Prisoners of War, Prisoners of Peace: Captivity, Homecoming and Memory in World War IIMillions of servicemen of the belligerent powers were taken prisoner during World War II. Until recently, the popular image of these men has been framed by tales of heroic escape or immense suffering at the hands of malevolent captors. For the vast majority, however, the reality was very different. Their history, both during and after the War, has largely been ignored in the grand narratives of the conflict. This collection brings together new scholarship, largely based on sources from previously unavailable Eastern European or Japanese archives. Authors highlight a number of important comparatives. Whereas for the British and Americans held by the Germans and Japanese, the end of the war meant a swift repatriation and demobilization, for the Germans, it heralded the beginning of an imprisonment that, for some, lasted until 1956. These and many more moving stories are revealed here for the first time. |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
administration Allied American anti-fascist Anzac Archive attitude Australian battalions Battle of Okinawa became Boeitai Britain British Burma-Thailand railway captured cent citizens civilian Communist Party cultural custody death decree Defence deserters detainees Deutsche Kriegsgefangene Diary Dutch East enemy example experiences families fascist film Fishman forces former POWs former prisoners Fort Eustis GARF Geneva Convention German POWs German prisoners GUPVI History Indies Italian Communist Party Italian POWs Italian prisoners Italy Japanese military Japanese POWs labour large numbers living memory Ministry Moscow NARA narrative Nazi Netherlands NIOD NKVD officers Okinawa Prefectural Okinawasen oners organized Polish political post-war Japan POW camps pris Prisoners of War propaganda re-education programme Red Army release repatriation reports returning POWs RGASPI RGVA Russian sent servicemen sexual Siberia soldiers Soviet camps Soviet POWs Soviet Union Stalin stories surrender Thailand tion Tokyo United USSR victims West Germany wives women World World War II