We Were Each Other's Prisoners: An Oral History Of World War II American And German Prisoners Of War [Paperback]

Lewis H. Carlson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0465091237 | ISBN-13: 978-0465091232 | Publication Date: June 26, 1998

During the Second World War, Germany captured nearly 94,000 American soldiers, while the Allies shipped almost 380,000 Germans to the United States. We Were Each Other’s Prisoners compares, for the first time ever, stories of POWs from both sides of the conflict: From the anti-Nazi German soldier who tried desperately to turn himself in 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 who was sent to a slave labor camp.Culled from more than 150 interviews with 35 American and German surviving POWs, the book addresses larger political and psychological issues:• What does it mean to be a prisoner, especially for men whose cultures prize individual heroism?• Why did conditions differ so dramatically in American and German camps? How were these men received upon their return to their homeland?• How have they coped with the long-term effects of incarceration?

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

An affecting wide-angle overview of the POW experience during WW II. Drawing on interviews with more than 150 US and German soldiers who were interned, Carlson (History/Western Michigan Univ.) offers a judiciously organized survey that lets a host of exprisoners of war speak for themselves. He first addresses the severe mental shock sustained by combatants who were taken captive on the battlefield or (in the case of downed airmen and D-day paratroopers) behind the lines. The author next focuses on the physical hardships, short rations, and other privations endured by Americans confined in the Third Reich's typically primitive camps; by contrast, their German counterparts who sat out the fighting in Stateside lockups had a far easier time of it. In some instances, moreover, American POWs identified as Jewish, or incorrigible, or suspected of being spies were sent to concentration camps; over 50 years later, their matter-of-fact recollections of the ghastly events they experienced bear eloquent witness to humankind's infinite capacity for inhumanity. Carlson goes on to debunk the Hollywood myth that escape was a preoccupation of either Allied or German POWs; precious few ever made it beyond the wire, or even tried. Covered as well is the grisly fate of informers as well as undercover agents who tried and failed to infiltrate inmate populations on either side of the Atlantic and, the Geneva Convention notwithstanding, the dilatory pace of repatriation from the US. While almost all American interns were freed by their own or Soviet troops before V-E Day, fewer than 75,000 of the 380,000- odd Germans held in the US were sent home in 1945; in addition, many of those who made it back to Europe in 1946 spent another three years as POWs in England or France. A scholar's illuminating rundown, complete with telling anecdotal detail, on a great war's largely forgotten men. (illustrations, not seen) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Lewis H. Carlson is professor of history and director of American Studies at Western Michigan University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (June 26, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465091237
• ISBN-13: 978-0465091232
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,615,317 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Could Be Better, October 6, 2006

By 

Mac Pro "Local History Buff" (Oklahoma USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: We Were Each Other's Prisoners: An Oral History Of World War II American And German Prisoners Of War (Paperback)

It's always a good idea to save the oral history of those who have experienced an unusual occurance in our past. Although I enjoyed the book I kept waiting for "something different". I guess I've read so many reports/books/histories/newspaper articles on the subject there's nothing new to learn. I had an uncle who was a guard at two different camps and a grandfather who used German POWs on his farm so this is a subject well known in our family. This book might be good for "newbies" but not much help to real researchers on the subject. I would recommend it to my son's eighth grade history class. I did find the parallel's between the treatment of two groups interesting and am actually proud of the effort the U.S. made to comply with the Geneva Convention.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Carlson fills the void, November 30, 2003

By 

David G. Gould "Railsplitter Fan" (Winterport, ME United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: We Were Each Other's Prisoners: An Oral History Of World War Ii American And German Prisoners Of War (Hardcover)

I found the book a great comparison of the variety of conditions in which POWs found themselves. While no two POW had the same experience treatment and conditions did vary greatly. I've sent this book on to a few Ex-POW's because it provides context they may not be aware of, Like Airborne veterans captured without firing a shot. Not everyone lived like Hogan's Heroes or The Great Escape. The book has a solid spot in my WW-II collection.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Untitled, July 21, 2001

By 

Jackie Pike - See all my reviews

This review is from: We Were Each Other's Prisoners: An Oral History Of World War II American And German Prisoners Of War (Paperback)

Most people are not aware of the thousands of German, Italian and Japanese prisoners in camps across the United States during the Second World War. Like many other issues, guarding and tending POWs was a flawed system, but it was much better than in other countries at least, considering the U.S. had little or no experience with the matter. We were re-inventing ourselves.