Meeting the Enemy

by Art Rathburn

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1891400703
• ISBN13: 9781891400704
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: Brite Publishing
• Length: 360 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

The compelling story of a German P.O.W. in World War II

Time and time again as I read "Meeting the Enemy" I had to remind myself that this was a novel and not a biography. Arthur Rathburn's novel is based on a true story of an elite German paratrooper captured by British troops in North Africa and sent to P.O.W. camps in the United States. Rathburn had talked to real people who told him about their life experiences during World War II and while he attempted to adhere to what he had been told it was necessary to provide the story with coherence and shape. Noting this is always the case with any material based on memories, Rathburn notes that he cannot guarantee the historical accuracy of his fictional narrative. But it is impossible to read "Meeting the Enemy" and not think that the tale rings true. In the forward the author recalls when he met Erich at a wine festival along the Rhine River in the fall of 1964, when Rathburn was in the arm stationed in a small Kaserne near Mainz. Erich was an English instructor in a middle school and taught night classes to adults. Their friendship led to Rathburn being Erich's unpaid assistant for the night classes. Hearing the story of Erich's war experiences had a profound impact on Rathburn and after his friend's early death he promised to someday write a novel loosely based on his life, declaring: "The story that follows is my recollection of his conversations with me along with bits and pieces of stories by other German veterans. I have tried not to over embellish the actual events that took place. I have had to do my best to relate actual conversations and feelings that took place during those events and experiences." No wonder the story feels true. When Erich begins his story with his experiences in North Africa he has risen to the rank of Hauptmann (captain). As a paratrooper he was actually in the Luftwaffe rather than the Wehrmacht and in the Afrika Corps served in a heavy infantry unit, which he eventually commanded. On the first couple of pages Erich reveals himself to be an intelligent observer of what is going on around him as he compares the battle between Field Marshall Rommel and the British General Montgomery as a chess match in which the Afrika corps have no idea what or where is the "king" they should be protecting. Throughout the novel it is Erich's observations, as he comes to understand what the rest of the world thinks about Hitler and the Nazis, as well as how they view the German soldiers. After an airborne assault Erich is captured by the British, which begins his three years of captivity on three continents. However, before that point there is a key moment where the death of some of his fellow soldiers has him trying to kill some British prisoners. This not only foreshadows what will happen to Erich in a few week's time, but underscores the idea that in any war on either side you will find both good and bad people. Erich's one advantage is that he speaks English, so that as he goes from camp to camp he is always of value