Escape from Berlin

An hour after midnight, on 27 April 1945, 850 men of the Latvian 15th SS Division surrendered to American troops at Güterglück. They reached the River Elbe south of Berlin a week after abandoning their positions south-east of the city. To defend Hitler’s capital meant almost certain death: to desert was deadly dangerous, and to survive they needed to dodge German patrols and Red Army tanks. The river meant survival.

Remarkable film of the Latvians that day was discovered during the writing of this book. The still images reproduced here show the relief etched on their faces. Now for the first time in English, their exhilarating story can be told through the diary of the regiment’s adjutant, First Lieutenant Edvīns Bušmanis. The Bušmanis diary is a tense, gripping and wonderfully eloquent account revealing the drama and detail of their incredible escape – and their will to survive.

Eighty years later, the author follows their journey to the banks of the river through the fields of sunflowers and tiny countryside villages of Brandenburg. His new research in a modern landscape brings to life this virtually unknown story of daring, determination and a desire for life.