Why did I come in here to begin with?
Oh, yeah. The presenter mentions Beevor's book, and I can recommend his book 'Stalingrad' over the podcast. There's another on Leningrad (St Petersberg) but I can't remember if Beevor was the author. Those accounts are both inspiring and horrendous.
The eastern front is the most interesting if you can stomach it. The German invasion rarely took prisoners and when they were routed, they paid the debt in kind, over and over again. I can see my younger self, or many of my compatriots at a younger age participating in the same kinds of acts.
WWII ended two years before I was born but I was in primary school during Korea. Back then, in the school yard and at scout camp, tails were told purportedly about fathers and uncles discussing US soldiers killing anyone within range of their guns in both wars. Sure, probably fiction, but my generation went to Vietnam with those stories and the accompanying mindset.
