Today 2 February are fulfilled 75 years since the end of the Battle of Stalingrad. And for those of us who are passionate about Second World War, the siege and the fight in that city of the Volga It is one of his most decisive episodes of the terrible period for Humanity that was that contest.
For me in particular it is special because, to document one of my novels, I wanted to read some things. It was enough for me The battle of Stalingradby the novelist and historian William Craig. But without a doubt, it is the work of Anthony Beevor perhaps the best known. Today I take a look at other titles as representative as that of Zaitsev, the most famous sniper of Stalingrad, or that of the German marshal Von Paulus. Worth as a tribute and memory to those disastrous days.
Stalingrad (today Volgograd) is and will be synonymous with one of the Most famous and decisive battles of World War II. Probably along with that of kurks, in July 1943, the biggest tank battle of the contest, definitely marked the sign of war. With thousands of stories and protagonists, historians will never stop telling us and its background for fiction will continue to be infinite.
El war cinema He has put images on it on multiple occasions, but I am left with a couple of the most famous: Enemy at the Gates (2001), French Jean-Jacques Annaud. Starring Joseph Fiennes, Jude Law, Ed Harris and Rachel Weisz, told the fiction of the confrontation between the snipers Vasili Záitsev and Erwin König. And Stalingrad, a very hard movie of 1993, a German and Swedish co-production, which narrates the story of a group of German soldiers and his terrible last days in the city.
The doctor of Stalingrad - Heinz G. Konsalik
The story begins already in 1943. After the defeat of Stalingrad, the military doctor Fritz bohler is captured by the Russians along with hundreds of soldiers and they are sent to a prison camp. As early as 1949 Böhler and his companions are still trying to survive their captivity. But when one of the German prisoners suffers an attack of appendicitis, Böhler decides to risk surgery, which will further complicate his situation.
The last letters de Stalingrad - Anonymous
En 1954 it was published in Germany this book that collected the fragments of 39 letters written and sent by the German military in the last days of the battle. According to the publisher of the book, the Nazi authorities confiscated the last seven bags of mail that could be transported. The contents were studied and censored and the letters never reached their addressees.
But years later they reappeared in the Potsdam military archives and were retrieved for publication. But it turned out they were different, not forgeries, but they weren't authentic documents either. However, as a further testimony to what may also have been the "truth" of the Battle of Stalingrad.
Stalingrad and me - Friedrich Von Paulus
These are the memories of the Commander and Marshal Von Paulus, in command of the German Sixth Army, which ended up surrendering its devastated troops at Stalingrad. It's about a extraordinary story that gives us answers from a privileged perspective of what happened. And it is first-hand historical document and fundamental, but also a unique account of his personal and military life, and above all, of the circumstances that marked him during those decisive months.
Memoirs of a Sniper in Stalingrad - Vasily Zaitsev
Vassili Zaitsev was a Ural hunter with unerring aim and he proved this in the Battle of Stalingrad, where, according to his own words, he killed 242 Germans, including more than ten enemy shooters ??. This book is the personal account of his experience in the war, very different from the one shown in the Annaud movie ??. With that of Von Paulus, it is the story of the other side, the winner, but also a witness to the savagery of what has been considered the bloodiest battle of the Second World War.
The Battle of Stalingrad - William craig
Enemy at the Gates He drinks from the parts and events recounted in this Craig book. It is the culmination of hard work that encompassed five years of research, during which the author traveled through the countries involved, studying documents, and interviewing many survivors. The result shows us lto the most human face of many its protagonists and it is a mosaic of real events and characters from the great tragedy they experienced.
Stalingrad - Anthony Beevor
Possibly the most famous or well-known book. Beevor's work was praised by historical specialists and became a bestseller international. Beevor conducted a thorough investigation in the Russian and German archives, extracting from them letters from unknown soldiers and testimonies. He also interrogated survivors from both sides to reconstruct the overall experience vivid by all the protagonists.