Soldier X

X relives the powerful memory of riding the train to the Eastern Front. The train the young soldiers—most early teenagers—ride on was once elaborate and beautiful, but time and rough use during the war made it ugly and decrepit. All the soldiers wear clothes repurposed from dead soldiers, most with mended tears and bloodstains. X wonders if he will also die and if his uniform will be passed down to someone even younger than him.

The train had left for Russia on X’s 16th birthday. He reminisces about the Hitler Youth, which he was forced to join when he was young; they taught him that his country was more important than anything, even his life. X had not wanted to join Hitler Youth but did so to spare his family, who, as Russian immigrants, were in more danger than the average German family. If their heritage had been revealed, they would have been deported or killed. He had enjoyed the Hitler Youth until recently, even specializing in language arts due to his familiarity with the Russian language, but he began to realize the dangers of it as the war went on.

X explains more of the recent history leading to his current situation: the annexation of Austria and Czechoslovakia to make room for more Germans, the invasion of Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France; and the uneasy alliance with Russia that fell apart when Germany attacked them in 1941. He explains how many deaths he witnessed of “undesirables” in his hometown, either Jews, Communists, or people who spoke up against the government. Additionally, the recent progress of Russia, America, and Britain in the war has worsened conditions in Germany for both civilians and soldiers, leading to famine and mass casualties.

As a child, X had always wanted to be a heroic soldier, but when he suddenly becomes old enough to fight, he is filled with dread and fear. He is chosen to potentially serve as an interrogator due to his skill with Russian. Now, on the train, X thinks about how much he wants to go home.

A boy named Jakob talks to X about his family’s apple orchard and his father’s death, but X refuses to share personal details about himself since they make him homesick. His mother wore dark funeral clothes to see him off.

Jakob continues to chatter about the countries and cities that fly by on the train, such as Prague and Krakow. The cities he describes have been destroyed by bombing and war. X feels sicker and sicker as time passes by, and the sights outside the train worsen, but Jakob does not seem to see them. He admits, however, that he has no idea what lies beyond Poland.

X explains that he did not know the other recruits in the train car since they only had three weeks of training, most of which involved cleaning rifles and following orders. There are also several grim veterans in the car, one of which begins to harass Jakob when he leaves, stealing his sandwich and seat. The veteran wipes his hands on X’s shirt and shows X his hand, missing three fingers. He asks if X can sense his power to survive despite the unfairness of his situation, and X agrees. The veteran then proceeds to tell him horrific stories about the front, including the deaths of hundreds of children fighting against them, and then leaves. Jakob returns and points to a horrific sight outside the train—a cart overflowing with bodies headed for a trench, pulled by men instead of horses.

The train reaches Gryuskow, Poland, and the soldiers disembark. They march through the deserted town to an abandoned factory, where they are ordered to camp. Inside the factory is a row of prisoners waiting to serve the soldiers food; they are gaunt and sickly, and most of their clothes mark them as Jews. X is horrified by their appearances and state but manages to thank a young girl who gives him soup, getting a faint smile from her.

X is joined for the meal by Jakob and a boy named Oskar. A boy nearby begins to announce that the Jews were criminals since most Jews had been moved to work camps where they were well-treated. X and the other boys know that these Jews are not an exception, but Oskar says he hopes they are criminals because otherwise, the Germans are.

The next morning, the boys receive breakfast and ammunition and are sent outside. They are assigned to different squads; X, Jakob, and Oskar end up on the “7th Platoon of the 14th Squad of the Fourth Landser (Infantry) Division” (17), with a total of 19 people led by a man named Dobelmann. Dobelmann looks horrific after being blown up by a grenade; his face is heavily scarred, and he is missing both ears.

Dobelmann commands the boys to stand in line. He asks different soldiers if he frightens them and finally tells Oskar and, by extension, everyone that his goal is not to frighten them but to keep them alive and healthy. He explains that they must kill their enemies or be killed, and they must defend their families and their country, or “horror beyond imagining” will occur. Thus encouraged, the platoon receives their orders—delivering supplies to the Fourth Division—and heads out in trucks. On the truck, the boys exchange glances to communicate their disgust at Dobelmann’s appearance, not knowing things will soon get much worse.

The boys all sit in terror as the trucks drive on. One boy, Meyer Fassnacht, is inexplicably excited for the war, but he is an exception. They drive through bombed-out towns and past destroyed vehicles, eventually reaching Russia. X struggles to explain to a rosy-cheeked boy why they call Russians “Ivans”—since it is a common first name in Russia—and then explains, frustratedly, that Soviet is also an accurate name for them. X ignores the boy’s questions, but almost immediately, they fall under machine-gun fire from airplanes above.

The rosy-cheeked boy is shot in the back of the head, splattering X with gore. The boys flee from the truck; X wets his pants from terror. When he gets to his feet, he tries to shoot at an oncoming plane, but the safety is on, so nothing happens. Before he can fix the gun, the planes depart, leaving the trucks mostly damaged and many wounded. X sees a boy sitting off to the side with a head wound and introduces himself; the boy introduces himself in turn as Hals Kessler. X removes a splinter of metal from his scalp and hands it to him as a souvenir, then bandages him. He is then tasked with digging a hole to bury the bodies, including the unnamed rosy-cheeked boy.

After the attack, three trucks and 11 soldiers have been lost. X dwells on the words of the veteran on the train, who had called the people opposing the German army “stupid children.” He cannot shake the image of the tangled bodies of the young boys in the grave from his mind.

The army enters Ovruck and finds a medical station. The injured soldiers are handed over for treatment; X sees a nurse carrying a human leg to an incinerator. Due to their losses, the troops reorganize, and Hals requests to join X’s platoon; he repeatedly thanks X for saving his life, and they become best friends. Hals hangs the shrapnel from his head around his neck, where it will stay until the day he dies.

After leaving Ovruck, several partisans attack them. One man dies in a horrific dance, making X laugh unexpectedly; a child and another man carrying a Panzerfaust are shot down almost immediately. Oskar comments on killing a child, but Dobelmann points out that the kid would have killed them in return.

They finally reach the first part of their destination, the outskirts of Tarnarpol. They see the flashing of gunshots and explosions before they see the fort itself, and X fights back nausea and fear. At the supply dump, Dobelmann greets an old friend, who does not recognize him due to his extensive injuries. Trucks are loaded with explosives to be carried off to different units; X notices that the men are terrified when they are assigned to the trucks. He learns that they are part of a “Punishment Brigade” for infractions and, therefore, must drive explosive-laden trucks through enemy lines with minimal chances of survival.

Dobelmann gathers the boys early to inform them of their plan to reach the headquarters of Tarnapol. They will be walking in under guard with 70 pounds of gear and supplies on their backs in a desperate attempt to reach the headquarters alive. They walk through the ruins of the town of Vinnitsa; two Russian soldiers mock them, and one mimics a knife across his throat.

As they progress, it starts to rain, and the mud and grime weigh X down so much he thinks he might collapse. Dobelmann screams at him when he stops, and X thanks him for it. Eventually, they reach the headquarters unharmed, finding it to be a system of trenches in the mud. X, Oskar, Jakob, and two other boys are sent to rest in a bunker but are mocked by the other soldiers for their age.

X describes the bunker, which is filthy, damp, and crowded. He is disappointed that Hals is not with them. Another mocking soldier gives them lunch—weak tea, sawdusty bread, and a thick soup. As the boys eat, a wild-haired soldier screams and runs for a corner excitedly, drawing everyone’s attention; he shines a flashlight through the sandbags, insisting there is a “nest” of something. The soldiers jab poles through the holes. A soldier explains that killing the thousands of rats in the walls is their mission, and the meat tastes good. The boys realize, with horror, that the good-tasting soup is made of rat meat. Oskar tries to stomach it but runs outside and vomits it up.

The soldiers laugh and keep hunting the rat they saw. A man belches into the space behind the wall, making them all laugh, and then the rat runs; they manage to stab it and kill it through the wall. It is too large to pull back through the gaps, so they hack it to pieces. They then keep attacking more rats in various parts of the bunker.

Oskar returns and apologizes, but the other boys comfort him. They ask someone where they should bunk, and the soldier tells them any empty bunk; when X goes to claim one, however, one of the soldiers yells at him, saying it belongs to Lindemann. X moves, confused, earning more laughter and mocking. Eventually, the soldiers explain that the empty bunks belong to dead men. They discuss when Lindemann died; X asks if they were friends, and the men all agree that having friends in war is unwise since everyone dies.

A bomb drops and shakes the entire bunker, and the boys shake with fear. A soldier explains that Lindemann died pinned down by a bombshell, with the fin of the bomb protruding from his back. He was only in the bunker for a matter of hours before he died, which the men consider lucky.