
Aaron Kropp (1899-10 November 1918) was a German soldier who served as a private in the Imperial German Army on the Western Front of World War I. He was killed in action on 10 November 1918.
Biography[]
Aaron Kropp was born in Hanover, German Empire in 1899, and he attended school with Paul Bäumer, Franz Muller, and Ludwig Behm. He and his classmates were indoctrinated with German nationalism during their studies, and, on their graduation in the spring of 1917, they were told by their professor that they were Germany's "greatest generation" and would soon march on Paris. Kropp and his classmates promptly enlisted in the Imperial German Army, and they were assigned to the 78th Reserve Infantry Regiment and sent to the front at La Malmaison in northern France. They were quickly disillusioned upon being sent to bail water out of the trenches, coming under shell fire, and being sent to collect dog tags from their dead comrades. Kropp grew lonely due to his isolation from women throughout his service, growing jealous of Muller for seducing several young French women, and keeping a poster cutout of an illustrated French woman with him in the trenches. On 10 November 1918, he took part in a failed assault on the French trenches at Eguisac, during which he fell behind during the retreat, attempted to surrender to the French, and was blasted with a flamethrower and then shot as he attempted to crawl into a puddle of water.