Adventures in My Youth

A German Soldier on the Eastern Front 1941-45

By: Armin Scheiderbauer

Narrated by: James A. Gillies

The author could be described as a veteran in every sense of the word, even though he was only age 21 when the war ended. Armin Scheiderbauer served as an infantry officer with the 252nd Infantry Division, German army, and saw four years of bitter combat on the Eastern Front, being wounded six times.

This is an outstanding personal memoir, written with great thoughtfulness and honesty. Scheiderbauer joined his unit during the winter of 1941-42 and, during the following years, saw fierce combat in many of the largest battles on the Eastern Front. His experiences of the 1943-45 period are particularly noteworthy, including his recollections of the massive Soviet offensives of summer 1944 and January 1945. Participating in the bitter battles in East Prussia, he was captured by the Soviets and not released until 1947.

Adventures in My Youth is a unique memoir - the author originally wrote it only for his daughter. It has never been published in any language until now.

©2003 Helion and Company (P)2017 Tantor

The war in the East!

An excellent story from a German soldier serving on the Russian front. The accent of the narrator adds to the story.

Loved it!

Started out about slow for my taste then and 1/4 in I couldn’t stop listening

Facts trump fiction

Alway do but seldom recognized or understood . Here is a true accounting . No one could make up such a thing . It did happen , a fact based narrative of someone who was there , Read it and weep .

Great listen

Great performance and compelling story - really interesting to get an insight into ww2 that focuses on the German experience on the eastern front and subsequent captivity.

A Harrowing Account

Scheiderbauer's experience, both on the battlefield and off it, paints a picture of what life was like in the 1930s and 40s for millions of young German men who were swept up by the disaster of war. Most German war veterans end their account with the end of the war itself, but Scheiderbauer gives a very detailed account of life as a slave laborer in the Soviet Union. His experiences are interesting to compare and contrast with the accounts of gulag survivor Alexander Solzhenitsyn in his book A Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich.

Each war memoir is ultimately an autobiography as much as it is a historical account, and it becomes very clear what Scheiderbauer values and what motivated his tenacity in defense of Germany. Scheiderbauer's strong connections to his family ultimately give him the will to survive war, injury, bereavement, defeat, thoughts of suicide, capture, captivity, slave labor, disease, starvation, and torture. And in the end, survival justifies the journey and is a victory in itself.

Heartfelt, vivid and sober story

An absolute pleasure, quite eloquently written and performed. Other biographies can learn much from this one.

Compelling story of a pious youth brought up by war. Starkly vivid view of the life in and around the frontline, from the perspective of a junior infantry officer. Subject of crimes was directly dwelled upon at great length, perhaps by the nature of very active frontline career. My impression is that the author was honest throughout, especially considering the fact that this manuscript was not intended to be published.

Interesting

I was interested. I like the narrator. Good story, wasnt great. I never really could imagine the situations in my head, as I could from other books.

A good telling of an oft repeated story

Axis memoirs of the Eastern Front all sound rather similar, the race into the USSR, a few years of stability, the long desperate retreat, the human tragedy of Soviet occupation, homecoming. Nevertheless, this memoir is well worth the retelling for those interested in WW2 history.

something different worth a listen

the book is good, but theres stuff that makes it not great. there is 1000s of details included in every chapter and it becomes overwhelming. the reader is good, but could be better. this is just not as exciting as i thought itd be.

Astonishing revelations!

To be inside the mind , of a front line Wehrmacht officer , during the highs and lows of the war on the eastern front was astounding . I tried to read this without my bias of the nazi atrocities. I pity and pray for the souls of the Wehrmacht and Red Army soldiers who gave their lives for their countries . They were tools of evil, evil men . Also loved the mention of the roots of antifa .... Russian agents indeed lol peace and love . War is hell on earth . Love thy neighbor and be free ! God bless!