The anti-war novel “The Hour of Dead Eyes” is the most popular novel by Harry Turk and, undoubtedly, one of the most popular books in the GDR, however, it was reprinted ten times even after the unification of Germany. By the way, this was the only work of Türk published during the division of Germany and in Germany (by the Munich publishing house Damnitz Verlag in 1980). But it must be said that after the first edition in 1957, Türk’s novel was subjected to scathing criticism from the party leadership of the GDR Writers’ Union for its “insufficient partisanship.” Turk was severely reprimanded, and the book was confiscated from libraries. Only the unprecedented success of the Czech translation of the novel in 1960 forced East German publishers to reissue the novel. During the re-release, Türk was forced to remove the dedication he made to his fallen colleagues, as allegedly “whitewashing the Nazi murderers.” The author restored it only in the 1994 edition. In the Czechoslovak army, Türk’s novel was included in the compulsory reading program; it was also very popular among the airborne soldiers of the National People’s Army of the GDR. This is not surprising - in addition to the author’s clear anti-war position, the novel describes in some detail the training and tactics of German reconnaissance and sabotage groups on the Eastern Front at the end of World War II. Desperate paratroopers from a front-line reconnaissance company fight on the Eastern Front at the end of 1944. The nighttime reconnaissance and sabotage operations depicted by the author in this popular and controversial novel about the Second World War were called suicide squads: young paratroopers in the last war winter were dropped in the Masurian Lakes region in the Soviet rear to reconnoiter the positions of the Red Army, preparing for the final decisive offensive against Germany. They are great masters in their field, but they notice that their individual successes are doubtful, and they begin to have doubts about the rightness of the cause for which they are fighting. Harry Turk has written a wonderfully gripping book. Like hardly any other literary work of the post-war period, one is captivated by the authenticity with which the author depicts the development of events at the front. The heroes of this novel are taken from reality. Front-line soldier Harry Turk dedicated the book to his fallen comrades..