CAUGHT BETWEEN SWASTIKA, HAMMER & SICKLE
by
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The two men were on a long rope behind the horses. The Russian soldiers then mounted the two chestnuts and awaited the command to start. An officer lifted his arm. The horses, spurred by the riders, shot forward. Within seconds, both men lost their balance. After running desperately, they fell to the ground. Roped to the horses by their wrists, it was impossible for them to protect their heads, exposed now to everything on the ground, such as roots, stones or gravel. They would last only for a few minutes this way. For some time, they were able to hold up their heads. By the second round, one of them fell head first on the ground. His legs, stretched out sideways in order to prevent a roll over in the sharp turns, aimlessly followed his upper body now. The same thing happened to the other one, until he also lost his strength. Both men, I hoped, would lose consciousness soon, and death would release them from their agony. But it wasn't over yet, neither for them nor for us. The riders kept on and on, round and round, even after their victims were obviously dead. They now passed close by our front row deliberately and slowly to demonstrate what had happened to our friends, apparently in compliance with the order of the officer in charge of the execution. Their necks seemed to be broken. Their foreheads and faces were a bloody mess of bones and flesh. Elbows and other joints showed a similar wretched condition. All this was clearly visible because they had lost almost every piece of garment in the torturous drag. Only bloodstained shreds of uniform and underwear covered their mutilated corpses. During the short time the show lasted, the hundreds of us stood in silence and deep sympathy for our men. Their crime, if one wants to call it such, had been only an attempt to escape. Any civilized nation, or better yet its army, would under similar circumstances punish the escapees, yes, but to kill them in this medieval fashion was something else.
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About the Book
“Tell me some more about your nice friends in the army. You always seem to have adventures.”
Graphic artist by profession and avid motorcycle enthusiast, young Hans Schaefer is conscripted into Hitler’s war as a soldier in the Signal Corps. Thus the reluctant yet courageous soldier bears witness to the horrors of war on the infamous Eastern Front. An articulate opponent of Hitler and his Nazi regime, Hans is relentlessly torn between loyalty to his fellow soldiers as they fight for the Führer’s megalomaniac ideas and his own conscience. As a soldier he suffers extreme hardships under the German command and later, as a prisoner of war, he is both victim of and eyewitness to the Red Army’s particular brand of cruelty and punishment.
Yet Hans is a survivor, living by his wits and by his art. Wily and talented, he draws portraits for both the Nazis and the Russians, gaining admiration and respect from high-ranking German officers and from his Russian “enemies” alike. Throughout, this tenacious man never loses his moral compass. He survives the Soviet labour camps to return safely home to his family in Kiel when war finally ends in 1945. Moving to Canada to make a fresh start in a new world, Hans lives to chronicle his harrowing “adventures” during some of the darkest and bloodiest years in Europe’s history.
“The collaboration of Mr. Spezzano’s writing and Hans Schaefer’s war experiences has produced an epic account of a German soldier’s flight from the pathological Nazi regime. This novel echoes the reservations of the many Germans who harboured conflicting loyalties during the ascendancy of the Third Reich. It’s also a very human story about love and loss. A courageous masterpiece and a testament to one man’s struggle to retain his dignity and individuality in a world torn apart by tyrants.”
Jack Baret
Screenwriter
About the Author
Author Frank Spezzano’s recent publications include his historical drama Bressani as well as a fine art book showcasing the work of a renowned Canadian artist. Frank holds a B.A. from York University, a B. Ed. from the University of Toronto and a Master of Science in Education from Niagara University, N.Y., U.S.A.