Parallel Journeys

Alfons and his unit have to spend every day near a deep ditch with water up to their knees. Robert Ley, a top Nazi leader, visits Alfons and his troops and helps them dig. Alfons’s leader tells him he’s returning to Wittlich to lead a Volkssturm (People’s Army) unit. The Volkssturm is a laughing stock: It consists of people too old, young, or inexperienced. There are no uniforms, and some people bring their weapons. Alfons still wants to be a pilot for the Luftwaffe, but his leader tells him to focus on the Volkssturm.

Before leaving, a lieutenant, Hans Leiwitz, openly ridicules Hitler and discusses the Babi Yar massacre, where Nazis killed over 30,000 Jews in the Ukrainian ravine on September 29-30, 1941. The massacre haunts Leiwitz, and he tells him living for Germany is more “noble” than dying for it.

On December 15, 1944, the Nazis attack the U.S. troops in the Ardennes Forest. They force a segment of them back. On a map, it looks like a bulge, so the battle becomes known as the Battle of the Bulge. By the 24th, the Americans take control and push the Germans back into Germany.