First published in 1956 in German, and published only in 2003 in English, Payback is a graphic depiction of the bombing of an unnamed German city during World War Two (WWII). Its author, Gert Ledig, wrote three books, two dealing with events in that war, and a third that looks at the aftermath. Hailed at first as a great writer for his first novel, Die Stalinorgel (The Stalin Organ), which revealed his experiences on the Russian front, he was vilified for Vergeltung, translated now as Payback, because the German public was unwilling or unready to deal with what he had to say in this book.

Television has brought the effects of war closer to us then to previous generations. Their only knowledge of war was through newspaper or radio reports, word of mouth, a few books, or personal experience, the latter usually left unrevealed to outsiders. It left most people quite unaware of what the effects of war are on the warriors, and on civilians caught in the middle of warring parties.

Now we see daily the horrendous cruelty of which men and women are capable toward fellow humans they consider expandable because they are not of their beliefs, their ethnic or racial background, or political persuasion. In every part of the world there is war or something close to it. Hate toward or of those not considered the right kind seems more pervasive now then . . .

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