When you are a war-hardened 20-year-old on operations with the elite Brandenburger Commandos, you know that only one in two come back and your only victory is survival. You lose your virginity, gain three Iron Crosses and nearly lose your manhood. But you survive. Iron Crossed is a true story of sacrifice, heroism, loss and love.
The story is told from a human (usually Martin’s) perspective, with characters added to a historical background. The narrative progresses chronologically (after a scene-setting chapter around which the narrative pivots), through forty-eight short chapters. These cover three interesting historical periods:
1. Youth in pre-WWII Hitlerite Germany: Martin’s work in the construction of the Third Reich’s imposing Westwall fortifications and widening the Kiel Kanal for the German battleships;
2. War: Martin’s missions with the Brandenburgers during the German invasion of Russia in which he won three iron crosses and nearly lost his manhood; and
3. Post-war: PoW experiences; escape to the West; the tough migrant experience in 1950’s Australia for both husband and wife, and the joy of making a new life in the land of sunshine.
Martin is twice decorated for bravery on his first mission. As the war turns against the Germans, he has to combat partisans in the blood-freezing desolation of the Russian front. When his war ends, another challenge arises as he and his pregnant wife Marlene have to make a daring escape from Russian-occupied Germany to the West.
A new life beckons in an unknown land half a world away where Martin helps build Australia’s massive Snowy Mountains hydro-electric scheme from the ground up. Raising a family, together facing the tough migrant experience of hardship, poverty, resilience with humour it becomes a typical story of Australian migrants in the 1950s.
Iron Crossed is based on extensive tape-recorded interviews of Martin and Marlene by the first author, their daughter. You can hear excerpts from these recordings at: http://philjohnrose.net/Iron_Crossed/index.html
