled to flee the advancing Russian troops. Among them was a little boy named Wolfgang Samuel, who left his home with his mother and sister and ended up in war-torn Strasbourg before being forced farther...more
Paperback, 448 pages
Published
October 16th 2001
by Broadway
(first published 2000)
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A great read by a sincere and honest auto biographer. Humbling, compelling its a page turner that reminds us all to be thankful for what we have.
Jan 14, 2009
Kris
added it
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
“I think German Boy has all the qualities of greatness. I love the book.” -- from the Foreword by Stephen Ambrose
As the Third Reich crumbled in 1945, scores of Germans scrambled to flee the advancing Russian troops. Among them was a little boy named Wolfgang Samuel, who left his home with his mother and sister and ended up in war-torn Strasbourg before being forced farther west into a disease-ridden refugee camp. German Boy is the vivid, true story of their fight for survival as the tables of po...more
As the Third Reich crumbled in 1945, scores of Germans scrambled to flee the advancing Russian troops. Among them was a little boy named Wolfgang Samuel, who left his home with his mother and sister and ended up in war-torn Strasbourg before being forced farther west into a disease-ridden refugee camp. German Boy is the vivid, true story of their fight for survival as the tables of po...more
This is one of the best books I've read. Most of us have knowledge of the basics of what people went through in WWII, but this gives a unique, honest perspective from someone who lived through it all. Reading this book from so long ago changed the way I look at my life now. It is that powerful and well-written.
Told in the voice of a sensitive, nine year old boy who becomes mature beyond his years as he experiences post-war Germany. I enjoyed it.
It is a good description of what many Germans went through after the war when the Russians were in power. The hardships of wartime continued covered by a blanket of communism that was twice as stifling as the Nazi quilt given to them by Hitler.
Interestingly there isn't any bitterness in this story. Wolfgang goes through all his trials with few tears. He feels t...more
It is a good description of what many Germans went through after the war when the Russians were in power. The hardships of wartime continued covered by a blanket of communism that was twice as stifling as the Nazi quilt given to them by Hitler.
Interestingly there isn't any bitterness in this story. Wolfgang goes through all his trials with few tears. He feels t...more
This book is fabulous. I've recommended it to several people.
The author was a young German boy in East Prussia when WWII ended. His mother, sister, and other relatives tried to flee Prussia ahead of the Red Army. They get trapped, and try to survive for several years during terrible times. They were hungry, cold, barefoot (literally), and had an awful time.
It's a segment of history we rarely hear about: how the German civilian population fared after the war. The answer: they barely survived, an...more
The author was a young German boy in East Prussia when WWII ended. His mother, sister, and other relatives tried to flee Prussia ahead of the Red Army. They get trapped, and try to survive for several years during terrible times. They were hungry, cold, barefoot (literally), and had an awful time.
It's a segment of history we rarely hear about: how the German civilian population fared after the war. The answer: they barely survived, an...more
Stephen E. Ambrose wrote the Forward to this book. He said, "... a strong narrative, the depiction of high drama in ordinary people's lives, memorable characters - some of whom are evil and some of whom perform extraordinary acts of kindness - and two strong-willed and courageous central figures, mother and son, caught up in a cataclysm but enduring, surviving, prevailing. I love the book."
So do I! Very easy read - he was 10 yrs of age in January 1945 when they left the only home he had known be...more
So do I! Very easy read - he was 10 yrs of age in January 1945 when they left the only home he had known be...more
An absolutely gripping narrative, very hard to put down. I must have read this in under 3 days. To even get the faintest sense of what it must have been like to be a young child thrown into 6+ years of genuine dislocation by war and reconstruction is difficult, and this autobiography does much to flesh out that picture. I think it could have been more, however, if it had stuck to the exact-if-vague memories that linger rather than attempting to fill in all the missing pieces with what *must* hav...more
A German boy's memoir of the six year period ending World War II. Some stories Samuel tells are filled with horror and hunger as he and his family struggle for survival. For those parts of the book, I give four stars. However, Samuel includes so remembrances that matter so very little to the story. I skimmed fast stretches of his personal wilderness. He did impress upon me the difference between living under the Russians and under the Americans, making me feel proud to be the latter.
In German Boy, Wolfgang Samuel, tells his story from the age of ten in January 1945 until he emigrates to America in 1951.
Wolfgang, mother and younger sister fled the advancing Russian army first to Berlin and then later to the small town of Strassburg in what was to become East Germany. It is a story of living under the brutal regime of the early East German goverment and the treatment meted out to German women by marauding Russian troops.
Eventually rescued by his father, the family settle into...more
Wolfgang, mother and younger sister fled the advancing Russian army first to Berlin and then later to the small town of Strassburg in what was to become East Germany. It is a story of living under the brutal regime of the early East German goverment and the treatment meted out to German women by marauding Russian troops.
Eventually rescued by his father, the family settle into...more
I could not pull myself away from this story. I was mesmerized by the horrors Wolfgang and his family endured during WWII, even worse was what happened after. But more then that it is story of unconquerable human spirit and hope for a better future. It does deal with difficult subjects but it is not graphic. This story has had a profound affect upon me and the way I will look at and appreciate my surroundings. I recommend this book to everyone.
I recommend this book to more people than any other I can think of. Despite the unspeakable events that the young author witnesses the books is ultimately overwhelmingly inspiring. The manner in which Samuel writes is so matter-of-fact that the reader is left to react entirely free of hyperbole. This is a true masterpiece and should be on every reader's shelf. I cannot say enough positive about this book. Please read it!
This was a book I bought because the author was at a table signing autographs. His summary intrigued me. It takes place at tail end of WWII and into the division of Germany. It is the true story of his experiences and what it took to survive. I found it riveting to learn how people felt and the shocking differences between the zones. It felt pretty well written. It was definitely entertaining and even educational.
Absolutely haunting! I don't think I've read a more inspiring life story. It's basically the story of the author during the closing part of ww2 and how he, his mother and sister survived. It covers from age about 7-14, and it's so hard to imagine what it was like. It kind of gives another perspective on the war, about how German civilian kids felt. My dad told me I should read this, and i'm glad he made me! : )
Aug 27, 2012
Carl C
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
WWII readers, autiobiography/memoir fans, modern history readers
I picked this autographed book up as well as another book at the book and gift shop in the Smithsonian National Museum of Air and Space.
This transparent and detailed memoir by former U.S. Air Force Colonel Wolfgang Samuel covers his early years as a child growing up in Germany during and post World War II and how he and his mother and younger sister survived in Russian and Allied occupied Germany.
Some moments mentioned in the book are quite sad and very terrifying, from poverty, lack of shelte...more
This transparent and detailed memoir by former U.S. Air Force Colonel Wolfgang Samuel covers his early years as a child growing up in Germany during and post World War II and how he and his mother and younger sister survived in Russian and Allied occupied Germany.
Some moments mentioned in the book are quite sad and very terrifying, from poverty, lack of shelte...more
This is usually a subject matter I enjoy but for some reason I had a hard time staying focused and I often times didn't want to pick the book back up to continue reading. It is a great story of survival and optimism but I think what I wanted to be discribed was glossed over and what I didn't care about was discribed in detail. Since I am from Colorado I am alway happy to hear people praise my state. Five generations ago my ancestors fell in love with this land and that love continues for 2 gener...more
Fascinating German boys point of view of what it was like to flee the Russian Army during the war, live hand to mouth, and survive intact. Hard to imagine he could actually remember such details, but they were consistent and realistic so doesn't matter. Truth can be stranger than fiction especially when considering how many other untold stories like this one occurred.
There are plenty of books about war, few told from the viewpoint of a child. This will tear your heart apart, and change your perspective on how you judge the way people make decisions about how to survive. The fact that the author actually comes to live in America, become a professional soldier and serve his adopted country with honor is as amazing as this book.
This book is so amazing. A true story that captures a child as a victim of war. Written in an easy-to-read way because you will not want to put it down. It reveals so many small details of life that we take for granted each day but does so in a way so as not to chastise or invoke a martyr's writing - just factual, accurate, and revealing. A GREAT book!
It was an amazing story and all true. So well written, almost like a novel in how it flowed. I didn't want it to end. I would recommend this to anyone who likes non-fiction and a lover of history. It details the difficulty of normal German citizens in the wake of the Russian Army's arrival in Eastern Germany from the point of view of a child.
I found this memoir of Samuel's childhood most engaging...it was particularly interesting because his family lived in Sagan - the closest German/Prussian town to Stalag Luft III where my father was a POW...so as he described his evacuation in January of 1945, I could well imagine what my father was doing several kilometers away in POW camp.
The story Samuel tells brings a voice and face to a young boy during Germany's occupation by the Russians, English and Americans during and after the war. The sights, sounds and smells come to life pulling the reader in and don't let go until the last word is read.
I am humbled and amazed to read about the life Wolfgang and countless others survived.
Buy this book!!!
I am humbled and amazed to read about the life Wolfgang and countless others survived.
Buy this book!!!
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
A most informatve but distresing book. So much of what ocurred during and after WWII in Germany seemed not the will of many German people. Yet they were either caught up in it and/or had no way to remove themselves from it. How especially heartbreaking for children, as in this account by Samuel.
The true story of a German Boy who survives WW2, even though he was right in the thick of it, barely escaping the Russians as the front moved past his home town. The book is from the unique perspective of the average German citizen during WW2--a perspective not often available in English.
This account of Germany at the end of World War II is fascinating. Beginning as a nine year boy, the author tells such a factual, relatively unemotional account! I have recommended it to others. Many discussion topics arise from the reading that Book Clubs might enjoy choosing this for a selection.
WWII memoir of a boy, his little sister, and Mutti (mother), as they try to survive the Russian occupation of Germany after the war. Rough times. Recommended by an older library patron who was a soldier in the war, and told me it was the most accurate representation he's ever come across - it was just like his life.
Another one that a friend told me to read which I had for ages before I picked it up. Absolutely excellent!! I'm going to buy this as a gift for someone I know will appreciate it. Very moving. This story makes my life seem so easy compared to those who have had to sacrifice so much.
told from perspective of boy who was about 10 at end of WWII and who suffered through Russian occupation of Eastern Germany. many tragic things happened to him and his family. interesting. hard to read (due to content, not text difficulty) but very interesting.
This true tale of WWII from the perspective of a German boy could have been interesting were it not for the poor writing. It was bogged down with uninteresting detail and cliches. Characters are written at a shallow level and everyone is either good or bad.
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| A child in War | 1 | 4 | Sep 05, 2012 11:11am |
Wolfgang W.E. Samuel is a German-born American author. He was commissioned through the Air Force ROTC at the University of Colorado and is a graduate of the National War College. He served in the U.S. Air Force for thirty years until his retirement in 1985 as a colonel. His writing has been published in several military journals, including Parameters, the U.S. Army War College quarterly. He lives...more
More about Wolfgang W.E. Samuel...
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