Author: Richard van Emden Publisher: Pen and Sword ISBN: 184468850X Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 307
Book Description
Based on interviews with survivors of German WWI prison camps, this account documents the heroism and perseverance of British troops in captivity. Drawing on the memories of the last surviving prisoners of the Great war, Prisoners of the Kaiser tells the dramatic story of life as a POW in Germany. Stories include the shock of capture on the Western Front, to the grind of daily life in imprisonment in German prison camps. Veterans recall work in salt mines, punishments, and escape attempts, as well as the torture of starvation and the relief at their eventual release. With over 200 photographs and illustrations, Prisoners of the Kaiser is filled with vivid, moving eye-witness accounts, almost all of which never been have published before.
Author: Philip D. Chinnery Publisher: Pen and Sword ISBN: 1473892309 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 307
Book Description
In 1915, the German government published a book entitled 1915 in an attempt to portray the Germans as a civilized people who were destined to win the war, who would treat their prisoners with care and compassion. The Kaisers First POWs is the first book to compare the official German view to the grim reality of captivity, as experienced by the prisoners.Dozens of original photos from 1915 tell the story as seen by German eyes. Compare them to the personal accounts from former prisoners who describe the reality of falling into the hands of the German Army and life as a prisoner of the Kaiser.By the end of the war, the Germans had taken approximately 2.8 million prisoners of war. This books describes the life and times of these prisoners and the manner in which the Germans dealt with the problems involved in accommodating them.
Author: Philip D. Chinnery Publisher: Pen and Sword ISBN: 1526701456 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 189
Book Description
Following on from the his first well-received book 'The Kaisers First POWs' Philip Chinnery now turns his attention to the attempts by allied prisoners of war to escape the Kaiser's clutches and return to their homeland. As the war progressed, the treatment of allied prisoners worsened as the blockade of Germany reduced the amount of food and material coming into the country. The majority of the prisoners were too weak or ill-equipped to attempt to escape, but there were others who were determined to pit their wits against their jailers. These included the officers at Holzminden prison, who dug a tunnel allowing twenty-eight of their number to escape; men like Canadian Private Simmons, who escaped and was recaptured twice before his third attempt saw him gain his freedom; men who jumped from moving trains or marched brazenly out of the camp gates disguised as German officers.Although Holland and Switzerland were neutral countries during the First World War, escaping from their camps, crossing miles of enemy territory and outwitting the sentries guarding the frontiers taxed even the strongest individuals. But many men did make the attempt and more than a few of them were successful. This is their story.
Author: Ian Passingham Publisher: The History Press ISBN: 0752472585 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 399
Book Description
Convinced that both God and the Kaiser were on their side, the officers and men of the German Army went to war in 1914, confident that they were destined for a swift and crushing victory in the West. The vaunted Schlieffen Plan on which the anticipated German victory was based expected triumph in the West to be followed by an equally decisive success on the Eastern Front. It was not to be. From the winter of 1914 until the early months of 1918, the struggle on the Western Front was characterised by trench warfare. But our perception of the conflict takes little or no account of the realities of life 'across the wire' in the German trenches. This book redresses that imbalance and reminds us how similar these young German men were to our own Tommies. Drawing from diaries and letters, Ian Passingham charts the hopes and despair of the German soldiers, filling an important gap in the history of the Western Front.
Author: Jeffrey E. Geiger Publisher: Sunbury Press, Inc. ISBN: 1620067501 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 281
Book Description
In 1943, the first great wave of Hitler’s soldier’s came to America, not as goose-stepping conquering heroes, but as prisoners of war. By the time World War II ended in 1945, more than six hundred German POW camps had sprung up across America holding a total of 371,683 POWs. One of these camps was established at the U.S. Army’s training installation Camp Cooke on June 16, 1944. The POW base camp at Cooke operated sixteen branch camps in six of California’s fifty-eight counties and is today the site of Vandenberg Air Force Base in Santa Barbara County. Compared to other prisoner of war camps in California, Camp Cooke generally held the largest number of German POWs and operated the most branch camps in the state. A large number of the prisoners were from Field Marshal Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps, as well as from other military formations. Under the terms of the Geneva Convention, the prisoners received comfortable quarters and excellent care. They filled critical wartime labor shortages inside the main Army post at Cooke and in the outlying civilian communities, performing agricultural work for which they were paid. On weekends and evenings, they enjoyed many recreational entertainment and educational opportunities available to them in the camp. For many POWs, the American experience helped reshape their worldview and gave them a profound appreciation of American democracy. This book follows the military experiences of fourteen German soldiers who were captured during the campaigns in North Africa and Europe and then sat out the remainder of the war as POWs in California. It is a firsthand account of life as a POW at Camp Cooke and the lasting impression it had on the prisoners.
Author: Richard van Emden
Author: Richard Van Emden
Author: Philip D. Chinnery
Author: Edward H. Wigney
Author: Arthur Gibbons
Author: Philip D. Chinnery
Author: Ian Passingham
Author: Paul K. Cashdollar
Author: Jeffrey E. Geiger
Author: Philip D. Chinnery