Vonnegut may be a hard leftie, but he dealt with a lot in WW2.
He was captured by the Germans in the Battle of the Bulge, and interned in Dresden. He was there for the massive Allied bombing raid. After the bombing, he and his fellow prisoners were taken out to help retrieve the bodies of the dead. The Germans that he dealt with made it clear that they associated him as an American with the destruction that had befallen them.
He was interned with his fellows in a slaughterhouse, thus Schlachthof-fünf, or Slaughterhouse Five. The shelter that he was in had some element of design (I’ve forgotten what it was) that allowed he and the other prisoners to survive when lots of German civilians roasted or asphyxiated in theirs.
I think I had heard some of this story before but thanks for telling it. It’s been a long time since I read the book.
No doubt that was a dreadful experience. War is hell too bad the Germans tried to take over the world. And I say that as a proud german american.
I’ve probably read more Kurt Vonnegut than anybody, if we don’t count detective stories. I know he was a lefty but if he came back today he’d probably have to become a freeper or something since the Left has gone so completely over the edge in just the last few years.
I can’t see Vonnegut supporting “speech codes” or Mohammed obescien.