When a young British man asks his German grandfather what it was like to fight on the wrong side of the war, the question is initially met with irritation and silence. But after the old man's death, a long letter to his grandson is found among his things.

That letter is this book. In it, he relates the experiences of an unlikely few days on the Eastern Front at a moment when he knows not only that Germany is going to lose the war, but that it deserves to. He writes about his everyday experience amid horror, confusion and great bravery, and he asks himself what responsibility he bears for the circumstances he found himself in. As he tries to find an answer he can live with, we hear from his grandson what kind of man he became in the seventy years after the war.

We Germans is a fundamentally human novel that grapples with the most profound of questions about guilt, shame and responsibility - questions that remain as live today as they have always been.

Many thanks to NetGalley and John Murray Press for an advance copy in return for a fair and honest review

Always wondered what WWII was like from German POV and this novel delivered. Engaging, honest and thought provoking. Quite good

We Germans is a thoughtful novel. It takes the form of a letter from a former German soldier who had fought on the Eastern front in World War II, answering his Scottish grandson Callum's question about what life was like in the War. And interleaved are Callum's reflections, now an adult remembering his deceased grandfather.

This is an extremely nuanced narrative point of view. It is unusual to hear a German perspective from World War II, but this clearly is a narration that the reader should assume has been sanitised by the grandfather. So we have a grandfather who is repentant at having stolen food from starving Russian peasants, but who scarcely mentions the deathcamps. There is almost no mention of the Nazis, the German government, the deathcamps. At one point, the Grandfather recalls that the main difference between his own comrades and the Russians was the shade of green of their uniforms. Now perhaps a naive soldier at the time might have been oblivious to the politics, but it is simply not conceivable that an elderly German looking back at the War would think that the politics - the genocide - was not worth a mention. This looks like a man who is admitting to letter offences to avoid responsibility for the big thing.

There is narrative about the campaign in Poland and the Ukraine; the degeneration from theft through to combat and killing. There is a story about soldiers who are detached from their Regiment trying to decide whether it would be better to be captured by the Russians or by their own side. There are issues of officers living the high life while the troops starve. This is all written in rather plain, almost journalistic prose. This can create a rather sterile feel, but adds to the feeling that this is a carefully rehearsed story.

The lingering impression is an elderly man pretending to offer an honest analysis while willfully denying any stake in the Kollektivmitschuld - while his grandson clings to the belief that his grandfather was an honorable man.

I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, John Murray Press, and the author Alexander Starritt.
This was another fascinating WW2 novel focused around the experience of 'normal' Germans during the war, and what it was like to be on the wrong side.
In this case, we hear about a young man whose ideologies did not align with Nazism, but was conscripted and forced to fight anyway, and his realisation of the futility of the war and the loss of his youth and potential as a result. This was partnered with narrative breaks from his grandson's perspective.
We Germans is a fundamentally human novel that grapples with the most profound of questions about guilt, shame and responsibility - questions that remain as live today as they have always been. 4 stars.

I loved the premise of this book - World War II from the perspective of a German soldier. I was intrigued as to how different the tale would be; so often we only hear the Allied perspective.

Unfortunately, however, the book just didn't seem to deliver on my expectations. The writing felt rather muddy and the pace varied too much for me. I found the chapters broke in the wrong place and the sense of tension and empathy that built through the "grandfather's" sections was lost as the modern-day commentary was brought in. I think that it may just have been too clever an idea - I'd have loved to have read the grandfather's story and then the commentary and more philosophical sections after.

I'm glad I read it and it will cause me to seek out more from this perspective.

With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

We Germans tackles the question of collective guilt and how far individual accountability goes when acting on the orders of your superiors.

We Germans is written in the style of a letter written from a grandfather to his grandson about his experiences on the Eastern front during the latter part of WW2. Interspersed are chapters written from the perspective of his grandson telling the reader about the man he knew his grandfather to be.

“So, as to the question of his goodness or otherwise as a man, you know the caveat: I’m his grandson and I loved him. And yet he fought for the Nazis. Wore the uniform, killed people. Did the things he talks about here. I loved him so much I ask myself whether I would have forgiven him anything. Probably not anything, though it makes me sad just to say that.”

His grandson also talks about the shame and guilt still felt by those of German heritage when the subject of WW2 comes up, despite being several generations removed. He suggests this was behind his focus on that particular aspect of his grandfather’s life rather than the significant achievements he made later.

I found We Germans brilliant and horrifying in equal measure. Some of the things discussed in the book are discussed in a graphic way and those carried out by an otherwise likeable protagonist are more shocking for that fact.

At the start of his letter the grandfather makes it clear that he wasn’t a Nazi, he was a member of the German army. A member of the army who knew before the end of the war that not only were they going to lose the war but that was the right outcome.

“Later on, when I flicked back through them, I began to see shameful pattern in the way we were conducting the campaign. I started to realise that we did not hold the high ground, far from it.”

The letter to his grandson addresses some painful truths but also contains some heartfelt moments. For example, any mention of his wife.

“She is the fixed centre around which everything else moves, even now that she’s dead. And I would not want to live two hundred years without her.”

Another passage I found particularly moving was this:

“I don’t remember any of it except her – her eyes that I’d already known for more than half my life, and how happy she was.

That mattered to me, matters to me now, more than anything: more than the war, more than anything I do or didn’t do, more than the question of what kind of man I am. That may not be a moral answer, but it’s the truth.”

He clearly feels regret so some of his actions and shame for those perpetrated by others of which he was aware.

“We did it first, and worse. In war, the mechanism of justice is retribution. Woe to the conquered. And justice was performed in aggregate, not for individuals. Each of us thinks, I didn’t set up the Nazi party, I didn’t deliver people to the camps. But we did.”

“Can you be culpable for something you weren’t in control of?” and “can you do real evil without meaning to?” You tell me.

When I requested this book I was really excited to hear about the German's side to the war, Unfortunately it did not live up to my expectations and I am sorry to say that this book was not for me. I am afraid I did not finish it as I found it really hard going. It was like a monologue..

I feel sure that I am in the minority and that others will love it.

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC for which I have given my unbiased review..

A powerful, harrowing and moving read. It's not an easy read but it's one I won't forget in a hurry.
4 stars.

The Second World War took place a long time ago. Yet, the negative connotations of that war still linger. For some, it happened during their life time but for people like myself who are post war (well I’m Gen X) it is just something that I have never been able to comprehend fully. What I do know is that people who didn’t have anything to do with the war are still feeling the finger of blame being pointed.

In We Germans, Alexander Starritt poses the question of what it must have been like to be on the ‘wrong side’ of war to his German grandfather. It causes upset and subsequently we see what war and life was like for a German soldier. We Germans is a great example of how we put our assumptions upon other peoples’ stories and their histories and assume things without looking at the intricacies that surround it. Yes, to be a German soldier could be seen to be on the wrong side of the war if you fought for the other side. However, if you have been told it is an honour to fight for your country then it all just becomes relative.

What We Germans reminds us is that young soldiers were the real victims. They were sent to the front with very little in the way of food, clothing, life experience and expected to do their duty. We Germans is a book to make the reader realise that there wasn’t much difference between soldiers from Germany and from elsewhere across the world.

We Germans is a fascinating read that takes place across Europe but also across the generations. You really feel like you are travelling the length of the country with the German forces.

We Germans by Alexander Starritt will be available from 06th August 2020.

For more information regarding John Murray Press (@johnmurrays) please visit www.johnmurraypress.co.uk.

What a fascinating insight into what it must have been like to live through the war on the loosing side when everything is falling apart. Very easy writing style, despite the subject matter, it was a good read.

My father fought in the Second World War, but for the Polish army; he never spoke about his experiences, and now I know why. A very harrowing, shocking book - a few times I was tempted to give up and stop reading, but I felt it was almost a duty to carry on.
Well written (maybe that was my problem - it made me feel I was there, living through it!) and well explained too.
What a complicated thing World War Two was...

A really great book, the letter was interesting a surprisingly well crafted in the narrative. Callum (the grandson) added is some incredibly helpful notes as well as language translation that helped. And when the events get tough and hard to read he was a safe space!

It puts a human side to the other side of the war that we all know so much about, but I have never had any knowledge or read any opinions from the soldiers from Germany. It makes for both an interesting but emotionally impacting read. I am glad and feel very lucky that is was born at the 'right' time. The worst I have faced is the current Covid pandemic.

A very good book, I would recommend if you are interested in anything war or WW2 based.

I was drawn in to the story line written by the grandfather, giving his memoirs of his time on the Eastern Front. There are chapters by the ‘author’ reflecting on his experience as a third generation German living abroad and living a parcelled life and a non German with feelings of isolation, pride and shame of Germany. These chapters didn’t capture my interest much and I skimmed through some to get back to the war.
Thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ahead of publication in exchange for an honest review

*Many thanks to Alexnader Starrit, John Murray Press and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
The novel that presents insights into the last phase of WW2 on the Eastern Front written in a form of a letter to a grandson. The reflextions on the war, on the nature of this specific front and on the feeling of guilt lie at the basis of the novel. Four soldiers who find themselves on the retreat from Russia, witness atrocities committed by the German military on the locals and on fellow soldiers who were considered to be traitors.
This is more than just a dry account of the military life. It is an attempt to understand the evil any war is and to explain why the evil was embraced by the millions of German when the Nazis came into power.
I found this novel quite powerful and thought-provoking. The translation is very good as I had no problem following the narration.

would like to thank netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this book

this story is based on a letter written to by a german to his grandson who lived in scotland...its an insightful story as it deals with certain elements about the war and his guilt over what his nation had done ..

its quite a powerful read

Firstly I want to thank the publishers and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review an e-ARC of this book.

It is very graphic and emotional writing, in the form of a long letter from a German grandfather to his British grandson detailing the grandfather's experience as a soldier in a few days on the Eastern Front in 1944. A couple of the scenes are horrific and others are more laid back. But the whole, fairly short book is one of emotions, guilt, shame, and memories that refuse to die. I thought it was a stunning piece of writing and I read the 200ish pages in one sitting.

We Germans is a thought provoking novel written in the style of a letter from a German grandfather to his Scottish grandson. He is answering questions about his experiences in WWII both as a combatant on the Eastern front and as a captive of the Russians at the end of the war. This novel is important on a number of levels. It analyses decisions taken at the top, from the people in control at a safe remove down to the poor university student fighting because it is expected of him (the grandfather). It illustrates the futility and brutality of war. The darkest parts of ourselves, as humans, is given free reign to unleash horrific cruelty during war. The grandfather witnesses a number of terrible acts during the course of this novel and feels a sense of wider guilt and shame though he is a low ranking soldier and has no power over events. He reflects on the feeling of German responsibility and who might shoulder the blame.

The view from the German perspective is thoughtful and incisive. All of us know the second world war through the lens of the country we hail from. I am American by birth, now British, and I feel proud of the efforts of both countries but it is not as simple as that. General Sherman was right when he said war is hell. We German brings the desperation for survival to the fore. During the course of the novel the grandfather and his fellow soldiers are starving and foraging for food as the troops' equipment and provisions ran out long ago. They have sunk to the level of thieves wearing pilfered clothing and weapons. The war is on the turn with the end, seemingly, in sight. These German soldiers would rather encounter the Americans than the Russians so they might surrender to a nation they feel might treat them better. These are desperate times not knowing what force you may encounter around the next bend and the depths you may need to sink to to live on another day. Stressful, yes, but there are moments of humour, too, which makes this very human story one worth reading.

This story was a struggle for me to get into. I loved hearing bits of the story but I found at times it just didnt capture my attention. It wasnt a book I thought I would have really enjoyed

A thoughtful historical story but lacking strong characters and an engaging plot


A German grandfather, who had previously refused to tell his Scottish grandson Callum anything about his time fighting for Germany in the second world war, writes a long letter, which is found by Callum after he dies. This letter tells the story of his time serving in the German army when they were in the process of losing the war against Russia and his experiences being a soldier on the Eastern front. He recounts his experiences and the horrors he witnessed during a few days of the German retreat in 1944 and reflects on his feelings of guilt at having been a part of something which is now universally recognised as evil.


This was an interesting book written from the unusual perspective of a German soldier during WW2 and told entirely in the form of a letter, with occasional footnotes added in by the grandson. It was fascinating to read about the experiences of these soldiers from their point of view, particularly as most historical fiction portrays the Germans as ‘the baddies’ and doesn’t attempt to give them a voice. The disturbing scenes witnessed by the grandfather as he and his fellow infantryman try desperately to cross Eastern Europe and escape the pursuing Russians back to Germany were quite shocking to read. The author does a fantastic job of portraying his main character’s feelings of weariness and jaded acceptance of the horrors he encounters alongside his lifelong regrets and shame that he feels looking back. The book raises a lot of moral questions about accountability, responsibility and good and evil, and gave me a lot of food for thought.


Unfortunately, while offering a very unique perspective of an otherwise well-known historical period, I found the format of the story didn’t entirely work for me. The pacing was a bit slow at times, and the constant narrative format interrupted only with small side-notes from the grandson made some parts of the story drag. The characters also lacked development and depth – in particular, the grandson Callum had no real character at all, and his inclusion felt a bit pointless. The character of his grandfather also seemed slightly under-developed – he mentions having wanted to be a scientist, but other than that had no real memorable character traits. Three-dimensional, relatable characters are the core of a good book for me, which is perhaps why I didn’t enjoy this one as much as others.
Additionally, the tale seems to hint it is building up to a horrific and shocking event, but that never really arrived, giving the ending a slightly anti-climactic feel. I also thought there would be more details on the time of the grandfather in the Russian POW camp. I was disappointed that this was glossed over (although perhaps this was meant to represent his reluctance even at an old age to re-visit those memories).


In conclusion, while this was by no means a bad book, its format just didn’t quite land right for me, and while I was interested in the events described, I didn’t really connect with any of the characters. However, I enjoyed reading about this period from a new perspective, and it has definitely raised some interesting ethical questions. Worth a read for historical fiction fans.


Daenerys


Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of this book to review.

I got We Germans from Netgalley for a fair and honest review.


We Germans, asks the question that the grandchildren of the soldiers that fought for the Nazis in World War II, but did not share the beliefs of the party but done in a slightly different way. When the English teenager who grew up watching war films in the 80’s, asks his grandfather what was it like to fight for the bad guys. At the time he did not answer him, but after he passed away they find a letter written to his grandson about his time in the war on the Eastern front.

The book it self is divided in to two sections which alternate between them throughout the book, the first is the letter from the granddad about the war and the second is comments by the grandson on his reaction to the letter and explaining the things that may not be known by the people who do not have the same cultural references as the two of them

The idea of We Germans appealed to me as an interesting take on the war novel and how a future descendant deals with their families past. As the books is split into two parts I will examine both parts individually. The story that the grandfather tells in his letter, felt that it used a number of tropes from war novels in general, however the members of his unit were well written, and felt like real people.

The second section of the story were the grandchild wrote his reactions to the letter at the start I felt were interesting and it did a very good of why he asked that letter, however it felt like that he lost interest in reading it, which maybe was because the grandson did not get the answers he wanted from the letter, but this was never really explained, there was a conclusion at the end but it felt like one that he could have worked before reading the letter, maybe that was the point of it, meaning we can not explain all our actions, to future generation.


One of the things that the author did well was, the different voice of the grandfather and grandson, I know which section of the book I was in, by the writing style of the two individuals, this help me as a reader to follow the book as it jumped from one book to the other.

Alexander Starritt has written an interesting story and the idea felt like a good one, in a time of black and white opinions, were your are either on one side or the other, than this is a book, that can make the world a little bit grey. I would recommend We Germans, for a book club read, for two reasons, the first being it is a fairly quick read and second there are a number of interesting topics for discussion that the book raises.