The Willing Flesh
by Willi Heinrichliterary work· published 1955
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The Willing Flesh (German: Das Geduldige Fleisch, 1955) (English translation published 1956) is a novel by German writer Willi Heinrich, chronicling the Eastern Front combat experiences of a depleted infantry platoon during the 1943 German retreat from the Taman Peninsula in the Caucasian coast of Russia. In the United States, the novel was published in 1956 by Bobbs-Merrill Company under the title Cross of Iron. The 1977 Hollywood film directed by Sam Peckinpah used this title.
Adaptations (1)
The Willing Flesh was adapted into a 1977 film.
Cross of Iron1977 · film · 119 min · dir. Sam Peckinpah · IMDb ↗It is 1943, and the German army—ravaged and demoralised—is hastily retreating from the Russian front. In the midst of the madness, conflict brews between the aristocratic yet ultimately pusillanimous Captain Stransky and the courageous Corporal Steiner. Stransky is the only man who believes that the Third Reich is still vastly superior to the Russian army. However, within his pompous persona lies a quivering coward who longs for the Iron Cross so that he can return to Berlin a hero. Steiner, on the other hand is cynical, defiantly non-conformist and more concerned with the safety of his own men rather than the horde of military decorations offered to him by his superiors.
