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Wolfram: The Boy Who Went to War [Hardcover]

Giles Milton (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)

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Book Description

Publication Date: 17 Feb 2011
The Allied bombers screamed in from the sea, spilling hundreds of shells onto the troops below. As the air filled with exploding shrapnel, one young German soldier flung himself into a ditch and prayed that his ordeal would soon be over.

Wolfram Aïchele was nine years old when Hitler came to power: his formative years were spent in the shadow of the Third Reich. He and his parents - free-thinking artists - were to have first hand experience of living under one of the most brutal regimes in history. Wolfram: The Boy Who Went to War overturns all the clichés about life under Hitler. It is a powerful story of warfare and human survival and a reminder that civilians on all sides suffered the consequences of Hitler's war. It is also an eloquent testimony to the fact that even in times of exceptional darkness there remains a brilliant spark of humanity that can never be totally extinguished.

Product details

  • Hardcover: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Sceptre (17 Feb 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0340837888
  • ISBN-13: 978-0340837887
  • Product Dimensions: 15.8 x 3.3 x 24.1 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 420,821 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

 'a remarkable narrative of [Wolfram] Aichele's life during the Nazi regime, written by his son-in-law Giles Milton.'

(Irish Times)

'Engrossing . . . Milton's book celebrates the heroism of individuals who put lives before ideologies' (Independent)

'as a portrait of how these civilised individuals were able to survive, this is invaluable.'

(Daily Express)

'Besides being moving and readable, Milton's social history provides a sympathetic counterbalance to the idea that all wartime Germans were "Hitler's willing executioners".'

(Mail on Sunday 2011-02-20)

'a delight to read.'

(www.thebookbag.co.uk 2011-02-20)

'Milton's book is no apology for the Third Reich - rather it is the very human, horrifying story of an ordinary German boy and his family of free-thinking artists, none of whom supported Hitler's politics and all of whom suffered great hardships.'

(Saga 2011-02-20)

'Giles Milton looks deeper into family history with Wolfram, the story of his father-in-law's childhood under the Third Reich.'

(Hobart Mercury 2011-02-20)

'Milton's writing, too, is first-rate. Engaging, poignant and vivid, he wrings just the right amount of pathos from his story, and shifts seamlessly between the varying "voices" of his narrative. . . .  a very valid and interesting book'

(BBC History Magazine 2011-02-20)

'idiosyncratic and utterly fascinating'

(Mail on Sunday 2011-02-20)

'. . . the story of the Aichele family reveals an undercurrent of passive resistance that existed among ordinary Germans. . . . In considering what Germans went through during the war, Milton's book shows that our understanding should not be so clear cut. . . . Milton's close analysis of the experiences of Germans demonstrates that they too could be victims of the war.'

(Spectator 2011-02-20)

'a truly remarkable story . . . a tour de force.'

(Miranda Seymour 2011-02-20)

'a compelling account of 20th-century darkness.'

(Sun Herald 2011-02-20)

'Giles Milton is one of our most engaging writers of non-fiction. In Wolfram, he writes with deceptive simplicity, matching his effortless style with a fascinating subject to create a page-turning and thought-provoking book.'

(Victoria Hislop 2011-02-20)

'Instead he [Milton] renders a service to his father-in-law's generation by reminding readers about the sheer physical, mental and spiritual effect it took to stay true to oneself in a vicious regime.'

(Saturday Times 2011-02-20)

'A powerful study . . . Based on Wolfram's recollections, with Milton providing the scene painting and historical background, this is a valuable record of what it was like to be sucked into war, and a vivid vocation of the fear and bewilderment of living in the Third Reich.'

(Guardian 2011-02-20)

About the Author

Giles Milton is a bestselling writer and journalist and the author of six previous works of non-fiction, two novels and children's books. For more information please visit www.gilesmilton.com.
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling 17 Feb 2011
By Basement Cat VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
I really enjoyed this book, and found it as compelling read a read as fiction. I often lose interest in non-fiction after a while, but this was a fascinating story. There is so much information available about the British and the allies in the second world war, that it makes a change to read about it from the German perspective. Having said that, Wolfram's family certainly was not a typical German family, and they resisted the rise of Hitler as much as they could, unlike other people from their town who embraced the ideology wholeheartedly. Wolfram's experience of war was a harrowing one that he was very lucky to survive, as the Nazi war machine began to come off the rails in the latter part of WW2.
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent account. 15 Jan 2011
By Graeme Stewart VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
It is always fascinating to read accounts of life in the Third Reich from the perspective of someone who was not at the centre of power. This is the experience of the author Giles Miltons' father in law, from his childhood under the Nazis, with his family as "outsiders" under the regime, through to his experiences at war. It is easy to dismiss books such as this as glossing over the reality of the protagonists' account, and in this case, being biased, as it is about a family member, but it is also easy to tar everyone who lived under that dictatorship as an evil nazi. I tend to believe that this is a genuine account, rather than take the easy option of dismissing offhand the reality that there were people in Germany who opposed the Nazis, but under a climate of fear, had little option but to obey. This is a well written, and fascinating account, and needs to be read with an open mind.
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10 of 13 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Wolfram: The Boy Who Went to War 21 Jan 2011
By S Riaz HALL OF FAME TOP 10 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
This book is about a young man who grew up in Germany at the time when the Nazi party came to power and who went to war as a soldier while still in his teens. I was reminded of the brilliant book by Roger Moorhouse about wartime Berlin, in which he stated that there had been many books about how the minority died, but very few about how the majority lived. Wolfram was a boy who was obsessed by art (and who later became an artist). He lived in a village, near a small town, with his family and was isolated from the worst of the atrocities taking place in the cities of 1930's Berlin. However, saying that, you are very aware that Wolfram is the author's father in law. To say that the author takes pains to point out that Wolfram, his family and friends, were not aware of the extent of Jewish persecution and what it led to, doesn't really ring true. When the local doctor and his wife kill themselves because they are to be 'resettled', when the entire town is full of broken glass after the infamous Kristallnacht, when the synagogue is burnt, when Wolfram himself sees Jewish slave labourers from the train he is travelling on, etc etc, you have to feel that although there was perhaps little these people could do, in fact they did turn their faces from the truth. The boys who went to war were young and, often not Nazi sympathisers, but it is hard to feel sympathy for their plight when you are aware (with hindsight admittedly) that their Jewish neighbours have suffered far worse under the Nazi regime. I think the author being so closely related to the subject of the book causes a bias and lack of objectivity which somehow makes you feel less, rather than more, empathy with him. Wolfram himself certainly has a story to tell and it is an important one, but it may have been better if someone else had told it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars In-law Resistance...
Wolfram is the tale of a boy, a boy who went on the be the father in law of the author, who grew up in Nazi Germany. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mr. D. J. Brindle
4.0 out of 5 stars Civilian life
A good example of the change that can overtake any society however decent and the underlying and unspoken fear in Nazi run Germany however the people were proud of the army in WW2... Read more
Published 3 months ago by MICHAEL A GIBBS
5.0 out of 5 stars An eye opener
If you do not know much about Germany ie, your perceptions are based on second hand 'knowledge' I suggest that you read this amazing story.
Published 5 months ago by Vincent Licence
5.0 out of 5 stars Book - Wolfram
Purchased for a friend (not as gift!) so cannot comment on the contents. Book arrived on time and in state described by seller. Well priced but thought postage a bit steep. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Khushiman
4.0 out of 5 stars The other side of the fence.
It must have been a sweet day indeed when Giles Milton, the author of several excellent and painstakingly researched narrative histories, realised he had a book to write from... Read more
Published 17 months ago by street-legal
5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating story of WW2 told from a German perspective
A new book from Giles Milton is always welcome - he is a fine writer of what might be called "narrative non-fiction" - often telling the story of forgotten episodes in history... Read more
Published 18 months ago by A Common Reader
3.0 out of 5 stars compelling memoir: clunky style
This is a moving and enjoyable memoir which will make you consider the Second World War from a fresh perspective. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Withnail67
5.0 out of 5 stars Another great
I have to admit after reading Edward Trencom's Nose and Nathaniel's Nutmeg I was already a fan. But, this book really took a different twist as it was more personal, and frankly,... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Gee Em
4.0 out of 5 stars Good view of WW2 from the German side...
Giles Milton, is the British author of non-fiction work, "Nathaniel's Nutmeg" and "Samurai William". Read more
Published 22 months ago by Jill Meyer
4.0 out of 5 stars Brief Review
Very well written book, especially as Author was a family member.
Interesting insight of the Young Man, who had no interest in war or Nazi ideals, along with his family,... Read more
Published on 10 May 2011 by L. Hughes
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