Feldpost: The Wartime Letters of Friedrich Reiner Niemann documents the life and front line experiences of a German soldier from the 6th Infantry Division from 1941-1945. Niemann, a well-educated youth from a Westphalia family, was sent to the Russian front four times. He wrote his final two letters home from Poland on January 12, 1945 before he disappeared during the Soviet Vistula-Oder Offensive. In his extensive correspondence, Niemann describes the fighting at Rzhev, Russia, 1942-1943, and his survival of the destruction of his division during the Soviet summer offensive in 1944. His is a rare view of battles that annihilated entire German divisions and armies. After World War Two, the Niemann family preserved Reiner's letters and photographs and shipped them to New Orleans when Reiner's sister, Liselotte Andersson, had emigrated. Neglected in an attic for over fifty years, the documents surfaced only after Hurricane Katrina flooded the family house. Andersson's daughter-in-law, author Whitney Stewart, discovered the letters in 2012, and contacted Denis Havel to translate them. Together, Havel and Stewart uncovered historical details that enabled them to follow Reiner's trail and tell his story.

About the Author
Denis Havel graduated from Eastern Illinois University with a degree in psychology and has taught at both the high school and college level. An independent historian, Havel has studied German history, language and literature, and the Prussian-German military. He is currently active in German-American organizations, notably the Germania Mannerchor, that preserve German language and traditions.


Book Information
ISBN 9781625450159
Author Denis Havel
Format Hardback
Page Count 288
Imprint Fonthill Media LLc
Publisher Fonthill Media LLc