Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Life Can Be Cruel: The Story of a German P.O.W. in Russia
    Life Can Be Cruel: The Story of a German P.O.W. in Russia
    Life Can Be Cruel: The Story of a German P.O.W. in Russia
    Ebook66 pages1 hour

    Life Can Be Cruel: The Story of a German P.O.W. in Russia

    By H. R. R. Furmanski

    5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Originally published in 1960, this compact book tells the true story of a German soldier: from his early childhood during the First World War, through to his harrowing experiences on the frontline during the Word War II, culminating in his capture by the Red Army on 20 December 1942…

    An astonishing first-hand account.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherVerdun Press
    Release dateFeb 7, 2017
    ISBN9781787204010
    Life Can Be Cruel: The Story of a German P.O.W. in Russia
    Author

    H. R. R. Furmanski

    H. R. R. Furmanski was born in East Prussia in January 1913, one year before the outbreak of World War I. His parents owned a bakeshop, which his mother continued to run whilst his father was sent to war for four years. Although Furmanski dreamed of becoming a doctor, and was sent to a prestigious German high school, he ended up, reluctantly, following in his father’s footsteps and became a master baker. As World War II approached, his father joined the Nazi party—something which Furmanski himself was against doing himself. Invariably called upon to serve in the German Army, he was once again not granted his wish by his father to defer the order to serve, and joined the military in 1939. In April 1942, he was ordered to the front, and captured by the Russian Army in December that same year. He would go on to recount the traumatic events he and his family lived through during this difficult time in his brief 1960 autobiography, Life Can Be Cruel: The Story of a German P.O.W. in Russia. Unable to resume his life in his native Germany after the end of the war, Furmanski decided to free himself from his painful past and immigrated to the United States in the 1950s.

    Related to Life Can Be Cruel

    Related ebooks

    Asian History For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Hell Was A Place Called Auschwitz

      Jan 26, 2020

      This week marks 75 years since Soviet troops stormed the gates of hell. Hell was near a Polish town called Oswiecim. Hell was a place called Auschwitz. Seven and a half decades later, the murder factory has all but passed from living memory, been swa

      2 min read

    • Article

      A Deadly Duel

      Feb 5, 2019

      A Deadly Duel
      6 min read

    • Article

      Tiger vs T-34

      Jul 12, 2018

      Tiger vs T-34
      9 min read

    • Article

      The Chenogne massacre

      Feb 26, 2020

      The Chenogne massacre
      3 min read

    • Article

      Germany’s Dunkirk

      Feb 20, 2020

      Germany’s Dunkirk
      8 min read

    • Article

      To Kill Or Not To Kill

      Oct 26, 2021

      To Kill Or Not To Kill
      5 min read

    • Article

      Power Trip

      Aug 31, 2021

      Power Trip
      5 min read

    • Article

      Hitler’s Tiger Ace

      Feb 17, 2022

      Hitler’s Tiger Ace
      7 min read

    • Article

      Battle For Kharkiv

      Apr 14, 2022

      Battle For Kharkiv
      1 min read

    • Article

      Culture In The Third Reich

      Oct 1, 2020

      Culture In The Third Reich
      1 min read

    • Article

      Third Reich Family Life

      Jan 4, 2021

      Third Reich Family Life
      5 min read

    • Article

      “I Felt No Pity”

      Oct 31, 2019

      During WWII over 800,000 women served in the armed forces of the Soviet Union. Although most acted as medics or nurses, many also served as combatants. Their roles ranged from pilots, tank crew members and machine-gunners but female personnel were al

      10 min read

    • Article

      5 Best Books On Iwo Jima

      Feb 20, 2020

      5 Best Books On Iwo Jima
      1 min read

    • Article

      Letters

      May 14, 2020

      Letters
      4 min read

    • Article

      Elena Ferrante Beautiful No More!

      Oct 7, 2020

      Elena Ferrante Beautiful No More!
      6 min read

    • Article

      Doug’s DIARY

      Mar 17, 2023

      How come February is the shortest month, but somehow feels like the longest? Thankfully, it’s punctuated by Pippin’s birthday, which provides a ray of intense sunshine in what is otherwise, so often, a dark time for me. There have been some high poin

      7 min read

    • Article

      Ferrante Elena Beautiful No More!

      Oct 7, 2020

      Ferrante Elena Beautiful No More!
      6 min read

    • Article

      Where The Heart Is

      Aug 24, 2020

      “So, where is home for you?” fills me with as much cause to pause as “… and, your mother tongue is?” The answers aren’t neat. “I’m from Durban,” I’ll say, hoping that quickly covers both. I mostly only consider Durban the city in which I was born and

      2 min read

    • Article

      Singing After Supper

      May 30, 2023

      I have many wonderful memories of growing up in the beautiful countryside of Tyler, Texas. My dad painted homes for a living, and he grew fruit and vegetables to feed the family. He sold fresh produce and eggs to friends and local restaurants to supp

      2 min read

    • Article

      Shanda

      Jan 1, 2024

      Shanda
      13 min read

    • Article

      All about MY FATHER

      May 13, 2019

      All about MY FATHER
      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Life Can Be Cruel

    5/5

    3 ratings1 review

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Showed the strength of one person to survive war and it's aftermath.
      Glad to see him survive and come to America..

    Book preview

    Life Can Be Cruel - H. R. R. Furmanski

    n22^book_preview_excerpt.htmlXmܶ 0Z[V*TٕgjUIrh?9B$~#Yxx5yck2l ljMY^f7wwwMtupb+rvNP?UrvXoP7ЙOlJ#MvheK1<oBh764eڃ}}cZv&;zG݋O^n*IEL,V,6n*$MD9mL8N}tts + dTk[/^lի;u?oO__w7k]763[\|F5W 7ۻOzӯ@ }e/z[~{u{{Oٟawz|]z^3>]r;`*SZ]w!5]87;H"&[aݏN:>vb&ͽ CV qUE֊(x腤ڏ:0P> **P2c+4Ƈa.rLO[$Xg$hPU2u U6x& j@a2"#]n*13D?՘@)јmlO9v<vȭrv^ b19t$%Ditڏѿ8q0چ\dv:V{:MwdTjhrLrb/q3օ29* g`6:Of-2@Zp5!V'DőOy< ,Ucꂒ@D\ iYl  ,b&8_"x#Jꀙ>k cdx^oapB`D#:W.p2 gF([;9o3O5qj{f,tɣUcJ N{ޗ\f?v^eLru.HlV"Z@ 4Do(qH92 -K<4` /捪" ܥCqcF2:X9DKF6?|jt1|cP-2dԻs9'M=g9F_wV`FdP.誇 })`$|>:ҔE]!&@ #D-0A=CEG6ja^Dž7 t|"[0"M#^ӒO0n5LUQK,hk^ž6%gϚ5р / =[SC;",)hB fY~g$bf;%k n#J_f6ٓ9DHsCɝ 45WXQy+ Ogybv2Ǡ=[ٳ(9%r (&9.Zg}\D}TΘOԶmdo @6F}C,3"fa&> WwL:,s0뵎)z'M8ic' tIRp(&I>:fb* )T"V6Z) = )EM^BPD-Z¥ϜLe(D6DZh"|TJA7Ol'Wu7_?^^~KXoL"~͕2ɉlvR9{/a_ech_Ve{9_5{Q"D[>!Dv;+#T'|R-f\ 
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1