Permission recieved from director of German Firefighter Museum
22 views
Skip to first unread message
Ghostwriter
Apr 16, 2012, 4:30:35 AM4/16/12
to ghosts-an...@googlegroups.com
The Director of the German Firefighter Museum (Deutsches Feuerwehr-Museum) in Fulda, Mr. Rolf Schamberger, has granted me permission to quote e-mails he sent praising my books on World War I flamethrowers. He's also allowed me to share the discussions we had on the commander of the German flamethrower regiment in World War I, a man whose life's trajectory in many ways paralleled my own.
This long-dead German was one of my obsessions and ghosts. I published three books that dealt wholly or in part with him, yet it was only after I was persuaded by the readers of Talkbass to write my memoir and began outlining it that I finally understood why I had been so haunted by this man.
I wonder if it's ever possible to achieve complete self-awareness? I can honestly say that I was blindsided by realizing what my motivations were in writing about an obscure historical figure known to only a tiny fraction of humanity. If you had explained to me even a month ago why I had been so haunted by this man, I wouldn't have accepted it. And yet he's now another ghost who has released me. The unhaunting continues.
The eerie thing is, I've been obsessed with German flamethrowers of World War I since I was a child, when my father both me a set of tiny plastic toy soldiers that had a flamethrower operator. That was my favorite figure. I wasn't interested in the idea of burning people to death, nor was I interested in flamethrowers of other nations or other conflicts. My obsession was very specific: German flamethrowers of World War I. And now I've discovered the reason why, even though I couldn't have possibly known all those decades ago when Dad gave me this little guy:
This long-dead German was one of my obsessions and ghosts. I published three books that dealt wholly or in part with him, yet it was only after I was persuaded by the readers of Talkbass to write my memoir and began outlining it that I finally understood why I had been so haunted by this man.
I wonder if it's ever possible to achieve complete self-awareness? I can honestly say that I was blindsided by realizing what my motivations were in writing about an obscure historical figure known to only a tiny fraction of humanity. If you had explained to me even a month ago why I had been so haunted by this man, I wouldn't have accepted it. And yet he's now another ghost who has released me. The unhaunting continues.
The eerie thing is, I've been obsessed with German flamethrowers of World War I since I was a child, when my father both me a set of tiny plastic toy soldiers that had a flamethrower operator. That was my favorite figure. I wasn't interested in the idea of burning people to death, nor was I interested in flamethrowers of other nations or other conflicts. My obsession was very specific: German flamethrowers of World War I. And now I've discovered the reason why, even though I couldn't have possibly known all those decades ago when Dad gave me this little guy:
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages