by B Hellqvist on 27 Jul 2008 01:58
I’m reading the newly published Swedish translation of “The Forgotten Soldier”. I read the English translation a few years ago, and came to the conclusion that the book was an authentic story. Since then, I’ve read plenty of books and learned more about the war. This time, I’m checking (almost) every fact that looks questionable. I’ve finished the first third of the book, ending with Sajer returning to the front after his leave in Berlin. This far, I’ve found the book only slightly more reliable than a Sven Hassel book, but while Sajer could have experienced most of the things he describes in the first four chapters, it is obvious that the chronology is off and the text riddled with factual errors. I’m not about to condemn the book as a fake; in many ways, it is in the style of authors like Siegfried Sassoon, Erich Maria Remarque and Willi Heinrich, but the first four chapters cannot be a truthful description of events. Perhaps from a psychological and emotional point of view, but not a factual one.
I served as a conscripted corporal in the headquarters of a rifle company in the Swedish Army in 1986-87, and recognize the ordinary rifleman’s sense of disorientation – I saw frequent evidence of that. Only the officers and usually the HQ troop have any idea of the geography and what was happening around the company. I also seriously doubt that more than a handful of the soldiers in my company knew the composition and equipment of our battalion, much less our brigade, even just a few years afterwards. Thus, I can understand why a soldier like Sajer frequently gets dates, names and locations wrong. Soldiers weren’t allowed to keep diaries, and few memoirs and autobiographies are as meticulously researched as e.g. Gottlob Biedermann’s “In Deadly Combat”.
As the page numbers don’t correspond between the English and Swedish editions, I’ve chosen to break down my remarks chapter by chapter. I’ve dropped some minor remarks, and have kept some that might strengthen Sajer’s case.
Prologue
The question of his age and the Luftwaffe controversy is an old chestnut. Here’s my take. Sajer is usually said to have been born 13 January 1927, which would’ve made him 15½ years old when he volunteered for Wehrmacht service. Clearly improbable. Even the alternative year of birth, 1926, would have made him too young. In an interview, he said that he was 16 years old when Germany invaded France, which would make him 18½ years old in the summer of 1942, and thus able to volunteer, as well as having served a stint in the RAD. My theory is that he made himself younger in the book in order to be able to explain his enlistment as a mistake made by a boy.
The Swedish translation doesn’t mention Hans-Ulrich Rudel; does anyone know what the original (French) text says? As no Stuka unit or flight school was stationed in Chemnitz, it seems like it is a case of wishful thinking. Sajer might have applied for service in the Luftwaffe, an option open to volunteers, but as he wasn’t approved, he might have ended up in the Kraftfahr-Ausbildungs-Abteilung 4 d. Luftwaffe in Chemnitz, which might also explain why he was picked for similar training in the army.
The ghetto in Warsaw is referred to as if it wasn’t around anymore; in fact, there were still seven months left until the uprising that eventually led to the destruction of it.
There’s no castle corresponding to the description within 10 miles/15 km of Bialystok, but there’s a castle of unknown size in Knyszyn, 28 km from the city. ”Kremenstovsk” isn’t a Polish name; there’s a village named Krzeczkowo within reasonable range from Knyszyn.
Chapter 1
There’s mention of Sajer’s uncle, serving in the besieged 6th Army in Stalingrad. According to German records, an Anton Sajer is listed as missing in Stalingrad since 1 January 1943.
Sajer’s description of the transport to Stalingrad doesn’t ring true. Why should a transport column in Army Group Center try to reach units in Army Group South? Then there’s the whole thing with the “19th Kompanie Rollbahn” and all that, like the “Panzerdivision Stülpnagel”…
Chapter 2
The weapons problem. This chapter mentions artillery like ”77s” and ”107s”, as well as “Alpenberg” light tanks. This shouldn’t be taken as evidence that Sajer’s making things up. I’ve seen reliable memoirs with dodgy facts, like Günther Koschorrek’s “Blood Red Snow”, where Soviet soldiers wield “Kalashnikovs”. For a soldier with a marked disinterest in military hardware like Sajer, such mistakes can be understandable.
The transport problem. Again, the description doesn’t ring true. Why should a transport company trudge through the snow for more than two weeks just to supply a single frontline platoon? Wouldn’t it be more logical to have a supply route that was shorter (like 2-4 days travel at most in wintertime), delivering the supplies to the regimental or battalion quartermaster? Even taking into account that Sajer might have known next to nothing of the SOP, the description leaves the attentive reader puzzled.
The unit problem. The transport arrives to the ”Ninth Infantry Regiment”. There was no such regiment; there was a 9th Grenadier Regiment outside Leningrad by that time. There’s also a reference to the “comrades in the 107th”; that might be the 107th Grenadier Regiment, which was south-east of Moscow.
The Don Front problem. At the beginning of the chapter, Sajer says that the time was around the end of February or beginning of March, 1943. The aforementioned transport takes almost three weeks. This plays havoc with the chronology in chapters 2 and 3. While events unfold more or less in the correct historical order, it is 3-4 weeks too late if the reader extrapolates the dates. Then, on page 133 in chapter 3, Sajer mentions that they had become part of the Third Battle of Kharkov, and the chronology snaps back in place.
Chapter 3
A German Army car called a "Steiner” appears. It has been suggested that Sajer meant a Steyr.
There are no records of a “Ernst Neubach” (or with a similar name) being killed, but Sajer probably changed the name out of respect for “Ernst’s” family.
Sajer encounters Francophone members of “the Walloon Division”. The only Walloon unit by this time was the Wallonisches-Infanterie Bataillon 373, which as far as I know wasn’t even at the front then.
Sajer and friends are saved by units from the 25th Panzer Division, commanded by Guderian. The division was stationed in Norway, and Guderian was Inspector-General of the Armoured Troops.
During the battle, Sajer sees Tiger tanks, as well as Panthers. The Panther made its debut at Kursk, several months later.
Chapter 4
”Henceforth, my identification would be Gefreiter Sajer, G. 100/1010 G4. Siebzehntes Bataillon, Leichtinfanterie Groβdeutschland Division, Süd, G.”
The problems with that paragraph have been amply discussed. Could ”100/1010 G4.” be a garbled Wehrnummer? ”Siebzehntes Bataillon” hasn’t been satisfactorily explained; could it be another name for the Feldersatz-Bataillon? And what does that “G” at the end stand for?
No Soviet “extermination camp” named Tomvos is known; could it be an urban myth that flourished among German soldiers?
Much has been made of the ”Groβdeutschland” cuff title, but it could be a simple mistake. The chapter contains more glaring inaccuracies which I haven’t seen mentioned before.
The problem with the bomb raids. Sajer experiences no less than three bomb raids during his leave. Strangely enough, I’ve found no mention of any raids on Magdeburg or Berlin during April 1943. The last raid he mentions numbers 1100 American and British bombers in a day raid. Notwithstanding that the Brits bombed during the nights, the total number of USAAF and RAF bombers was 972 at the beginning of March, 1943. That last raid claimed 22,000 lives according to Sajer, which can be compared with the 4000 killed during the entire “Battle of Berlin”, which took place between November 1943 and March 1944.
Checking authentic maps from the 1920-40 period, I haven’t found neither “Killeringstrasse” nor the “Oder bruke” [sic].
Sajer bemoans that he had nothing to eat. The SOP for soldiers on leave was that they got a ration card that was for the duration of the leave.
The Tempelhof airfield wasn’t used for military aircraft during the war (except for emergencies), so no Focke-Wulf 190’s could’ve been based there, much less any “Focke-Wulf 195”.
Before the end of his leave, Sajer and Paula watch the movie ”Immen See”. That should be “Immensee”, a movie that premiered in Berlin on 17 December, 1943, about eight months later.
There’s nothing that says that Sajer didn’t experience the Russian winter, the Third Battle of Kharkov, or air raids on Berlin, and he has been candid enough to say in interviews that he didn’t intend to write a chronicle, but as I hope that I’ve demonstrated, the Prologue and chapters 1-4 contain enough errors and dodgy facts to question the veracity of that part of the book.
Last edited by B Hellqvist on 27 Jul 2008 10:54, edited 1 time in total.
