Breakthrough at Stalingrad

The original version of the great anti-war novel, confiscated by the Russian secret service in 1949 and now rediscovered in Russian archives. Found, edited, and accompanied by a documentary appendix by Carsten Gansel.

Heinrich Gerlach's great anti-war novel: Written directly after the Battle of Stalingrad in a Soviet prisoner of war camp, saved through various labor camps, but ultimately confiscated by the Russian secret service - now published for the first time after nearly 70 years.

This book has one of the most extraordinary publication histories ever: Heinrich Gerlach, severely wounded as a German officer in the Battle of Stalingrad, began writing a novel in Soviet captivity that aimed to portray the horrors of Stalingrad, the senselessness of war, and above all, the spiritual transformation of a German soldier under the impact of his experiences in an unvarnished manner. Additionally, he was a founding member of the Bund Deutscher Offiziere in the autumn of 1943, which called for an end to the senseless fighting from within the prisoner of war camps.

Gerlach saved his manuscript through many labor camps. However, in 1949, the Russian secret service discovered and seized the 600-page novel. It was not until spring 1950 that Gerlach returned to Germany - without the novel. All attempts to reconstruct it from memory failed - until Gerlach came up with an unusual idea. Under hypnosis, he was able to recall parts of the book.

In 1957, more than a decade after his capture, the book was published under the title "The Betrayed Army" - and became a bestseller. Carsten Gansel has now made a sensational find in Moscow archives: the original manuscript of Gerlach's breakthrough at Stalingrad, which deviates significantly from the published version. Accompanied by a rich documentary appendix from the editor, it is now presented in print for the first time after 70 years.