Erzähl mal: Zweiter Weltkrieg

Journalist Frank Schmidt-Wyk shares a common sentiment with many people: since the death of his grandfather, he deeply regrets not having spoken more extensively with him about his experiences as a soldier in World War II. But perhaps there is a way to make up for what was missed? Schmidt-Wyk embarks on a journey through Germany, visiting older individuals who lived through the era of National Socialism and the war, allowing them to share their stories: tales of significant moments that continue to shape their personal memories of that time. Gradually, these contributions come together to form a complex and multifaceted picture of wartime life, seen through the eyes of contemporaries who were children, teenagers, or young men and women at the time. The eyewitnesses recount how they trembled for their lives in bomb shelters with their mothers, survived combat missions at the front, experienced persecution and Nazi terror in the Third Reich, witnessed the arrival of Allied troops at the end of the war, became victims of displacement, and much more. The locations span from the North Sea island of Wangerooge to numerous German cities and Slovenia, from occupied France to the Baltic States. The eyewitness accounts are enriched by insights from historian Takuma Melber of Heidelberg University. The foreword is written by military historian Sönke Neitzel from the University of Potsdam.