From German Prisoner of War to American Citizen

From German Prisoner of War to American Citizen PDF Author: Barbara Schmitter Heisler
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476602115
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 213

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Book Description
Among the many German immigrants to the United States over the years, one group is unusual: former prisoners of war who had spent between one and three years on American soil and who returned voluntarily as immigrants after the war. Drawing on archival sources and in-depth interviews with 35 former prisoners who made the return, the book outlines the conditions that defined their unusual experiences and traces their journeys from captive enemies to American citizens. Although the respondents came from different backgrounds, and arrived in America at different times between 1943 and 1945, their experiences as prisoners of war not only left an indelible impression, they also provided them with opportunities and resources that helped them leave Germany behind and return to the place "where we had the good life."

From German Prisoner of War to American Citizen

From German Prisoner of War to American Citizen PDF Author: Barbara Schmitter Heisler
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476602115
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 213

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Book Description
Among the many German immigrants to the United States over the years, one group is unusual: former prisoners of war who had spent between one and three years on American soil and who returned voluntarily as immigrants after the war. Drawing on archival sources and in-depth interviews with 35 former prisoners who made the return, the book outlines the conditions that defined their unusual experiences and traces their journeys from captive enemies to American citizens. Although the respondents came from different backgrounds, and arrived in America at different times between 1943 and 1945, their experiences as prisoners of war not only left an indelible impression, they also provided them with opportunities and resources that helped them leave Germany behind and return to the place "where we had the good life."

Nazi Prisoners of War in America

Nazi Prisoners of War in America PDF Author: Arnold Krammer
Publisher: Lyons Press
ISBN: 9781493049523
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
This is the only book available that tells the full story of how the U.S. government, between 1942 and 1945, detained nearly half a million Nazi prisoners of war in 511 camps across the country. With a new introduction and illustrated with more than 70 rare photos, Krammer describes how, with no precedents upon which to form policy, America's handling of these foreign prisoners led to the hasty conversation of CCC camps, high school gyms, local fairgrounds, and race tracks to serve as holding areas. The Seattle Times calls Nazi Prisoners of War in America "the definitive history of one of the least known segments of America's involvement in World War II. Fascinating. A notable addition to the history of that war."

Hitler's Last Soldier in America

Hitler's Last Soldier in America PDF Author: Georg Gaertner
Publisher: Scarborough House
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description


Citizen Soldiers

Citizen Soldiers PDF Author: Stephen E. Ambrose
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1476740259
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 528

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Book Description
From Stephen E. Ambrose, bestselling author of Band of Brothers and D-Day, the inspiring story of the ordinary men of the U.S. army in northwest Europe from the day after D-Day until the end of the bitterest days of World War II. In this riveting account, historian Stephen E. Ambrose continues where he left off in his #1 bestseller D-Day. Citizen Soldiers opens at 0001 hours, June 7, 1944, on the Normandy beaches, and ends at 0245 hours, May 7, 1945, with the allied victory. It is biography of the US Army in the European Theater of Operations, and Ambrose again follows the individual characters of this noble, brutal, and tragic war. From the high command down to the ordinary soldier, Ambrose draws on hundreds of interviews to re-create the war experience with startling clarity and immediacy. From the hedgerows of Normandy to the overrunning of Germany, Ambrose tells the real story of World War II from the perspective of the men and women who fought it.

A Generous and Merciful Enemy

A Generous and Merciful Enemy PDF Author: Daniel Krebs
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806189053
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 479

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Book Description
Some 37,000 soldiers from six German principalities, collectively remembered as Hessians, entered service as British auxiliaries in the American War of Independence. At times, they constituted a third of the British army in North America, and thousands of them were imprisoned by the Americans. Despite the importance of Germans in the British war effort, historians have largely overlooked these men. Drawing on research in German military records and common soldiers’ letters and diaries, Daniel Krebs places the prisoners on center stage in A Generous and Merciful Enemy, portraying them as individuals rather than simply as numbers in casualty lists. Setting his account in the context of British and European politics and warfare, Krebs explains the motivations of the German states that provided contract soldiers for the British army. We think of the Hessians as mercenaries, but, as he shows, many were conscripts. Some were new recruits; others, veterans. Some wanted to stay in the New World after the war. Krebs further describes how the Germans were made prisoners, either through capture or surrender, and brings to life their experiences in captivity from New England to Havana, Cuba. Krebs discusses prison conditions in detail, addressing both the American approach to war prisoners and the prisoners’ responses to their experience. He assesses American efforts as a “generous and merciful enemy” to use the prisoners as economic, military, and propagandistic assets. In the process, he never loses sight of the impact of imprisonment on the POWs themselves. Adding new dimensions to an important but often neglected topic in military history, Krebs probes the origins of the modern treatment of POWs. An epilogue describes an almost-forgotten 1785 treaty between the United States and Prussia, the first in western legal history to regulate the treatment of prisoners of war.

The Nazis Next Door

The Nazis Next Door PDF Author: Eric Lichtblau
Publisher: HMH
ISBN: 0547669224
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 299

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Book Description
A Newsweek Best Book of the Year: “Captivating . . . rooted in first-rate research” (The New York Times Book Review). In this New York Times bestseller, once-secret government records and interviews tell the full story of the thousands of Nazis—from concentration camp guards to high-level officers in the Third Reich—who came to the United States after World War II and quietly settled into new lives. Many gained entry on their own as self-styled war “refugees.” But some had help from the US government. The CIA, the FBI, and the military all put Hitler’s minions to work as spies, intelligence assets, and leading scientists and engineers, whitewashing their histories. Only years after their arrival did private sleuths and government prosecutors begin trying to identify the hidden Nazis. Now, relying on a trove of newly disclosed documents and scores of interviews, Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative reporter Eric Lichtblau reveals this little-known and “disturbing” chapter of postwar history (Salon).

Axis Prisoners of War in Kentucky

Axis Prisoners of War in Kentucky PDF Author: Antonio S. Thompson
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476681686
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 227

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Book Description
During World War II, Kentuckians rushed from farms to factories and battlefields, leaving agriculture throughout the state--particularly the lucrative tobacco industry--without sufficient labor. An influx of Axis prisoners of war made up the shortfall. Nearly 10,000 German and Italian POWs were housed in camps at Campbell, Breckinridge, Knox and other locations across the state. Under the Geneva Convention, they worked for their captors and helped save Kentucky's crops, while enjoying relative comfort as prisoners--playing sports, performing musicals and taking college classes. Yet, friction between Nazi and anti-Nazi inmates threatened the success of the program. This book chronicles the POW program in Kentucky and the vital contributions the Bluegrass State made to Allied victory.

I'll See You Again, Lady Liberty

I'll See You Again, Lady Liberty PDF Author: Ernst W. Floeter
Publisher: WingSpan Press
ISBN: 9781595945365
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 107

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Book Description
" A] remarkable life story" -Senator Bob Dole I'll See You Again, Lady Liberty is the story of a young German whose father dared to rip a required picture of Hitler off his wall and whose mother made prank telephone calls to Nazis. Forced to join Hitler's army, Ernst Floeter made a secret wish to be captured by the Allies and become a prisoner of war. His wish came true twelve days after D-Day. He was a POW first in Michigan and Illinois, and then in New Mexico. After World War II ended, he sailed from New York Harbor for his homeland, but not before informing the Statue of Liberty that he would see her again. Ernst W. Floeter started his own photography business in 1960 in Grand Ledge, Michigan, just west of Lansing, the state capital. With his charming German accent, he quickly became an "institution" by volunteering for numerous community projects, playing his harmonica and pan flute at musical events, and performing as "Uncle Sam" in Fourth of July festivities. Lynne Breen of Lansing-a history buff with a journalism background -had heard about Mr. Floeter's remarkable life and felt that his story should not be lost to history. During 2013, the two met at the Log Jam restaurant in Grand Ledge, where he shared with her his life story.

The Gulag Study

The Gulag Study PDF Author: Michael E. Allen
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1428980024
Category : Prisoners of war
Languages : en
Pages : 101

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Book Description


Controlling Sex in Captivity

Controlling Sex in Captivity PDF Author: Matthias Reiss
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350060631
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 243

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Book Description
Controlling Sex in Captivity is the first book to examine the nature, extent and impact of the sexual activities of Axis prisoners of war in the United States during the Second World War. Historians have so far interpreted the interactions between captors and captives in America as the beginning of the post-war friendship between the United States, Germany and Italy. Matthias Reiss argues that this paradigm is too simplistic. Widespread fraternisation also led to sexual relationships which created significant negative publicity, and some Axis POWs got caught up in the U.S. Army's new campaign against homosexuals. By focusing on the fight against fraternisation and same-sex activities, this study treads new ground. It stresses that contact between captors and captives was often loaded with conflict and influenced by perceptions of gender and race. It highlights the transnational impact of fraternisation and argues that the prisoners' sojourn in the United States also influenced American society by fuelling a growing concern about social disintegration and sexual deviancy, which eventually triggered a conservative backlash after the war.