The Enemy Among Us: POWs in Missouri During World War II [Hardcover]

David Winston Fiedler (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1883982499 | ISBN-13: 978-1883982492 | Publication Date: November 7, 2003 | Edition: 1

During World War II, more than fifteen thousand German and Italian soldiers came to Missouri. This was no invasionary force; rather these were prisoners of war, part of a flood of almost a half-million men captured and sent to the United States, held here until the end of the war.

Life as a POW in the thirty camps scattered across Missouri was a surprisingly pleasant experience. The men ate well and were quartered under the same conditions as the Americans assigned to guard them, and the prisoners often enjoyed a great deal of freedom. The internees worked on local farms, often “guarded” only by a bored GI snoozing under a shade tree. They organized camp theater troupes, sports leagues, and orchestras, and some prisoners studied at the camp library for classes at the POW “university.”

For residents of the mostly small towns where these camps were located, the arrival of enemy POWs engendered a range of emotions—first fear and apprehension, then curiosity, and finally, in many cases, a feeling of fondness for the men they had come to know and like.

In The Enemy among Us, David Fiedler tells the story of entirely ordinary people who lived in extraordinary times. This fascinating tale recounts the creation of the camps and the lives touched when fate brought Missourians and the enemy face-to-face. Though they did not seek those circumstances, none could forget how their lives changed when POWs came to Missouri.

 

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A POW study about Missouri is long overdue."—Dr. Arnold Krammer, author of Nazi Prisoners of War in America

About the Author

David Fiedler is a writer living in Fenton, Missouri. His articles on Missouri, its people, and its history have appeared in publications including Missouri Life and The Missouri Conservationist. Fiedler earned degrees in German and political science from Washington University and was a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Missouri History Museum Press; 1 edition (November 7, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883982499
• ISBN-13: 978-1883982492
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,805,618 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterful telling of a little-known story, May 28, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Enemy Among Us: POWs in Missouri During World War II (Hardcover)

History books generally get a bad rap because so many end up dry in the details, dry in the telling. Thankfully, the Enemy Among Us avoids this trap, and with an emphasis on telling the story in the words of the people who were there, David Fiedler offers a delightful account of when 15,000 German and Italian POWs came to Missouri in WWII.

The Enemy Among Us is richly spiced with first-person accounts from many perspectives of the POW camps, from prisoner and guard, camp worker and ordinary citizen, and beyond. Accounts of friendship, escape, mischief and romance keep it lively, and Fiedler's eye for detail and human interest make his narrative sparkle.

The Enemy Among Us offers first an overview of the POW program, and then works its way geographically through the Missouri camps. The four big camps (Clark, Crowder, Leonard Wood and Weingarten) each merit their own chapter, and subsequent chapters examine the smaller branch camps as they were clustered in the Kansas City and St. Louis areas, in the Missouri Bootheel, in central Missouri, and other parts of the state. Fiedler closes his book with a chapter that details the POWs' return to Europe, their experience after the war, and in some cases, their return to the U.S. as visitors or immigrants. Over a hundred photographs put faces on the people involved and provide a nice accompaniment to the text.

Because of its easy-reading examination of a fascinating, yet little-known subject, The Enemy Among Us will appeal to just about anyone, whether WWII history buff or someone simply interested to hear about the time when 30 POW camps dotted the Missouri landscape, and German- and Italian-speaking soldiers worked in the fields.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for WW2 buffs, and nearly anyone with a passing interest as well, August 20, 2005

By 

M. Doughty - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Enemy Among Us: POWs in Missouri During World War II (Hardcover)

David Winston Fiedler provides a noteworthy read with this study of Prisoners of War held in captivity throughout Missouri. He exposed the shortcomings and successes that the America's POW program achieved. Obviously a student of Dr. Krammer's work "Nazi Prisoners of War in America", Mr. Fiedler delves into details and places that Krammer didn't have time to cover concerning particular states - in this case, Missouri. The author uses numerous primary source documents to recollect the treatment of many prisoners. It is particularly fascinating that many former German Nazi's were treated with better regard in certain areas of the state than were American black soldiers who had fought for their country. In that, the Germans were allowed to frequent "white only" establishments that blacks were restricted from entering, a peculiar and disheartening dichotomy to say the least. Certainly some regions in Missouri were quicker than others to accept these POW's as would be understandable. The very kind treatment and acceptance that many of these men, particularly Germans soldiers in German communities in Missouri witnessed, seems to have served to promote a positive image of the victorious America.

There are photos expressively dispersed in the book, which help to bring lucidity to the overall picture. The fact that so many prisoners were in America will shock the non-historian, as well as the casual reader. It will be equally surprising for most to read the elaborate measures taken to accomodate these POW's. How they retained their culture and discipline is also very interesting, especially the Germans. Although, to Germans this"Gehorsamkeit" or obedience to authority is not shocking, it is fascinating nonetheless. The references are well annotated throughout the book, although my only qualm (and it's a small one) is the failure to employ some of the original language if only in short exerpts akin to the writing of William Manchester. I think some things are lost in translation and would have been interesting to read. All in all a very fine work. A must have for collectors of WW2 history, and Missourians,(which I am not, although I attended Wash U) as well as worth reading for anyone interested in obtaining greater depth of American military history post WW2. Bravo Herr Fiedler.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating!, May 28, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Enemy Among Us: POWs in Missouri During World War II (Hardcover)

Growing up in Missouri, I never knew about Enemy POW's being here during WWII. This book really does a fine job of painting a picture of life for both the POW's and the Missourians that worked with and befriended them.

The photographs are excellent and Fiedler does a wonderful job of sharing a fascinating story!

Especially in light of the current news about POW's, this book is very timely and interesting.