Sunday, April 25, 2010

Soldier X

As any of my blog readers know I am a fan of any book related to WWII or The Holocaust.  Soldier X by Don Wulffson is no exception.  Soldier X tells the story of Erik Brandt the 16 year old son of a German father and Russian mother.  Erik is German by birth, but knows the Russian language a bit of the customs because of his mother and grandparents.  Erik is drafted into the German army days before his birthday.  He is to be a member of the Die Sprache-HJ, the division of the Hitler Youth that studies various languages.  Once enlisted, he will be used as an interrogator.  Little does Erik realize just how vital his knowledge of Russian is.

The novel follows Erik through battles and his eventual deception.  It is an interesting story and said to be based on a true story.  A cursory search on the internet did not turn up any further information, but I would love to know the truth behind this fictional story.  The battle scenes and descriptions of the hospitals are so realistic, as a reader I was almost able to feel myself there with Erik.   I enjoyed so many aspects of this novel and think it will be especially appealing to the young men in my classes. 

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