The invisible flag
The invisible flag (subtitle: A doctor experienced war ) is a largely authored in the first person singular Testimony of Peter Bamm in which this about his experience and experience as a surgeon in the Army in World War II reported. The book was first published in 1952 by Kösel-Verlag , Munich.
Book structure
The book is divided into 36 largely independent chapters, i. H. Chapters in which different events are reported. Chronologically, these follow the course of the German-Soviet War ; beginning with the fighting on the Dniester , and ending with the flight of the narrator across the Baltic Sea to Copenhagen . In terms of content, the chapters z. B. with individual patients treated by the author as part of his work, with other members of his unit and his experiences with them, experiences with the civilian population and with prisoners of war , etc.
Attitude towards the regime
In his formulations, the author apparently attaches great importance to a demarcation between members of his unit or "normal" members of the Wehrmacht and supporters of National Socialism ; for example, he consistently uses the term "The Others" for the latter, and describes Adolf Hitler consistently as the "primitive man at the top". At the same time he does not hide the fact that they knew about the crimes of the National Socialists, but did not actively oppose it (“(...) wall to wall with us, they [the others] gathered the citizens of Sevastopol who were of Jewish faith and killed them they. (...) We knew that. We did nothing. (...) ”(see chapter“ The last mask ”)).
Author's language
The author uses a language that is relatively rich in images and, in some cases , formulations that seem almost philosophical . There are numerous allusions to ancient Greece and the literature that goes with it, for example the Argonauts saga ("It was not the Golden Fleece, it was not the treasures of the Phaeacians that we were supposed to bring home. We were destined to be beaten in head and limbs before we returned to the land of our fathers. ”(Chapter“ Peripetie ”), or the battle of Thermopylae (Chapter“ Wanderer, are you coming to Sparta… ”).