Hamish, was it this?
An article in 'Der Spiegel' last year headed 'Tod in der Polarnacht' (in issue
41/2000), describing the following incident from WW2:
"Im September 1943 etwa griffen Scharnhorst, Tirpitz und noch zehn Zerstörer
die Insel Spitzbergen an, auch um die eigenen Seeleute auf Trab zu halten -
Kinderkram. Auf Spitzbergen ist heute wenig, war damals wenig. Ein bisschen
Anthrazitkohle, die abgebaut wurde. "Das war ein Spaziergang, da müssen wir uns
schämen", sagt heute Helmut Feifer, 77, einer der letzten zwölf Überlebenden
der Scharnhorst."
Probably not, unless similar comments were published at the time. Sounds like a
rather jaunty commonplace to me.
Osman.
Quoting J H Reid <[log in to unmask]>:
> Can anyone help me to identify this allusion found in an unpublished
> Böll
> novel? I'm sure I remember encountering it and others I have spoken to
> also
> think they recognise it, but so far I have been unable to trace it.
>
> Who referred to what military campaign as being or having been "ein
> Spaziergang"?
>
> I should be most grateful
>
> Hamish Reid
> University of Nottingham
>
> --
> J H Reid
> 15 Devonshire Road, Sherwood, Nottingham NG5 2EW
> Email: [log in to unmask]
>
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