An intimate portrait of life as a German soldier on the Eastern front of the Second World War, portrayed in a letter from a grandfather to his grandson, discovered after his death.

Full of emotion, and graphic with detailed scenery, this is a quick yet impactful read.

This is a really interesting book with a fascinating
Insight into WW2. This is my first book in this genre and it was very thought provoking .

We Germans is a thought-provoking novel, told in the form of a letter from grandfather to grandson, recalling the experiences of his final days on the Eastern Front during WW2. The letter is interspersed with thoughts from his grandson, which added to the narrative by providing a contrast between the horrific events of WW2 and the modern day.

I found the novel interesting as the majority of WW2 novels I have read have been told from a British perspective, however the pacing of the story was rather poor and I found myself gripped at some parts but skimming over other, more tedious sections of the story.

Thanks to John Murray Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

I didn’t finish this book as I found some of the descriptions too gory for me. I’m sure it will appeal to some fans of war fiction but it wasn’t for me I’m afraid.

An interesting insight and view of the 2nd world war from a soldiers point of view. The relationship between those that were there and those that followed. nicely written with just enough detail to submerge into the story and understand the perspectives from both sides. Not my normal choice but please to have been given the opportunity to read and enjoy it.

Interesting read, from a totally different perspective than books I've previously read on WWII. Really descriptive and gave the feeling that you could have been there. A good way of looking back over a horrific time in his and our history

I don't read war stories. I've never really been interested in war but the blurb of this really interested me.
This is a very thought provoking book and told from the point of view of a German man.
Very well written and showing that all soldiers, no matter which side they were fighting for were probably just tired, scared and desperate for it all to be over.

The fact it's set in the Eastern front and is from the point of view of a German means that this was quite different from the handful of other WW2 books I've read (and what limited knowledge I have of the time). The novelty definitely helped keep my interest, and may have contributed to how profound I found it, but ultimately the reason I love this book is the writing.

Of course the book is bleak and horrific in parts. Which, I feel was quite right. Was is bleak and horrific but the writing is simply amazing.

Many books have been written about the Eastern Front in WW2, but few are drafted from the perspective of a young war-weary German foot soldier. The British author skilfully intertwines a letter from his German Grandfather with his own mixed emotions of his childhood and the awful events described in the letter. The letter explains the reasons why the Grandfather did not wish to discuss with his adolescent Grandson, any aspect of his part in the war. I am only too aware that most combat veterans are very reluctant to talk about their involvement in combat situations, especially with family members.
I cannot imagine the horrors experienced by this soldier after years of relentless fighting against a virtually unstoppable and ruthless enemy. Many in the German army were guilty of unbelievable atrocities against innocent civilians, as well as Russian combatants. This was shockingly depicted in the book.
Having worked in Germany, I find it hard to believe that such a generally kind and respectful race of people could perpetrate such horrors, just one or two generations ago.
In summary, a well-written and thoroughly absorbing book. It does not shirk away from describing a number of dreadful events through the eyes of a reluctant and battle-hardened young Wehrmacht soldier.

This novel reads like non-fiction. It is written by a grandson telling his grandfather's story, with the help of letters left for him. I don't know if it is based on a real story, but it reads like it is. My dad only reads non-fiction but I think he would like this and I am going to buy it for him. It took a little while to be absorbed, but I am glad I persevered.
The grandfather in the story fought on the Eastern Front and his description of a few weeks during the German retreat in 1944/5 is shocking and horrific. You can't help but feel sympathy for the young man who was drafted to fight, was unlucky enough to be sent east rather than west, and whose life was on hold for many years during the war and his subsequent imprisonment by the Russians. The atrocities he witnessed, and was part of, are not avoided in the book. They appear to be honestly and frankly shared.
I very much enjoy fiction set during the second world war. This was an interesting and different angle, and one I will not forget.
Thank you to #NetGalley, Alexander Starritt, and John Murray Press for the opportunity to read and review #WeGermans prior to publication.

We Germans is a thought-provoking book, narrating WWII from a German soldier's perspective. Since I started learning German and now that I live in Germany, I've always been interested in the point of view of the population and the "normal soldiers" back then. Why didn't they do anything? What could they have done? Did they even know what happened? When and how did they realise there might be more to it than they thought? I asked German friends if they talked to their grandparents and have learned anything about that time, there's always a huge and ashamed silence.

This book gives a little insight into the life of a soldier on the East front, retreating before the Russians in 1944. Although I could have done with less descriptions of the horrors he encountered, they were part of the war and had to be mentioned. It's important to show that not every (German) soldier was sadistic and cruel but also that not that everyone was just a regular soldier doing his job and trying to stay alive. In a particular scene, the author shows really well how his grandfather was horrified but also jaded and numb after all those years of war. The author doesn't try to justify the reactions of his grandfather but just make us understand why and how some things could have happened.
The author describes the feelings, the despair, the uncertainty so well that I really felt them and cried a few times.

I also liked the grandson's interventions inbetween, even if at times it was a bit difficult to understand who was speaking (might be due to the ARC format). It must not be easy to have your German roots thrown at your face like an insult, even if you were born 40 years after the war.

A very good and powerful book that won't let you indifferent and will make you think about "that other side" of the war. Nothing is black or white, good or bad and we're all human.

Thank you to the publisher who provided me with an e-copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is what history is really about. The letter from war veteran grandfather to his grandson,discovered after his death,reveals what he would never talk about in his lifetime. As a German soldier fighting the Russians he experienced traumatic events over which he had no control. Well,not quite,because he knows he committed acts of murder as a retreating soldier from a defeated army. He took lives unnecessarily. He has lived with that for decades. The best of it all was he met his future wife when recovering in a post war hospital. Unloading all this onto his grandson by letter helps but more importantly it is the kind of history that really matters because it recounts what war was like for conscripted individuals and others who happened to get in their way. This is not about governments and leaders,it is about what events do to individuals. That makes this a supern insight into the war. It is well written and compelling.

A young man of German heritage living a cosmopolitan lifestyle in London and awaiting the birth of his first child, reflects upon an account written by his grandfather who at the same age was in the German army on the eastern front, trying to get back home in fear of being captured by the advancing Soviet army. The letter tries to make sense of the barbarity the grandfather experienced during his service, ordeals after the war as a German in the Soviet bloc, and the way veterans were treated depending upon which side they fought on and in which theatre of war they fought. There was little pity for those who fought in the Russia campaign. The grandfather rationalises that his conduct must have been forgiven because he gained the love of a good and kind woman; that his wife died relatively young and his love maintained must have implied he too was at heart, ‘good’. He has no doubt, however, that the antipathy Germans and Germany experienced as a result of the war was deserved.

Whilst I think the term ‘enjoy’, given the subject matter might be inappropriate, I did find this book a satisfying read, was keen to discuss it, and eager to find out what happened to the protagonist and his comrades in arms during their trek homewards. I recommend it too because as a subject area it seems to have been ignored - perhaps because, as suggested in the book, those who were involved were ashamed to speak of their experiences. The victors may well get to write history, but the vanquished also have a tale to tell.

A well written book, dotting between sections of a letter written by a grandfather to his grandson, describing his war and the grandsons reactions. I could have done with some better breaks between the 2 narratives as there were places where it was confused as to whose perspective you were reading but that may be due to the ARC formatting.
Fighting on the Eastern front, the Grandfather is an ordinary young German man, with aspirations to become a scientist and to attend University to study. He begins by assuming the war will be more of a short skirmish- after all, he only has rations for a week or so in his pack, and he will return to take up his university place shortly after.
As the letter unfolds the true atrocities of the war come to life..not least the wholesale slaughter of millions but the degradation and humiliation of troops and civilians alike, the deteriorating mental health of the soldiers, the fear and exhaustion, the starvation and the absence of any kind of order as it becomes a free for all race to surrender to the Americans.
A sobering reminder perhaps that the majority of the German army were very young men following orders and did not necessarily share, believe in or even understand the ultimate objectives Hitler had.
Interesting to read a war story written from the point of view of the opposition .

A strange offering this - a novel without a plot, well, not much of one. Nonetheless, an engaging and often shocking read. Certainly well written with some delicious turns of phrase. It certainly gives you a glimpse of what it must have been like fighting on the Eastern Front during the Second World War. Terrifying, brutal, dehumanizing, etc. The occasional switch to Callum’s story, growing up during the nineties comes as a welcome relief. I shall never forget it.

A poignant reminder of how senseless world conflicts are, this story relates to ww2. For over 50 years I have read books, watched films and dramas glorifying the heroics of allied forces in both wars. This is the first time I have read an account of a young German soldier serving his country in the eastern block.. It is not a story of heroics neither does the author try to glorify the characters in any way. It is a factual story about patroisum of serving ones country, the cruelness of war torn Poland and of an individual trying to get through to the end of the war alive. Did I enjoy this book? I am not sure anyone would relish the many cruel and senseless acts that occurred but I found it very thought provoking. I would recommend reading this book for that alone.

I had just watched Jojo Rabbit when I picked up We Germans. The film is a farcical comedy but it has a similar theme that innocent or gullible or vulnerable people can be swept up into more monstrous things.

It is unusual for us to see WWII stories from the point of view of the German side. We Germans takes the form of a Grandfather writing a letter to his British born grandson. Most of the novel covers a short period of time in 1944 where a young man who dreamed of studying chemistry is trapped in an ongoing war. This isn’t the war we see in films, there are no huge strategic battles or visits to concentration camps. Instead, he’s retreating from Poland and Russia, trying to avoid the pursuing Russians.

This is a much more individual story. One ordinary man involved in extraordinary events. We know that war is horrific and dehumanising and this novel shows that slow decline. We also hear from the grandson, how his life as part Brit, part German is hard and alienating. How he feels isolated and not part of either world.

I struggled in places, mostly at the seemingly convenient forgetting of horrors. Was he too traumatised to talk about it or was it easier not to tell of the truly awful things he said and did? I think we’re meant to question that and I must say I found it hard.

Well wow were do I start, one man British asked his German Grandad what's it like to fight on the wrong side of the war, later he gets an answer written by his Grandad full of emotion and truth from his view point. Obviously this is referring to the Second Works War and it feels an obvious point but the further away we move from that era the more the population has moved on, the enemy now for the British is ISIS & supporting nations but then some of our country or population will support them. We have also had the cold war the Falklands (rarely mentioned now). But WW2 it was a clearer divide there was a clear evil for Britain to see but yes still some sympathisers but as the war brewed on and Hitler's atrocities became clearer here is the tale of a German soldier who wasn't a Nazi like most of Germany wasn't but they did fight for their country and as his victory turned into defeat also his views changed.
This is the story of a few days towards the end of the war when defeat was certain and it began to show the turmoil in his mind and of those around him. What does anyone do when they realise the horror's of what they have been involved in do you make excuses or carry the weight. It's has to be fair to say that not all Germans understood the full horrors taking shape elsewhere but I've never met a German soldier or even kids that got involved in Hitler's youth who don't carry scars, I'm sure somewhere there are some that haven't I just haven't met any.
When you're talking about some harden soldiers, & battle weary it seems strange to say that this is a very emotional book but I found myself being challenged by the concepts and issues that are raised even though this doesn't take the track that I expected I felt that I was reading true story because of the incredible writing from Alexandra.
I have to give this book five stars because it felt like I was on the journey with them look inside of how one man's war ended. I'm British and as a child in a game the Germans were always the enemies in battle slowly being overtaken by the Russians. Now they're just the enemy on the football field times have changed but deep down how much has Human nature changed, This may not make sense to you yet so read it and see if any of this makes sense to you afterwards, it's not always be comfortable reading but it may well test you..

I dont often read war stories however this one enticed me in and I am glad it did.

This book made me reconsider my whole life and gave me such gratitude to all the people that fought in our wars. The story was very different from any books/films I have seen before as it was from the point of view of a German. I think this is what made me love it and find it so profounding.

I would absolutely recommend.

The introduction to the book piqued my interest and anticipation to gain a different insight into WWll.
The book started with the grandson of a German veteran recounting his relationship with his grandfather through personal contact and a letter recounting the grandfather’s personal recollections of his experiences on the Eastern Front. I found that a short way into the story, we were shifting back and forth in time without some form of segway from one to the other that quickly confused the flow and enjoyment of reading. This continued throughout the book and was compounded by the in depth psychological analysis of the grandfather’s companions during their adventures on the Eastern Front particularly their retreat in the face of the Russian advance into Germany.
As a book I did not enjoy it very much at all.

This book comprises a long letter from a German grandfather to his British grandson about his final days on the Eastern Front as a Wehrmacht soldier retreating from the Red Army's onslaught.
As he acknowledges that Germany is about to suffer its final defeat, he realises that it deserves to. In telling of the confusion and horrors that he and his small band of comrades experienced in a few days, he tries to make sense of his part in blame for Nazi Germany's conduct throughout World War II in times of victory and defeat.
He writes of a sense of guilt but most of all, he feels shame for the part he and others "ordinary" Germans played.
The letter expands to cover the grandfather's experiences before and after the war. How he wanted to become a scientist and felt that the war robbed him of that chance. Later, he describes what happened after his capture and brief internment before returning home and meeting the woman who would become his wife. Large parts of the story are given over to his post war life and there are also occasional chapters in which the British grandson writes about his grandparents.
Basically, this is a memoir of World War II told from the point of view of a German soldier who does his best to explain his own involvement in Nazi Germany's war machine which led to the deaths of millions, mostly civilians who didn't die in battle but were brutally murdered. Whether this one man - and Germans like him - were good or evil is something the reader must decide. This is an absorbing read which poses some disturbing questions which have no easy answers.