These were the scenes which met Harry Rossney when he arrived – with thousands of others – on the shores of France in June 1944. However, much unlike the men who fought abreast him, he was of German descent and in fact fled Germany in what he himself often calls ‘a one in a million chance’. Harry is one of those unique people who have seen the war at the both ends of the warring parties and come to realize the utter devastation caused by war despite the superficial wins announced by people at the helm.
Driven by the profound realization of the futility of war and inspired by the sacrifices of his colleagues who paid the ultimate price for the betterment of the masses, Harry Rossney began to record his thoughts in powerful verse that clearly instigates the trauma and tragedy these young men had to undergo.
Having defied German Nazism and mass internment brought about by then British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Harry was in a unique position to shed light on the bleak times during the Second World War. With the passing of his generation, the urgency to record such eye-witness accounts becomes ever more pressing. Harry’s book is a tribute to his self-strength and dedication to preserving the memory for the sake of humanity.
“…Harry Rossney’s poems encapsulate in a very special way the bitter-sweet experience of those times, and it is fitting that they are finding a wider audience through this book.”
Suzanne Bardgett
Director, Holocaust Exhibition
Imperial War Museum London