Klaus G. Förg

This fascinating collection of personal narratives challenges the view that all Germans knew of the crimes perpetrated by the Third Reich and were complicit. The five accounts recall the lives of individuals born in the 1920s who resisted joining the SS, were horrified by atrocities, or otherwise remained true to their principals. Spanning their early life during the rise of the Nazi Party, through their adolescence in the war, to the early post-war years, they offer a compelling perspective on the diverse experiences and beliefs of Germans of the wartime generation. From Wehrmacht infantrymen to a Luftwaffe officer and a young woman on the home front, the accounts range from the relative comfort of German-occupied territories to the harrowing front lines against the Soviets. Standout stories include Heinz Polke's haunting description of the Warsaw Rising, and three accounts of the often-overlooked aspect of being a prisoner of war in the USSR, providing valuable insights into the post-war German experience. Skilfully complied by journalist Klaus Förg and with additional commentary by historian Roger Moorhouse, this is a powerful and worthy addition to World War II literature.

The first in a series of books, _I Somehow Survived_ is an extraordinary collection of true stories giving testimony to those who survived World War II. Based on interviews with numerous veterans from across the spectrum of wartime experience, the book documents and reflects upon one of the most gruesome times in history. From anti-partisan warfare in the French mountains, atrocities in East Prussia, to the experience of a Norwegian concentration camp, the book includes rarely heard stories from a range of people caught up in the war. With the distance of time, these survivors have been able to offer new perspectives on their experiences and expose truths they would not have dared admit several decades ago. German Army officers reveal their role in the Vercors and Kiev massacres. A Luftwaffe officer-applicant who never flew describes service on the ground. And a Norwegian woman writes of marrying a German Kriegsmarine while her mother was in a Norwegian concentration camp for political activity and her father was in hiding from the Gestapo. "I have no objection to your marrying him," her father told her, "I just want them to give us our country back."

Das Mangfalltal ist eine der vielfältigsten und schönsten bayerischen Urlaubslandschaften, Bad Aibling ihr Mittelpunkt. Der Band bietet einen umfassenden Text und viele Fotografien zum Aiblinger Land.