Forthcoming book on JG 5 ace Walter Schuck

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by sveahk

So, Christer (and of course everybody putting out texts about those times), you are writing books about things that happened sixty and more years ago, you are interviewing and talking to participants in WWII who are eighty and ninety years old. Their memories can of course be substantiated by diaries and log books, but still, I'm always amazed of the clarity and portrayed exactness of the facts represented in those "memory" books.

I mean, this is not just the "memory" of, say, being with your unit in Minsk in the summer of 1943, flying missions every day. No, this is about "remembering" the exact flights each and every day, where and when and why. And I think it's astonishing how very, very seldom I find any question marks, any doubt about those very exact data presented in these books...! I know, the 100% truth doesn't exist. but still...

Of course I'm full of admiration for all of you giving us those "memories" served so well and convincingly ... but still I wonder...

As one of the "everybody else putting out texts about those times", here's how it's done. Veterans of 80+ often have very vivid memories of particular events. They are usually less clear on exact dates and chronologies, unless they have a log book. You also have to be careful of memories like "we lost a lot of people in accidents" as the death of one friend can "multiply" in retrospect into a series. Still, personal accounts bring history to life.

Cross-referencing personal recollection with contemporary sources from both sides, it's gratifying how often you can pin down a particular memory. With careful wording you can avoid transforming theories into facts. For example, "It was probably this occasion that Fritz Schmidt was recalling when he said..."

A statement like "Fritz Schmidt flew three sorties over Kursk that day" can probably be backed up. IMHO the phrases that should really ring alarm bells are "Fritz Schmidt must have thought...", "would have felt..." etc. That's a sign of the author's imagination replacing historical inquiry.