Berlin Dance of Death

by Helmut Altner and Tony Le Tissier

Book Overview

This is one of the most vivid accounts of destruction and hopelessness we have ever seen. It is a 17-year-old German conscript's experiences in the defense of Berlin during the spring of 1945 - the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0971170940
• ISBN13: 9780971170940
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: Casemate Publishers and Book Distributors
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 1.14 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

It is like reading the agony of Huck Finn in the Wehrmacht

It is not hyperbole to suggest that Helmut Altner's Berlin Dance of Death may be one of the most interesting first-person narratives of combat ever written. That it is the story of a German teenager who was called to active duty on March 29th, 1945--to fight in a war that had less than two weeks left to it--makes this book often compelling. It is raw and sometimes clumsy in its prose, but it is genuine. Altner reconstructs the events of his fighting in the streets of Berlin from a diary that somehow, miraculously, survived his eighteen months in Soviet captivity. He uses straightforward, declarative sentences and, with little adornment, allows the drama of moments to present itself: "We take up position in the dining room. The Reichs War Flag and the Party Flag with the swastika are hung on the paneled walls, symbols of the unity of the armed forces and the Party? Opposite there is a poor oil painting of Hitler and two machine guns on the floor with their barrels pointed towards us. An officer enters and the staff sergeant makes his report. The young second lieutenant speaks about the flag, the Führer and obedience until death. I am not with it; to me it is all like the stage of a theatre, myself a stand-in in a sad scene. He reads out the form of the oath in a dull voice and we repeat it slowly after him, `With God's help!' This book is essential to those who study the psychology of combat experience and to those who study the loss of innocence on youth. It is translated and wonderfully annotated by Tony Le Tissier. This is a first-rate book that deserves a wide audience.

Soldier's View - chaotic and confused

As a career soldier, one must first remember that soldiers are people, mostly young people that may or may not be students of history or burning with a passion for all things military. Soldiers join the colors for many reasons. Anybody who knows what "Bismarks" are, understands what "pacific" means, or gone searching for squelch oil understands this. So, if a young soldier is basically confused and clueless over grand strategy and small details that some affcionados desire, that is the way it is in all armies at all times. It is the experience of being a soldier. While to some it may seem distracting that young men are more in tuned with details of meals and sex, well, we have to remember that they are young men. Furthermore, this is something they know unlike the confusing world of soldiering and combat. This is a great story about the experience of war in Berlin in 1945. It is a microcosm. To understand the larger pitcure try Tieke or Ryan.

Chaos of the Reich's Last Days

Many of stories like this never got told, surviving the last days of the Soviet steamroller on the Oder line and then again in Berlin surely was a chancy bet. A studied and thorough military history, Berlin Dance of Death is not. It is a stunning personal account of a young soldier in the desperate last days of the Third Reich. Altner's story reflects the crushing of the East Front, the harrowing retreat, Soviet encirclement, retreat into Berlin, the battle for the city, his escape, and final capture. He brings all this to the reader on a very immediate level.

Unbelievable first-person account!

These are the experiences of a 17 year-old conscripted in the last couple months of the war where training was "on the job". Unbelievable accounts of fighting in Berlin where chaos reigns. Very detailed, very graphic. Every male from 14 to 60 gets pressed into service, or shot by the SS. Many don't have useable weapons, very little food and no rest from the hell of war. Civilians carry their few remaining possessions as they flee before the Russians. The flight of the remaining military and civilians as they try to break out of the Russian encirclement of the city and reach the western front is described graphically. The author is one of only a few survivors of a company of 150 17 year-olds. Probably the most enthralling first-person account of the many I've read, if only because it was written by a youth and covers only the last few months of the war when there was no longer any glory left to fight for--only survival.

I quite enjoyed it

I look for books on this subject, and have to say I enjoyed this one. Ther style is a bit different from what I expected, and the story is certainly not what I expected - which ads a new dimention to the Berlin fight. It wasn't always constant bitter fighting with tanks everywhere. There was a lot of confusion, and a lot of time when not mnuch was going on. The one weak point is in the maps, which could be improved, but they do help tie the story into the historical tale- and the fellow that helped edit in in English is known as a long time student of the Berlin fight, so if he says its real, I belive him.So all in all I recomend it for those looking for a groiund eye view of the fight for Berlin.