In 1914, in an ordinary family in Berlin, 16-year-old Karl and his parents were living a normal life. However, the appearance of a piece of news completely broke the peaceful family - Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated by young Serbian volunteers in Sarajevo. In the following days, his father Schmidt did not expect a fight, and felt that he could live well now.
But when the government came to recruit personnel for the war, Carl's inner militaristic fanaticism was ignited, and he resolutely joined the army. His father Schmidt was extremely sad when he learned about it. His mother didn't say much, but told her son to protect himself.
During his four-year war career, he met his comrade Paul. The two were both young men who were deceived by war propaganda. During the four years, the two worked together to escape mustard gas and bombings from the trenches in Verden, survived the British tank offensive on the Somme River, and survived two fierce battles on the Marne River until the end.
Unfortunately, in the end, Paul lost his life during a defensive battle in a basement between the two of them before the war was about to end.
After the armistice, Carl settled in Switzerland and told his children never to participate in any war. Finally, he died of illness in 1939.
Intention: The so-called country, nation, and glory are just a game between politicians fighting for power, and the only people injured in this game are the people and the soldiers involved in the dispute. This book hopes to use the perspective of two German soldiers to oppose war, advocate militarism, fascism and other ideologies, and hope for world peace.