There are many biographies of former soldiers of the Wehrmacht, many of whom had fascinating and exciting stories to tell, and several of whom were highly decorated. However, few can match Hans Sturm in his astonishing rise from a mere private in an infantry regiment, thrown into the bloody maelstrom of the Eastern Front, to a highly decorated war hero.
Absolutely remarkable story of a German soldier who through excellent training, instincts for survival, personal bravery, and leadership qualities rose through the ranks primarily on the Russian Front. Sturm gets into trouble for being honest about the failings of Nazi Germany only barely protected due to his status as a war hero, but we see his anxieties, great losses of friends and lovers, and utter destruction of Germany. Captured at the end of the war by the Russians, they hold him for many years after the war in slave labor camps, where he is determined to survive and return to a son he has never seen. All in all, an amazing story of war, loss and survival. A young man who had displayed fearless heroism in combat, earning him some of Germany's highest military awards, Sturm hated bullies and injustice, and reacted in his normal pugnacious and outspoken manner when confronted with wrongdoing. From striking a member of the feared Sicherheitsdienst for his treatment of a Jewish woman, to refusing to wear a decoration he felt was tainted because of the treatment of enemy partisans, Sturm repeatedly stuck to his moral values no matter what the risk. Even with the war finally over, Sturm's travails would not end for another eight years as he languished in a number of Soviet labor camps until he was finally released in 1953.
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