World War II Database

Full Title: Jungvolk: The Story of a Boy Defending Hitler's Reich

I bought this book with a few others from Aberdeen Book Store in a bulk order. Having never heard of the title anywhere but very interested in memoirs it caught my attention. I was not disappointed and enjoyed the book.

This book is a autobiography of sorts, as it was written quite a few years after the war when the authour, Wilhelm, was a lot older and the story goes off of his memory.

This book has 20 chapters that cover 326 pages and begin with Wilhelm "painting the picture" of his family in war time Germany. His dad is a tank/assault gun driver and serves both on the Eastern and Western fronts though there are only brief description of his dad. Very little is described except when he is home on leave. His brother, Len, is a Hitler Youth member and is talked about through out the book. The immediate family survives the war, however, the extended family as in grandparents and cousins are not all so fortunate. Young Wilhelm ends up serving with a Flak battery that is very close to his home and the book goes on to talk about the successes of the battery and losses of crew members when they are attacked. His schooling is interupted and then canceled due to the war. There are a few chapters when he and his mom go to the Ardennes and are witness to the German assault there in '44. After making their way back to their hometown they get to watch it being liberated by American troops.

It is a very good book that shows the war through the eyes of a child and there are a few pictures in the middle of the book. It is worth it if you are in memoirs or autobiographies.