Until the Eyes Shut: Memories of a machine gunner on the Eastern Front, 1943-45 Paperback – October 10, 2019

This book was incredible! I finished it last night, and the story truly stands out as one-of-a-kind. As someone who has read many memoirs, I found this one exceptionally thoughtful, vividly descriptive, and packed with adventure. It gripped me from start to finish—I devoured it in just a few hours because I couldn’t put it down. It’s absolutely worth the read!

An excellent piece that I think most WW2 enthusiasts should read. It gives a German soldier's perspective from an unusual viewpoint that isn't often seen in literature; the author's grandfather is not a Panzer ace. He's not a general or a "war hero". He's not a fighter ace with 150 kills. He is a machine gunner who entered the war after the tide had already turned for Germany - an undesirable job to be certain but one he did as best he could. Politicizations of the book are nonpresent; in fact political factors barely weigh in to the narrative. In fact, there is more criticism of the German high command (and indeed of the Fuhrer himself) than there is praise, both from the author's grandfather and from other troops in the novel. Some may attribute this to 'whitewashing' but in my case I am willing to argue that these were often troops who knew the tide had turned - they were on the defensive now.The story of camaraderie between the narrator and the Alsatian is also a powerful piece of this story. It is apparent this man was a very important factor in the narrator's life and his survival through the war. Indeed the title is a phrase that the narrator was often told by his friend and brother-in-arms when the going got tough.Unlike most WW2 memoirs and accounts it skips quite a lot of the chaff and focuses on important bits and pieces: things that stuck with the author. It is well-paced and fun to read, and I blew through it in about three days. I would highly recommend this to anybody interested in WW2 history and especially anybody interested in the European war and a German perspective.

Very good story and quite touching at the end. Do recommend it as an excellent story to read, however it needs some editing. Might be from the translation or something, and some of the vocabulary was unusual and arcane. But overall, great story, and worth reading.

I have read this multiple times and I am still horrified at the conditions these men fought in. The storytelling is fantastic.

Author describes life as a small-holding family farmer before the war in Austria, tells of traditional customs, etc. Then he is drafted and sent to the Eastern Front as a machine-gunner with 3rd Gebirgsjäger (mountain troops) Division after the war had already turned against the Germans. Describes the process of learning to survive on the front as a new replacement, the comrades who taught him and saved his life many times. Tells of his privations, desperate battles and retreats, being wounded, etc. He does as good a job as any I’ve read in conveying what life was like as a Landser in the waning days on the Eastern Front, although it’s impossible to truly understand unless you’ve lived it. A fast read that was well paced and hard to put down. You will come to care about certain of his comrades, and their fates. Highly recommend!!

Taken from the diary of a German soldier who served firsthand, “Until the Eyes Shut” gives an intensely personal story. With the accurate details seamlessly written into the story, the reader is easily able to visualize the entire scenario that Hans had to live through. Oftentimes, the Eastern Front is overshadowed by the events of the Western Front, and when you do find a book about the war in the East, many small but important details are left out. “Until the Eyes Shut” does an excellent job of working in bits of information about day to day soldier activities without being overbearing or slowing the pace down. The descriptions of the environment Hans and his comrades are fighting through allow the reader to easily put themselves in the boots of the German soldiers. Just a few pages in, and you find yourself empathizing with the Germans, even though they are often depicted as monsters down to a common infantryman. “Until the Eyes Shut” was an excellent read that I will be sure to suggest to my friends. After reading, I strongly recommend getting yourself a copy and finding a nice quiet spot to read for a few hours, because you will not want to put this book down.

The characters are well drawn and become familiar to the reader. Like the author I developed an affinity for his comrade from Alsace. The events are recreated for the reader with believeable yet descriptive verbiage. I enjoyed the read. Thank you for sharing your story!