AUTHOR

In 2012 a Russian ex-soldier, Sergej, helped me find the original locations of the 95th ID near Rshew (Rzhev) in Russia where the division was posted from November 1942 to March 1943. I had copies of the relevant 95th ID maps and he had brought a satellite compass. 

We were standing in the snow-covered trench where my father had come of age exactly 70 years ago. He had turned 21 years old. At that time, he had doubted for the first time whether he would survive the war at all. Yes, he did survive it. 

Sergej's father had also been in the war, as had the father of the Russian historian Oleg A. Kondratjew, whom I met in Rshew and who is specialized on the war in the Rshew Salient.

As a German, you feel eternally guilty for causing the war in Russia. Every Russian I met, on the other hand, reacted with friendly indulgence.

Photo: The author with the Russian ex-soldier on the front sector of the 95th Infantry Division near the city of Rshew in Russia. 26. Nov. 2012 

A rusty metal ammunition box for mortar bombs left in the German trench.

Clemens Plattes (90) und Dr. Gabriele Plattes

Father and Daughter in 2011

Soldier and Author