We Were Each Other's Prisoners: Oral History of World War II American and German Prisoners of War Book

We Were Each Other's Prisoners is the first book ever to compare the experiences of American and German POWs in the Second World War. Based on over 150 interviews with surviving prisoners, Lewis Carlson brings the stories of these men to life. From the anti-Nazi German soldier who surrendered rather than fight for Hitler, to the U.S. prisoner who thrice escaped his German captors--the last time to join Russian troops in the Battle of Berlin--to the Jewish-American prisoner sent to a slave labor camp, these moving accounts reveal the terror and anguish of being captured and celebrate the resilience that kept these soldiers alive. Through all the gut wrenching details, the larger political and psychological issues are addressed: What does it mean to be a prisoner, especially for men whose cultures glorify heroism? How were these men received for upon return to their homeland? And how have they coped with the long-term effects of incarceration? Revealed for the first time, these are the stories of men whose singular courage testified both their own fortitude and to the human will to survive. "Drawing on interviews with more than 150 U.S. and German soldiers who were interned, Carlson offers a judiciously organized survey that lets a host of ex-prisoners of war speak for themselves."--Kirkus Reviews"these stories...allow the men to recover a dignity and importance that their experience undermined...Collectively they compare a searing picture of mankind's capacity for inhumanity, but also for courage and the will to survive."--The Washington Post"Carlson has done a service to history and to the reader with his compilation of these wrenching accounts."--Publishers Weekly"...the voices in these pages echo with authenticity."--Austin Statesman Read More