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Dominik Richert

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Dominik Richert

Dominik Richert (1893 in St. Ulrich, Alsace – 1977 in St. Ulrich) was a German soldier in World War I who deserted to the French in 1918. Richert became widely known posthumously after the publication of his memoirs of World War I in 1987.

Biography

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Born to a German in St. Ulrich (then part of Germany), Richert was a front-line soldier for the Imperial German Army at the start of World War I, During his army service, he was decorated twice.

After fighting French Army troops in 1914 and Indian Army troops in 1915, Richert was sent behind the front for recuperation. Because of telling some new recruits that an order to take no prisoners had been given, he was admonished and threatened with transfer to the Eastern Front against Russia.

As the risk of their desertion was greater, soldiers from Alsace were not transferred back to the Western Front till 1918. There Richert was involved in an attack on British forces before being transferred to a section of the Front opposite French forces. In early 1918, with two other soldiers, he crossed over no-man's-land to become a “deserteur Alsacien”. The account ends with Richert's return home to Alsace (now under French control) early in 1919.

In 1940, in World War II, Alsace fell to the Germany Army. Soon after, the army called Richert's two sons for military service. In response, he encouraged them to escape to Switzerland. As a result of his actions, Richert and his wife were sent to perform forced labour in Germany. His sons later joined the French Resistance. Richert and his wife returned to Alsace at the end of the war, both in ill health from their time in Germany. His sons both survived the war.

Memoirs

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Richert's memoirs[1] of World War I were discovered in a German military archive by Bernd Ulrich in 1987. He and his colleague Angelika Tramitz were able to contact Richert's family. By researching military archives, they verified the authenticity of the text. The memoirs were first published in German in 1989. They were late published in French[2] and English. [3] They have also been the subject of academic study. [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] The book was also used as the basis for a television documentary.[14]


The memoirs show that Richert's attitude to the War was clear from the outset:

... I thought straight away that the most likely thing that can happen to you in a war is that you will be shot dead. That was a really unpleasant prospect. In addition, I was worried about my relatives and my home, because they were near the border and therefore at risk of being destroyed.

While in Northern France in 1914 Richert was ordered to run across an exposed position:

Now it was my turn. As it would have been certain death, I refused to go, although my superior shouted at me. An NCO gave me a direct command to jump. I cold-bloodedly said to him that he should show me how to do it, but he also lacked the courage to do so.

Richert had little respect for military values:

Bravery, Heroism – does it exist? I doubt it very much, because all that I saw when under fire was fright, fear and desperation written in every face. But I did not see courage or bravery at all, because in reality it’s only the fearful military discipline, the force, that drives the soldier forwards to his death.

  • Juli 1914
    Juli 1914

References

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  1. ^ Dominik Richert: Beste Gelegenheit zum Sterben. Meine Erlebnisse im Kriege 1914-1918. Published by Bernd Ulrich und Angelika Tramitz, Knesebeck München 1989
  2. ^ Dominique Richert: Cahiers d'un survivant. Un soldat das l'Europe en guerre 1914-1918 Translated by Marc Schublin, la Nuée Bleue 1994
  3. ^ Dominik Richert: The Kaiser's Reluctant Conscript. My experiences in the War 1914-1918. Translated by D.C. Sutherland, Pen & Sword 2012
  4. ^ Hilda Inderwildi: Naissance et constitution d'une conscience pacifiste dans les rangs des paysans alsaciens au moment de la Première Guerre mondiale. L'exemple de Dominik Richert (1893-1977). In: Jean-Paul Cahn, Françoise Knopper, Anne-Marie Saint-Gille (Editor.). De la guerre juste à la paix juste. Aspects confessionnels de la construction de la paix dans l’espace franco-allemand (XVIe-XXe) siècle. Villeneuve d’Ascq (Presses universitaires du Septentrion) 2008, Pages 199-210.
  5. ^ How Fighting Ends: A History of Surrender edited by Holger Afflerbach, Hew Strachan Oxford University Press 2012, Page 266
  6. ^ State, Society and Mobilization in Europe during the First World War edited by John Horne Cambridge University Press 1997 Page 112
  7. ^ Kriegsende 1918: Ereignis, Wirkung, Nachwirkung edited by Jörg Duppler, Gerhard P Groß, Gerhard Paul Groß Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag 1999, Page 197
  8. ^ No Man's Land of Violence: Extreme Wars in the 20th Century by Richard Bessel, Wallstein Verlag 2006 Pages 138-141
  9. ^ German Soldier Newspapers of the First World War By Robert L. Nelson Cambridge University Press 2011, Page 238
  10. ^ The Pity of War by Niall Ferguson New York: Basic Books 1999
  11. ^ The First World War , Volume 3 by Hew Strachan Viking 2004, Page 277
  12. ^ Die unheroischen Kriegserinnerungen des Elsässer Bauern Dominik Richert in Der Krieg des kleinen Mannes: eine Militärgeschichte von unten by Wolfgang Wette Piper Verlag 1992 Pages 127-135
  13. ^ World War I by Michel Neiberg The International Library of Essays on Military History, Ashgate 2005 Pages 86 and 353
  14. ^ "Modern War in Film:Beste Gelegenheit zum Sterben". Krieg-film.de. Archived from the original on 2013-02-11. Retrieved 2014-04-09.
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