Sieg Heil! War Letters of Tank Gunner Karl Fuchs Essay (Book Review)

Fuchs, Karl, Horst Fuchs Richardson, and Dennis E. Showalter. 1987. Sieg Heil! War Letters of Tank Gunner Karl Fuchs, 1937-1941. North Haven: Archon Books.

The book under consideration is chosen as one for analysis, as it perfectly referred to the studying class, World War II, and it is a great opportunity to consider the war events not only from inside, but also from the other side, as the author of the letters is German soldier. In addition to the said, the WWII is usually considered from the winning part, and the thoughts and ideas of the German side are not considered. The book is a great opportunity to see not only the war events, but also the family relations, to understand soldier’s feelings as father and husband, not just German instrument of war. Moreover, the first hand information about the war events from the participant of these events is rather interesting. Taking into account that the book was collected from the letters of Karl Fuchs, the events were described immediately after they took place, not the remembering of the past events.

The main theme of the book is not the war events, battles or other attacks, but Karl Fuchs’ participation in these events. Reading the book, there are no detailed descriptions of battles and death, just the description of something expressive and notifying. Reading the letters, the audience is introduced with the style of life of German soldier, the relations among them, what they do when no active war is lead and other notions. Karl Fuchs writes about the places, they came through, the impressions, which they experienced, and the most remembering and interesting events in the life of German soldiers. The introductions by Karl’s wife and son give us the understanding of the soldier’s personality that makes some places in the book more understood and interesting. The core role in the letters is given to the spirit of patriotism and the enthusiasm for the Third Reich. Karl Fuchs was sure in the victory of his country, he was longing for the occasion, when he will be given arm and sent for the battle, as the desire for fighting for the native country was great. The letters are also full of love and missing about family, but sometimes excessively chauvinistic remarks may be noticed about Jews, Bolsheviks, and English “dogs”, but they do not spoil the impression from book in general. The book may be described as romantic, as was written for the family, and also have a historic value, as the events, described in the book are true. The conclusion of the story is known, Karl Fuchs was killed in 1941, with the hope for their army get victory in the war and with the sorrow about his family and son.

The book is of a historic value, as the events, described there were written by the simple soldier during the war events, when memory is fresh and words stream by unconscious river. The most significant parts in the book, as for me, is the description of the acquaintance with T-34, the best tank of the World War II, and the parts, when Karl tells about the books, he managed to find in the alien Russia and the desire to read more. The first acquaintance with T-34 had a significant value, as there was no tank like that and this was the real threatening to the German army, as neither armor with 37-mm, nor short 75-mm guns could confront T-34, and the mentioned armor was considered to be the best of the German army. As the letters are mostly written from the military training or during the time when no active events took place, Karl was bothered what to read with the aim to spare some time, as the desire to get involved in the active events, the patriotic desire to help his nation were on the highest level. The letters also dwell upon the occupation service in conquered France and the beginning of the campaign in Russia, which the author took part in.

As it was mentioned above, the book is the description of the war events, introduced by the German soldier. Studying the history of the World War II, the events from our, winning point of view was introduced, and reading this piece of writing, some knew knowledge was possessed. Learning history before, it was never understood how German soldiers felt, when they were fought down, how they could go for the other battles, knowing that they will be damaged. Reading the book, it became understood for me that patriotism played a core role in the German resistance. Considering the example of Karl Fuchs, his patriotism, his longing for victory, different opinion is created about German soldiers. His enthusiasm and assurance in the victory is shown in the words “you must take aim as the enemy, keep your finger on the trigger and come hell and high water, you must keep self-preservation uppermost in your mind” (Fuchs, et al, 1987, p. 124)

Every author has a particular view or approach to the subject matter she or he is describing. Dwelling upon the war events, Karl Fuchs was sure in the victory of Germany, he was sure that he will see his young wife and his son soon, and this assurance is seen through the phrases in the book, through the ideas introduced there ad through the emotional covering of the author and everybody, who was portrayed in the piece of writing. Describing war events, the author used only his personal experience, without turning to some supportive literature or other sources of information. Having come through military education, experiencing some war battles in France and Russia, the author in the book makes stress that all events are true and they were experienced by him and not heard or read somewhere else, this the main approach, used by the author. Moreover, the authenticity of the fact that the letters were written by Karl Fuchs during the war events are given by his wife and son, who wrote their introductions to the book, giving some comments in addition.

The main evidences, introduced in the book, are the descriptions of the places, the German army was in, such as Moscow and France, and the portraying some war events, definite battles and the positions of the armies of other countries armies. The description of T-34 is the main evidence, as it is the confirmed truth that such tanks were in the World War II and, in addition, they were the most powerful armory at that time. The battle on the Eastern Front is also mentioned. The value of this battle is huge both for history and the development of war, and for Fuchs’s family, as in this battle Karl Fuchs was killed, and the description of Eastern Front war events were the last letters from him. The description of Russia, as the country where war events were held, is also the evidence, which shows how this country differs from Germany.

Having seen the title of the book for the first time, I thought that the war events would be described, the mistakes of the countries’ armies mentioned and people, who participated in these war event. Having read the book till the end, it was understood that my first considerations were wrong, as no detailed battle description was mentioned, just the personal attitude to was and the feelings of the common soldier of the German army about the pain on the war and the desire to came back home. This knowledge was not given for us during the class of WWII as the winning perspective was usually considered and to get some knowledge from German side is rather educative and useful.

In conclusion, the book under consideration is the collection of letters, which were written during the war by he common German soldier. The book is not the description of the war events, but the first hand personal experience of the war. The absence of the detailed description of the war events does not make the book less valid from the historical point of view, moreover, this is the reason to consider this book special, as there is not so much personal experience evidences about the war events, which were recorded immediately and not after the time has passed.

References

Fuchs, Karl, Horst Fuchs Richardson, and Dennis E. Showalter. 1987. Sieg Heil! War Letters of Tank Gunner Karl Fuchs, 1937-1941. North Haven: Archon Books.