Memoir of a German Army Officer

Vincenz Panny grew up in pre-WWII Germany with its intense frustrations and fervent desire for a return to national honor and respectability. Even as a teenager, he and his friends thought Hitler and his cronies were ridiculous, but adults saw benefits for the hopes of the country. As a young adult Vince had reason to think that when he was drafted into the German Army he could receive training for a future in radio and maybe the theater. His illusions quickly faded, Germany was soon at war.

The story describes Panny’s war time experiences, noteworthy among them, working under Colonel Reinhard Gehlen at Foreign Armies East military intelligence service, and his connection with those involved in the July 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler. In war time he traveled throughout Europe and Eastern Europe on duties both official and unofficial. The post war period covers four years as a POW in Egypt and his disillusionment upon returning to Germany. His is a unique adventure told with sincerity, and touched with humor and satire. For detail it could be a historical document. More than a war story, however, Panny’s words are like a cautionary tale told by an everyman caught up in a sweep of politics and leadership gone wrong. Mere circumstances put Vince as a citizen/soldier, along with his friends, into the middle of a devastating war involving German atrocities he could not forgive.