Re: the smell of burning flesh

--- Scottie Bowman <rbowman@indigo.ie> wrote:
>
> I don't have Alsen's knowledge of Salinger's
> whereabouts
> during the invasion of Germany but I wonder how
> the story
> about the Hurtgen Forest gained currency? It
> would certainly
> take more clinical chutzpah than even I possess
> to distinguish
> between 'combat fatigue' (a very wide category
> at the best of
> times) & a man's emotional response to a place
> like Hurlach.
>

i think alsen goes out on a limb to ascribe salinger's
breakdown solely to hurlach.

salinger's regiment was involved in some of the
bloodiest battles; and even if he wasn't on the front
lines, i would imagine he still would have seen the
after-effects of the fighting.

i personally feel that the breakdown was the result of
the cumulative effects of the war; hurlach was 'the
last straw'.

i am impressed, however, that alsen did the research
of identifying the camp after reading margaret's
memoir.

kim

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Received on Wed Jan 8 11:55:40 2003