Moscow Tram Stop: A Doctor's Experiences with the German Spearhead in Russia by Heinrich Haape

I'm glad to see this book being reprinted as it's probably one of the better memoirs written about the German invasion of the Soviet Union.  Having read hundreds of histories about the war on the Eastern Front and dozens of memoirs from both sides, Dr. Heinrich Haape offers an original look at the German advance into the Soviet Union through the eyes of a medical doctor - one who was not above taking up a weapon and engaging the enemy in combat.  This memoir was written in the 1950s, which means the author was not far removed from the events he's describing.  Some of the exchanges and descriptions are quite detailed, so I'm sure there's some literary flair, but the majority of the text reads true enough to the events on the ground as we've come to know them. 

The strength of the volume is undoubtedly some of the candidate conversations the author has with his comrades and reflections on German leadership and generalship.  The battles the author participated in are also well described and really bring to life the hardships suffered by soldiers on a regular basis, especially since you're hearing about it from a doctor who has insights into the various ailments that we rarely hear about. 

However, readers should also approach these memoirs understanding the time they were written in as well as the context.  As with most German memoirs about actions on the Eastern Front, there is limited, if any, mention of the genocidal campaign that was being waged at the same time in the rear against the local population.  There are some hints about what was happening but the author does not explore those issues in any type of meaningful way, as if what happened in the rear had no impact on the frontlines.  Similarly, Soviet forces are too often faceless hordes.  Although Haape does discuss the various prisoners of war he took under his direction to help with both German and Soviet wounded and some of the interactions he had with the locals, the focus, understandably, is on the German war experience.  This is an understandable deficiency and one that many memoirs share, but it's important to keep in mind when understanding the value of these memoirs.