Rupert Metzroth

Think for Yourself Rupert Metzroth 1st edition

In this autobiography the author recounts his life as a young German during the tumultuous times of World War II and the following years. He grew up with the conflicting interests of the non-stop Nazi propaganda and his family's values. The title of this book mirrors the elder Metzroth's admonition to his son to think for himself. Drafted in 1943 into the German Air Force Auxiliary, Luftwaffen- helfer, the author later volunteered for the Airborne troops to escape service in the SS. Participating in the last days of the battle of Anzio and the continuous retreat of the German military through Italy, he became a POW of the Americans on his eighteenth birthday. For fifteen months the author was a prisoner in a camp in Florida and, subsequently, for another two years in Great Britain. His life in the German forces and as a POW gives considerable insight into the events during the odyssey of a young man caught up in world politics. The adjustment to freedom after his final repatriation was almost as dramatic as the war years. His fluency in English enabled him to work for the American military in Germany. In 1954 the author emigrated to the United States with his wife and son. The adjustments and struggles to make a living for his family, and his eventual success is the story of many immigrants who came to this country.