Customer Reviews

When Surrender Was Not an Option

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I happened to meet the author (James Lee) at a Barnes and Noble. He was a real nice guy and I thought I'd buy something. This book looked the most interesting. And interesting it was! I read it in about 4 days. It was quite a page turner. I was so intrigued by the book and the events that I immediately went and got a copy of "The Great Escape" which is mentioned in this book. And that was fantastic. Now I'm onto yet another WW2 book. I'm really glad I came across this as it has really piqued my interest in WW2 events.
I also bought a copy for my dad and grandpa and they enjoyed it too.

A short, quick read of Crawford's account of the march from Stalag Luft 3, Sagan, Silesia, to the railroad head at Spremburg from Jan. 27, 1945. Crawford's route, though, was unusual in that due to herniating himself throwing up on the railroad journey from Spremburg, from "bashing" unexpected meat rations, he wound up in a hospital in the Hammelburg POW allied officer camp. His life was saved there. He was fortunate, just missing Patton's attempt to rescue Col. John Waters (Pattons' son-inlaw)from Hammelburg. Unusual recollections, compared to other Stalag Luft 3 diaries, are those of POWs who would die within 48 hours at Stalag Luft 3, giving up and freezing by the side of the road, being conscientously guarded from hostile Germans by German Luftwaffe guards, who returned him back to the POW camp at Stalag 13D Nuremburg, the hell hole, and an account of POWs who almost made it, but died from eating fried Red Cross donuts upon liberation..While many died on the march, numbers are rarely mentioned in POW diaries. One website, related to the Joe Klass book, "Maybe I'm Dead", notes over 2000 of 10000 died. Our father survived 21 B-24 missions, Stalag Luft 3, the march, Stalag 13D, Nuremburg, and Stalg 7A, Moosburg, before being liberated by Patton's 14th Armored on April 29, 1945.

2lt George G. Crawford's B-24, on which he was the Bombardier, was blasted out of the sky over Germany and sent him on a journey as a prisoner of war which he tells very convincingly in this book. Not a highly researched historical reference, but rather an intensely personal story about the privations, dangers and stark realities of captivity, the author covers a part of the story of WWII POWs in Germany which is largely unknown or unappreciated. As the Russians approached the Third Reich in late 1944 and early 1945 the Germany military undertook to march tens of thousands of Allied POWs toward the West. Crawford's experience as he and his fellow "Kriegies" were forced to depart Stalag Luft III near Sagan and march through the brutal winter with virtually no food, inadequate clothing, rampant illness and injury to the prison camp at Moosburg, near Nuremberg, almost exceeds ones senses as to it horror. Heroes and scoundrels abound, both within the ranks of the POWs and the German guards. The author relates his treatment at the hands of a scornful enemy in a most credible fashion, leaving little to the imagination as to how he wound up weighing 65 pounds when finally liberated. The author completes his story with some quite humorous tales he and his fellow POWs enjoy once out of prison but not yet back in the control of US authorities. His narration of travails in France, particularly in Paris, and at the wheel of a stolen (liberated?) 6-wheel Mercedes Command Car, perhaps blurs the lines between fact and fancy but certainly makes entertaining reading. This is a book which will be of interest to those who want to know more about life as a POW and is an easy and enjoyable read.

In a matter of hours the war was over for the bombardier. The B-24 bomber caught flak over Klagenfurt, Germany; the crew bailed into enemy territory. Within 24-hours the plane's bombardier, Second Lieutenant George Crawford, unable to evade capture, wound up in the back of a German car, a giant SS officer leering at him, telling him, "For you, der var is ofver."

So begins the bombardier's When Surrender Was Not an Option, a memoir recounting Crawford's experience as a prisoner of war in the prison camp Stalag Luft III. Told as if Crawford were recalling his imprisonment and giving an oral account, and while not graphic or gory, the book displays a vivid portrait of life in a POW camp during the waning months of World War II.

Concrete details and repeated images supply readers with a sense of the miseries the POWs endured. Space was almost non-existent; the POWs were packed in barracks in which the "bunks were layered so close that one had to be approximately horizontal to sinuously slither into the bunk." Food, or its lack, became almost an obsession. Hunger was rarely lifted. Rations usually consisted of dry black bread or Red Cross chocolate bars, and maybe cabbage in the summer. When liberated by General Patton, Crawford weighed 65-pounds.

One of the most vivid scenes is a long march in freezing weather when the Stalag is vacated and the POWs moved further into Germany as the Allies close in.

While the details and images make the war and the POW experience vivid, the book's strength lays in its depiction of the POWs' courage and character not only to endure and survive their imprisonment, but also their willingness to keep their capture from becoming surrender. Crawford details his and his fellow "Kriegie's" attempts, sometimes funny, to harass the German soldiers guarding them. The POWs dug tunnels and made escape attempts, but their most effective means of harassment was psychological.

After constructing a makeshift radio receiver, the POWs could monitor war news and had better information than the Germans. Such information shook the Germans; war maps showed that an Allied victory was at hand. For the Germans, more than the POWs, the war would soon be over.

Though sketchy in parts, Crawford's memoir is a realistic portrait of war. It lends perhaps just enough detail to allow imagination to fill in any gaps. It portrays courage and fear, tears and laughter, and perhaps a better understanding of what war is like.

It would be hard to describe this story without using words like 'gritty,' 'horrifying,' and 'engrossing.' George Crawford of the 456th Bomb group (Heavy), along with James Lee, tells his first-person story of flying the giant American bombers over enemy targets, surviving being shot down, and more importantly, surviving being a prisoner of war in the most dismal conditions one can imagine. Told in a no-nonsense, straight-forward approach to the facts, you will find yourself turning the pages rapidly, not able to put this fascinating account of one man's challenges in wartime down until every word soaks in. Should be required reading for every high school student in the US, along with the classics of the genre like "Those Who Fall" by John Muirhead.
Roy J. Firestone ...

With each passing year, the heroes and reality of WWII fade. When Surrender Was Not An Option presents one man's experiences as a POW in Nazi Germany: the brutality, the bravery, the heroism of surviving. Everyone, young and old, should read Second Lieutenant George Crawford's story. If you've ever served in the military, you'll identify with this honest tale. If you haven't, you'll appreciate and be astounded by the sacrifices Crawford and all soldiers make in the name of freedom and survival. Helen Ginger, Editor, Doing It Write!

A thrilling story of one mans survival behind enemy lines after bailing out.A cover to cover read.Highly recommended.