Hitler's Soldiers in the Sunshine State: German POWs in Florida (Florida History and Culture) [Hardcover]

Robert D. Billinger Jr. (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0813017408 | ISBN-13: 978-0813017402 | Publication Date: January 1, 2000 | Edition: 1st

In the first book-length treatment of the German prisoner of war experience in Florida during World War II, Robert D. Billinger, Jr., tells the story of the 10,000 men who were "guests" of Uncle Sam in a tropical paradise that for some became a tropical hell. Having been captured while serving on U-boats off the Carolinas, with the Afrika Korps in Tunisia, with the paratroops in Italy, or with labor battalions in France, the POWs were among the 378,000 Germans held as prisoners in 45 states. Except for the servicemen who guarded them, the civilian pulp-cutters, citrus growers, and sugarcane foremen who worked them, and the FBI and local police who tracked the escapees among them, most people were--and still are--unaware of the German POWs who inhabited the 27 camps that dotted the Sunshine State. Billinger describes the experiences of the Germans and their captors as both sides came to the realization that, while the Germans' worst enemies were often their own comrades-in-arms, wartime enemies might also become life-long friends. Concentrating especially on the story of Camp Blanding in North Florida, Billinger based his research on both American and German archives. His account mixes rare photos with interviews with former prisoners; reports by the International Red Cross, the YMCA, and the U.S. military; and local newspaper articles.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

"They were Uncle Sam's smiling workers and they looked like all-American boys. There were at least 10,000 of them, deployed in 25 Florida camps between 1942 and 1946. They were also members of the Wehrmacht, Hitler's armed forces."--Forum

"Most Americans were unaware their government was housing Hitler's soldiers on its shores. . . . Billinger weaves interviews with former prisoners, American soldiers who worked in the camps, newspaper accounts, and government documents into a stunning historical narrative."--Kansas City Star

"A tropical paradise that for some became a tropical hell."--Sarasota Herald-Tribune

"First came crewmen of destroyed U-boats, then thousands of Afrika Korps veterans who swamped the system in 1943. Pro-Nazi, arrogant, and tough, they defied U.S. authorities, terrorized anti-Nazi inmates, and rioted."--Choice

"Filled with colorful personal accounts, this historical book packs the punch of fiction."--St. Petersburg Times

"Billinger's first-rate history of this little-known chapter in American history teaches us that, in spite of wartime propaganda, our enemies are human, too."--Atlantic City Press

"Hard to put down."--Daytona Beach News-Journal

In the first book-length treatment of the German prisoner of war experience in Florida during World War II, Robert D. Billinger, Jr., tells the story of the 10,000 men who were "guests" of Uncle Sam in a tropical paradise that for some became a tropical hell.

Having been captured while serving on U-boats off the Carolinas, with the Afrika Korps in Tunisia, with the paratroops in Italy, or with labor battalions in France, the POWs were among the 378,000 Germans held as prisoners in 45 states.

Except for the servicemen who guarded them, the civilian pulp-cutters, citrus growers, and sugarcane foremen who worked them, and the FBI and local police who tracked the escapees among them, most people were--and still are--unaware of the German POWs who inhabited the 27 camps that dotted the Sunshine State. Billinger describes the experiences of the Germans and their captors as both sides came to the realization that, while the Germans’ worst enemies were often their own comrades-in-arms, wartime enemies might also become life-long friends.

Concentrating especially on the story of Camp Blanding in North Florida, Billinger based his research on both American and German archives. His account mixes rare photos with interviews with former prisoners; reports by the International Red Cross, the YMCA, and the U.S. military; and local newspaper articles.
This book will be of great value to scholars and historians, as well as all readers with an interest in World War II. Those with an interest in Florida history will also find much to admire in this engaging account of a barely known wartime episode.

A volume in The Florida History and Culture Series, edited by Raymond Arsenault and Gary R. Mormino.

 

 

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Robert D. Billinger Jr., Ruth Horton Davis Professor of History at Wingate University, is the author of Nazi POWs in the Tar Heel State.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: University Press of Florida; 1st edition (January 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813017408
• ISBN-13: 978-0813017402
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,991,027 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For History Buffs Only, September 27, 2000

By 

G. Snead (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hitler's Soldiers in the Sunshine State: German POWs in Florida (Florida History and Culture) (Hardcover)

With a love of history in general and World War II history in particular I got a great deal out of this book. This book essentially tells the story of German POWs in Florida from 1942 to their repatriation in 1946. Mr. Billinger goes into a great deal of detail explaining the POW camp hierarchy (Main camps and their branches) and the dates that various camps were in operation. Sometimes this detail got quite tedious and made sections of the book a chore to read. The book has a number of interesting narratives throughout it, but has just as much volume dedicated to less interesting subject matter.

There is also a substantial amount of dialogue devoted to the various political factions that the German POWs belonged or subscribed to (Nazi, anti-Nazi, German patriot, communist, democrat, etc.) I found it interesting that there were such diverse political views held by the German POWs.

Another interesting point was that Afrika Corp soldiers considered themselves the "Real Soldiers" and thought of latter arriving POWs from the French/Italian campaigns as "sissies".

The book had several interesting annecdotes about the POWs escape attempts, their interactions with the Americans (their guards, civilian foremen, and even female lovers!). The Germans were fascinated by the wildlife in Florida and some of the POWs had small alligators for pets (very briefly) and highly prized snake skins to make belts out of. The narrative about the POW who escaped and committed suicide after hazing by his fellow POWs was quite compelling. A more humorous narrative was about a POW who everyone had thought escaped but was actually still living on the base and would sneak food from the mess hall. By the time the Americans found him the war was over and the other Germans had long since left to return back to Europe!

My favorite part of the book was the narrative at the very end that dealt with a POW who traveled for a week around Florida with a Red Cross Representative visiting POW camps. His description of the University of Tampa and the Promenade with the fine old homes on Tampa Bay sound just like I remember them myself (I was there some 50 years after him!).

An very good read for lovers of WWII history.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Hidden World War II Your Parents Did Not Tell You About!, August 23, 2004

By 

Dr. Victor S. Alpher (Austin, Texas, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hitler's Soldiers in the Sunshine State: German POWs in Florida (Florida History and Culture) (Hardcover)

I admit I'm a fan of this type of book...state university press, obscure topic...but when it comes to WWII POWs in the U.S., it is even more fascinating, because not only are the truths stranger than fiction...your parents and grandparents probably remember some of this.

German POWs were held in virtually every state, mixed with civilians, were treated generally better than any kind of prisoner or "minority", and were among us. Some took their memories back to Germany, and some became U.S. citizens. Perhaps nowhere is the story more interesting of compelling than in Florida, where there remain many "denazified" and "nondenazified" Germans.

The conditions they lived in were horrendous. Yet, Florida remains a popular destination of Germans on vacation or "Urlaub". How many are visiting places their parents and grandparents told them about?

The documentation and book do focus on one particular camp, Camp Blanding, where prototypical problems amongst Nazis from different countries, regions, and classes of origin found themselves frequently mixed (reminiscent of Katzenbach's "Hart's War") where black fliers from Tuskegee were imprisoned in a Luftwaffe POW camp.

If you want a primer on the problems presented by housing foreign POWs in a host country, with concomitant social, political, economic, and ecological ramifications, this is a great book to start with!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting state history, October 19, 2010

By 

Toe Tag (Florida) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Hitler's Soldiers in the Sunshine State: German POWs in Florida (Florida History and Culture) (Paperback)

This is a particularly interesting book on rural Florida history from the perspective of an historian whose interest is clearly German POWs in Florida.

For years I had heard stores that Camp Blanding, Florida had held POWs and even had a small German Cemetery. These stories had permeated as local stories and regional ledges for years. In fact, recently I had a conversation with a National Guardsman who found German graffiti in one bunker. But I had nothing really strong to go on as far as information goes.

Then I found this fascinating book. Not only did I find out the true story about Camp Blanding, that it held POWs from all branches of German service. But that they worked there on a verity of projects. The POWs were expected to work and provide for themselves and provide services to their respective camps.

The most fascinating aspect of this book concerns the number of camps in the state of Florida. There were many more than I thought, covering the entire state including the Deep South where POWs harvested sugarcane. Also interesting to note that while the conditions were not the great, they were not that bad either.

From additional reading I suspect that most of the states had their own POW camps and the situation was similar in most of them. They had their problem POWs and an occasional escape. So you could see these as a series of books on the topic.

This is a fast, entertaining read, published by a university press. This leads me to think that this book was published as either a Master's Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation...with the possibility that it might have been produced by a college professor in the course of his work. I found it to be worth reading in a regional sense and the book would appeal to those interested in Florida History.