A box of moldy documents that survived Hurricane Katrina, discovered in her mother-in-law’s attic, turned out to hold unexpected treasure for Whitney Stewart. She had long been curious about the brothers she had heard her mother-in-law describe and had named her son Reiner for one of them. Here were his letters, written in German, in a box labelled Reiner’s Kriegsbriefe (war letters).
I have been interested in reading this account since Whitney began to post on Facebook about her journey to see the places where the letters were set and find a translator. Credit goes to Denis Havel, the translator, and to her as collaborators on a book that became a labor of love. Another account could be written about the twists and turns as she researched and found Reiner’s story, but my purpose in this blog is to review Feldpost and recommend this book that is not to be missed.
The major part of the book contains an abundance of letters Reiner wrote primarily to his parents with a few to siblings and others. A smaller number of letters he received are included. All the letters are translated, not edited, and give a clear picture of the man behind them. Chatty letters include what he had to eat and its quality, how he has built his shelter in the foxhole, and whether he will be promoted to a leadership position. I read, finding it difficult to keep in mind that this was a German soldier who would have been the enemy for my uncles who served in World War II. It became especially hard when his longings to be home with family for Christmas matched those of soldiers I knew.
Along with the letters, there is just enough occasional commentary between about what and where the war was happening at the time the letters were written to give a perspective. Every indication I saw in the letters pointed to a soldier serving his country, not to one who espoused Nazi philosophy.
I highly recommend the book to anyone who has ever wondered what the soldier in the foxhole on the other side could have been thinking. Whitney, in the afterword, quotes Reiner in a way that gives meaning to the book for me. “War is the father of all things and the root of all evil.”