Erich Hartmann Book Report
I. I have always loved planes, and WWII with that being said I chose the book The Blond Knight of Germany: A biography of Erich Hartmann by Raymond Toliver and Trevor Constable. It is a non-fiction story of the life German Luftwaffe ace pilot Eric Hartmann and how he became the greatest combat pilot of all time.
II. Erich Hartmann flew for The Luftwaffe which was the aerial warfare branch of the German Wehrmacht during World War II. This is a more obvious theme of the book but is one that occurs more frequently than any other. The next cultural theme would be the fact that he is part of the Wehrmacht which was the German army during WWII and though he did not strongly feel that the Arian race was a great thing he was still considered a Nazi. It was nationalism the pride for his country (and a draft) that made Erich join the military. The standard dark blue uniform with gold trim was also indicative of the time period as it was the issued Luftwaffe apparel and Erich wore it everywhere with pride. The thing that set him apart was that he did not wear the famous red strap on his arm that much of the military did. And finally Erich flew a Bf 109 –G6 which was the heart of the German air fleet during WWII. This low speed propeller driven plane was the last of its kind, the next major plane put into action was propelled by a jet engine, a plane that Erich refused to fly, and he felt more comfortable and maneuverable in his own plane. All of these factors indicate that the book took place during WWII.
III. It was August 24 1944 we were going up for a recon mission in Soviet territory I was part of Erich Hartmann’s fleet, already he was a legend and I was just a young pilot in awe. He had 290 victories more than any man in the history of the German army. We were about four kilometers away from our target when we were approached by the Soviets; we were outnumbered but had the blonde knight on our side. He was the first to break formation with everyone following behind.
II. Erich Hartmann flew for The Luftwaffe which was the aerial warfare branch of the German Wehrmacht during World War II. This is a more obvious theme of the book but is one that occurs more frequently than any other. The next cultural theme would be the fact that he is part of the Wehrmacht which was the German army during WWII and though he did not strongly feel that the Arian race was a great thing he was still considered a Nazi. It was nationalism the pride for his country (and a draft) that made Erich join the military. The standard dark blue uniform with gold trim was also indicative of the time period as it was the issued Luftwaffe apparel and Erich wore it everywhere with pride. The thing that set him apart was that he did not wear the famous red strap on his arm that much of the military did. And finally Erich flew a Bf 109 –G6 which was the heart of the German air fleet during WWII. This low speed propeller driven plane was the last of its kind, the next major plane put into action was propelled by a jet engine, a plane that Erich refused to fly, and he felt more comfortable and maneuverable in his own plane. All of these factors indicate that the book took place during WWII.
III. It was August 24 1944 we were going up for a recon mission in Soviet territory I was part of Erich Hartmann’s fleet, already he was a legend and I was just a young pilot in awe. He had 290 victories more than any man in the history of the German army. We were about four kilometers away from our target when we were approached by the Soviets; we were outnumbered but had the blonde knight on our side. He was the first to break formation with everyone following behind.