I WAS THERE

by Hans Peter Richter ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 19, 1972

From the time the narrator first hears his father praising Hitler's accomplishments to the day he witnesses his boyhood friends killed in battle, the taut dramatic scenes add up to a plausible account of how it was to be an enthusiastic member of the Hitler Youth. However, between quick fade-ins and fade-outs, there's none of the reflection one would expect of an autobiographical memoir and the story remains as impersonal as its faceless protagonist. Indeed the author seems to identify more with the reluctant Gunther (who participates only to shield his Communist father), and the doubts expressed by the other characters sound more like hindsight than fresh disillusionment. The fervent true believer Heinz, the effeminate blond platoon leader, the pathetic schoolteacher (whose speech of protest is so indirect that few of his students even realize what he is saying) are all too close to stereotypes to yield any new insights, but the exploitation of the boys' military fantasies and idealism -- as they collect scrap metal and harvest turnips, graduate from war games into the baiting of Catholic and Jewish youths, and see their dreams of glory shattered in a few days of actual soldiering -- is succinctly and often movingly documented. Well constructed action, but too detached to really confront the reader with what he might have believed or done in the same situation.

Pub Date: Oct. 19, 1972

ISBN: 014032206X

Page Count: -

Publisher: Holt, Rinehart & Winston

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1972

Categories: NONFICTION