Dominik Richert (1893 in St. Ulrich,

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

– 1977 in St. Ulrich) was a German soldier in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

who deserted to the French in 1918. Rickert became widely known

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' (E ...

after the publication of his memoirs of World War I in 1987.

Biography

Born to a German in St. Ulrich (then part of Germany), Richert was a front-line soldier for the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the l ...

at the start of World War I, During his army service, he was decorated twice. After fighting

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

troops in 1914 and

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

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 Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

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 No man's land is waste or unowned land or an uninhabited or desolate area that may be under dispute between parties who leave it unoccupied out of fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dump ...

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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, 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 ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. As a result of his actions, Richert and his wife were sent to perform

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...

in Germany. His sons later joined the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

. 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

Richert's memoirs of World War I were discovered in a German military archive by

Bernd Ulrich Bernd is a Low German short form of the given name Bernhard (English Bernard). List of persons with given name Bernd The following people share the name Bernd. *Bernd Brückler (born 1981), Austrian hockey player *Bernd Eichinger (1949–2011), G ...

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 and English. They have also been the subject of academic study. The book was also used as the basis for a television documentary. 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.''

RICHERT 4.png, Juli 1914 RICHERT 5.png, RICHERT 2.png, RICHERT 3.png, RICHERT 1.png,

References

External links

dominique.richert.free.fr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richert, Dominik People from Alsace-Lorraine 1893 births 1977 deaths Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914) German male writers