A review
A Dutch SS-Soldier on the Eastern Front by Henk Kistemaker Wiking
Nonfiction—Memoir—WWII
204 pages. Published by Just Publishers in 2019.
Henrique Kistemaker write a unique report about his war experiences as a member of the Waffen-SS.
Percentage wise most volunteers for the German Waffen-SS, about 25,000 men, came firm the Netherlands. The first division in which a contingent Dutch men served, was the SS Division Wiking. This division was deployed shortly after the invasion of Russia in 1941. He fought among others in the Ukraine. During the summer offensive of 1942 he was able to penetrate deep into the Caucasus. In 1945, most Wikingers became American prisoners of war.
Also the 18-year-old Henk Kistemaker volunteered, in a thirst for adventure and on the advice of his German-minded father, to be a participant in this war.
On the Eastern Front he experienced the heavy and gruesome battles; first as an infantryman and later as a member of a Panther tank crew. He was wounded three times. At the age of 22, when the war ended, he is a war veteran.
In the years before his death, in 2003, Henk Kistemaker wrote his memories. It became a fascinating and shocking report about a young Dutchman in the vortex of the war.
My thoughts:
This is a very interesting inside account on how the German army was ran during the war. Also an in depth account on the day to day life of a Panzer radio-operator.
This is his story of his journey of his years through WWII. He volunteered in 1941, went through training, and was sent to the fighting on the Eastern Front as an infantryman. After 2 years serving in the infantry he joins the Panther panzer divisions and finished the war as a radio-operator in a Panther tank. It also touches on his time in a POW camp and being convinced of war crimes.
Henk Kistemaker wrote his memoirs for family records, not with the intention of having them published. This being said, while reading it you have to remember it is written as a personal journal.
Henk does write his account very factually , as if he was watching it from the side, kind of disengaged. He does not let emotions bleed out. When he was asked why he wrote without emotion he replied “I couldn’t write any of it down, if I would let my emotions get involved. It would only paralyze my memories and writing capacities, so in order to recall all those memories I still had to keep myself ‘switched off’.”
My rating: 4⭐️
Sarah Overbooked 