The Boy Who Went to War by Giles Milton Read Free Book Online Page B

necessity of the fight against un-German writing.’
    Wolfram did not see the book burning, nor, indeed, did his parents. They certainly would have had no desire to witness such an act. Ever since the introduction of the Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of People and State in early 1933, many of Marie Charlotte’s favourite authors, including Thomas Mann, had been condemned. The new legislation placed strict controls over the publishing industry and gave the Gestapo virtually unlimited powers to confiscate literature considered undesirable. ‘Printed matter whose content is calculated to endanger public order,’ read the decree, ‘can be confiscated by the police.’
    The great pyre was to be lit at exactly nine o’clock in the evening on Saturday, 17 June. Although it started pouring with rain just as the crowds began to assemble, this did nothing to diminish the pageantry of the occasion. The youth leaders marched into the Marktplatz in military formation and were met by city officials, including the head of the town’s police force. A local brigade leader named Schenkel then made a speech in which he heaped praise upon Pforzheim’s youth.
    â€˜Their mission,’ he told the crowd, ‘was full of honour and proved that the National Socialist Party was right in putting its trust in the young generation.’ As his address came to an end, one of the Nazi dignitaries ceremoniously placed Erich Remarque’s novel, All Quiet on the Western Front , on the very top of the pyre.
    â€˜The flames ate deep into the pile of books…the buildings around the Marktplatz were lit in a ghostly way and the onlookers were bathed in a red glow.’ And then – hesitant at first, but then much louder – a cry went up from the crowd.
    â€˜A chorus of voices began chanting an incantation – “ undeutsche schrift verbrenne! – Burn, un-German writing, burn!”’ As the mob continued to shout, a Communist flag was thrown on to the top of the pyre.
    â€˜The difficult times went up with the flames,’ wrote the journalist covering the story. ‘New life, new writing, new faith will blossom from the ashes.’
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    Wolfram’s parents became aware that Hitler had introduced an element of fear into every aspect of daily life within weeks of his becoming chancellor. Just a short time earlier, Erwin had spoken quite openly of his contempt for the Nazis, especially when in the company of Herr Becher, the urbane clergyman from the family’s parish. Now, however, whenever the two men spoke of the dangers that Hitler posed, Becher would get up from his chair and close the dining-room door so that Clara, the Aïcheles’ new maid, could not eavesdrop.
    Clara was indeed nosy and was forever listening in on their conversations. Believing Hitler to be a godsend for Germany, she was particularly infuriated by Becher’s strident opinions. ‘Frau Aïchele,’ she said one day to Wolfram’s mother, ‘if Herr Becher says such nasty things about Hitler one more time, I’ll leave and won’t come back.’
    There were many other subtle but disquieting changes. Goebbels had declared that the new government ‘no longer intends to leave people to their own devices’. True to his word, Nazi ideology was brought to the fore in every sphere of personal activity. The regime banned the traditional Swabish greeting, ‘ Grussgott ’ or ‘God be with you’, which had been used in southern Germany for centuries. Henceforth, everyone was obliged to say ‘Heil Hitler’ when they met with acquaintances in the street.
    Wolfram’s parents avoided greeting close friends in such a fashion, but it was a different matter when Erwin went to work. All state employees were obliged to used the new form of address, ‘raising their right arm…while at the same time saying out loud: Heil Hitler’.
    It