DMITRI:

A naïve Ukrainian teenager joins the German army in World War II in Huzul’s historical novel.

This short novel, composed in the voice of Dmitri Hrechko as a fictional memoir, is a unique coming-of-age story of a 15-year-old boy. In 1939, faced with being conscripted into the hated Soviet Army, Dmitri leaves his family farm, setting out on foot with the clothes on his back, a jug of water, and a loaf of bread across western Ukraine, heading for the neighboring Romania in search of the German army (the Nazis had promised to liberate the Soviet republics). “I had to make a choice,” Hrechko asserts. “Was I willing to continue to live as a ‘prisoner’ of the Soviet regime along with my countrymen or was I willing to stand up for freedom?” Once in Romania, he travels cross-country into Czechoslovakia, trekking alone until he finds a German army unit willing to sign him up. With little understanding of Hitler’s intentions, Dmitri proudly becomes a member of the Wehrmacht. Incredibly, after a military skirmish near the Austrian border, he is promoted to the rank of corporal at barely 16 years of age. The narrative tracks his war experiences in northern Italy and Paris, and through his deployment in March 1941 as a lieutenant commander in the German African campaign. Rather than a vivid tale of battle, the simply composed text is a story of emotional, psychological, and intellectual growth, as Dmitri evolves from an innocent farm boy into a seasoned leader who has witnessed the ravages of war and yet maintains his belief in God, the importance of determining and following his life’s purpose on earth, and the enriching, redemptive power of love and forgiveness. The novel minimizes some of the war’s devastating consequences; this is primarily a poignant, occasionally humorous, story about friendship, love, and new beginnings. It also provides valuable historical perspective to the roiling undercurrents of today’s Ukrainian-Russian war.

A quick read that, while not exactly riveting, is thought-provoking.