Guy Sajer
Encyclopedia
Guy Sajer is a pseudonym of Guy Mouminoux (born 13 January 1927 in Paris
), author of The Forgotten Soldier
. The son of a French and German marriage, 'Sajer' is his mother's maiden name. Since 1946, he has worked as a cartoonist under the pen names Dimitri, and Dimitri Lahache.
drafted into the German
Wehrmacht
at age 16 and subsequently fought in the elite Großdeutschland Division
during World War II
. After the war he wrote about his wartime experience on the Eastern Front
in The Forgotten Soldier.
The accuracy or authenticity of the book has been disputed by some historians, due to some incorrect cited details, while other details are simply impossible to verify due to a lack of surviving witnesses and documents.
The most frequently cited inaccuracy was Sajer's statement that, after being awarded the coveted Grossdeutschland division cuff title
, he and his friend were ordered to sew it on their left sleeves (when it was actually sewn on the right), an obvious error that critic Edwin Kennedy called "unimaginable" for a former member of such an elite German unit. The author also discusses campaign locations in vague terms and never with specific dates, some which contradict historical fact: for example, Sajer's assertion that during the summer of 1942 he was briefly assigned to a Luftwaffe training unit in Chemnitz
commanded by famed Stuka ace Hans-Ulrich Rudel
, when, (by Rudel's own testimony) his training unit was actually in Graz, Austria during all of 1942. Also, he mentions seeing "the formidable Focke-Wulf [...] 195s, which could soar up quickly" taking off from an airfield outside Berlin, when no such aircraft ever existed (a Focke-Wulf projekt 195, a heavy transport was in the pipeline but never got off the drawing board). Likewise, the names of most of Sajer's companions and leaders don't appear on official rolls in the Bundesarchiv, nor are they known to the Grossdeutschland Veterans Association, whose leader, Helmuth Spaeter, was one of the first to question whether Sajer actually served in the Division as he claimed.
However, some authors and other Großdeutschland veterans have testified to the book's historical plausibility, even if they cannot speak to the specific events in the book. Lieutenant Hans Joachim Schafmeister-Berckholtz, who served in the Grossdeutschland during the same period as Sajer, confirmed in a letter that he had read the book and considered it an accurate overall account of the Division's battles in the East, while also noting that he remembered a Landser named Sajer in his Panzergrenadier company (5th co), the same company number Sajer mentioned being assigned to (though there was more than one "5th Company" in the Division). Sajer himself struck back against implications of fraud or fiction by claiming that The Forgotten Soldier was intended as a personal narrative, based on his best personal recollections of an intensely chaotic period in German military history, not an attempt at a serious historical study of World War II: "You ask me questions of chronology situations dates and unimportant details. Historians and archivists have harassed me for a long time with their rude questions. All of this is unimportant. Other authors and high-ranking officers could respond to your questions better than I. I never had the intention to write a historical reference book; rather I wrote about my innermost emotional experiences as they relate to the events that happened to me in the context of the Second World War."
Sajer further stressed the non-technical and anecdotal nature of his book in a 1997 letter to US Army historian Douglas Nash, stating "Apart from the emotions I brought out, I confess my numerous mistakes. That is why I would like that this book may not be used under [any] circumstances as a strategic or chronological reference." After reading Sajer's latest letter, one of his staunchest critics—Grossdeutschland Veteran's Association leader Helmuth Spaeter—recanted his original suspicions of Sajer, noting "I was deeply impressed by his statements in his letter... I have underestimated Herr Sajer and my respect for him has greatly increased. I am myself more of a writer who deals with facts and specifics—much less like one who writes in a literary way. For this reason, I was very skeptical towards the content of his book. I now have greater regard for Herr Sajer and I will read his book once again."
Dutch film director Paul Verhoeven has discussed with Sajer the possibility of turning The Forgotten Soldier into a film.
published for the Franco-Belgian market
under various pseudonyms. His comics often include the theme of war and plenty of black humor.http://lambiek.net/artists/m/mouminoux_guy.htmhttp://bdoubliees.com/journalpilote/auteurs4/mouminoux.htmhttp://www.bedetheque.com/auteur-1535-BD-Dimitri.html
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
), author of The Forgotten Soldier
The Forgotten Soldier
The Forgotten Soldier , originally published in French as Le Soldat Oublie, is presented as an autobiographical account of Guy Sajer, the pseudonym of Guy Mouminoux who was a well known french comics writer also known under the pseudonym of Dimitri...
. The son of a French and German marriage, 'Sajer' is his mother's maiden name. Since 1946, he has worked as a cartoonist under the pen names Dimitri, and Dimitri Lahache.
World War II
Sajer states that he was an inhabitant of AlsaceAlsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
drafted into the German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
at age 16 and subsequently fought in the elite Großdeutschland Division
Großdeutschland Division
The Großdeutschland Division was an elite Heer combat unit of the Wehrmacht. The Großdeutschland was considered to be the premier unit of the German Army and as such it was one of best-equipped unit of the German Armed Forces, receiving equipment before all other units.- Early history -...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. After the war he wrote about his wartime experience on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
in The Forgotten Soldier.
The accuracy or authenticity of the book has been disputed by some historians, due to some incorrect cited details, while other details are simply impossible to verify due to a lack of surviving witnesses and documents.
The most frequently cited inaccuracy was Sajer's statement that, after being awarded the coveted Grossdeutschland division cuff title
Cuff title
A cuff title is a form of insignia placed on the sleeve, near the cuff of German military and paramilitary uniforms, most commonly seen in the Second World War but also seen postwar....
, he and his friend were ordered to sew it on their left sleeves (when it was actually sewn on the right), an obvious error that critic Edwin Kennedy called "unimaginable" for a former member of such an elite German unit. The author also discusses campaign locations in vague terms and never with specific dates, some which contradict historical fact: for example, Sajer's assertion that during the summer of 1942 he was briefly assigned to a Luftwaffe training unit in Chemnitz
Chemnitz
Chemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle...
commanded by famed Stuka ace Hans-Ulrich Rudel
Hans-Ulrich Rudel
Hans-Ulrich Rudel was a Stuka dive-bomber pilot during World War II and a member of the Nazi party. The most highly decorated German serviceman of the war, Rudel was one of only 27 military men to be awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, and the only...
, when, (by Rudel's own testimony) his training unit was actually in Graz, Austria during all of 1942. Also, he mentions seeing "the formidable Focke-Wulf [...] 195s, which could soar up quickly" taking off from an airfield outside Berlin, when no such aircraft ever existed (a Focke-Wulf projekt 195, a heavy transport was in the pipeline but never got off the drawing board). Likewise, the names of most of Sajer's companions and leaders don't appear on official rolls in the Bundesarchiv, nor are they known to the Grossdeutschland Veterans Association, whose leader, Helmuth Spaeter, was one of the first to question whether Sajer actually served in the Division as he claimed.
However, some authors and other Großdeutschland veterans have testified to the book's historical plausibility, even if they cannot speak to the specific events in the book. Lieutenant Hans Joachim Schafmeister-Berckholtz, who served in the Grossdeutschland during the same period as Sajer, confirmed in a letter that he had read the book and considered it an accurate overall account of the Division's battles in the East, while also noting that he remembered a Landser named Sajer in his Panzergrenadier company (5th co), the same company number Sajer mentioned being assigned to (though there was more than one "5th Company" in the Division). Sajer himself struck back against implications of fraud or fiction by claiming that The Forgotten Soldier was intended as a personal narrative, based on his best personal recollections of an intensely chaotic period in German military history, not an attempt at a serious historical study of World War II: "You ask me questions of chronology situations dates and unimportant details. Historians and archivists have harassed me for a long time with their rude questions. All of this is unimportant. Other authors and high-ranking officers could respond to your questions better than I. I never had the intention to write a historical reference book; rather I wrote about my innermost emotional experiences as they relate to the events that happened to me in the context of the Second World War."
Sajer further stressed the non-technical and anecdotal nature of his book in a 1997 letter to US Army historian Douglas Nash, stating "Apart from the emotions I brought out, I confess my numerous mistakes. That is why I would like that this book may not be used under [any] circumstances as a strategic or chronological reference." After reading Sajer's latest letter, one of his staunchest critics—Grossdeutschland Veteran's Association leader Helmuth Spaeter—recanted his original suspicions of Sajer, noting "I was deeply impressed by his statements in his letter... I have underestimated Herr Sajer and my respect for him has greatly increased. I am myself more of a writer who deals with facts and specifics—much less like one who writes in a literary way. For this reason, I was very skeptical towards the content of his book. I now have greater regard for Herr Sajer and I will read his book once again."
Dutch film director Paul Verhoeven has discussed with Sajer the possibility of turning The Forgotten Soldier into a film.
Comics
Sajer has worked extensively in comicsComics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
published for the Franco-Belgian market
Franco-Belgian comics
Franco-Belgian comics are comics that are created in Belgium and France. These countries have a long tradition in comics and comic books, where they are known as BDs, an abbreviation of bande dessinée in French and stripverhalen in Dutch...
under various pseudonyms. His comics often include the theme of war and plenty of black humor.http://lambiek.net/artists/m/mouminoux_guy.htmhttp://bdoubliees.com/journalpilote/auteurs4/mouminoux.htmhttp://www.bedetheque.com/auteur-1535-BD-Dimitri.html