Work Commando 311/I [Hardcover]

Claire E. Swedberg (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Compared to the Japanese, the Germans tended to treat American POWs well. There were many dishonorable exceptions, however, and Swedberg tells the tale, based on survivors' accounts, of one of them. Work Commando 311/I was a forced-labor detachment into which were incorporated several hundred American paratroopers captured in Normandy and the Netherlands. These men faced all the dangers the regular POW did plus Gestapo brutality and forced labor. They were in danger from both foe and friend (from Allied air attacks in particular) right up to the moment survivors were liberated by the Red Army. Swedberg makes these prisoners' story a plain tale plainly told, letting the nature of what happened to them give the account vividness and emotional impact. A useful addition to the literature on the American POW experience in World War II. Roland Green

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books; 1st edition (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811719081
• ISBN-13: 978-0811719087
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,655,492 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a different sort of POW story, December 19, 2001

By 

Randy Keehn (Williston, ND United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Work Commando 311/I (Hardcover)

Six or seven years ago I had finished reading Cornelius Ryan's "A Bridge Too Far" which greatly impressed and was, I felt, the best of his three WWII books. A few days after completing the book, I had a chance to meet a man named Dan Jones. In the course of our conversation, the subject of his military service came up and I found out that he was in the 101 Airborne in WWII. This immediately got me asking about the Market Garden operation where he was captured. While I was recommending "A Bridge Too Far", he was telling me about a book that his niece was publishing about his exploits as a POW. I bought it when it came out thinking it was written by some college student with an expanded essay on her uncles misadventures in the war. When I finally got around to reading it several years later, I found out just how wrong I was. This is a GOOD book. The events described cover the imprisonment of a number of US POW's, their struggles and their return to the US lines after the collapse and surrender of Nazi Germany. There are so many different elements in this book including sex and murder and it is all expertly woven together in a way that leaves you wanting more. The reader expects the stories of the poor treatment of the prisoners by the Germans but the most compelling part of the book comes later. That is the story of the prisoners as they managed to work their way through the Soviet Army and back to their own lines. The images of that journey are well conveyed and have stayed with me. This book was a real sleeper for me. I recommend it heartily.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The 'REAL' story of American POW's, August 6, 2001

By 

Steve Bruton (Owensboro, KY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Work Commando 311/I (Hardcover)

My Father is one of the people portrayed in the book, so I can testify to the accuracy of the writing. I have also met, and listened to, several of the people the book is about.

This narative covers the actual events of a group of brave men, some as young as 19, who fought in WWII, were captured by the Germans, and forced to work on the German railroads for 9 months. What they endured, and the way's that they coped with it, are stories that ALL people can learn from, especially younger adults who have never been exposed to the real story of WWII.

5.0 out of 5 stars A little-known side of World War II, December 25, 2009

By 

Lucy D. Phillips (Dover, MA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Work Commando 311/I (Hardcover)

I don't usually read books about war but loved this one; couldn't put it down. It tells about an American in a group captured by Germans near the end of the war. Forty years after their release, his granddaughter gets the story from him and his buddies at the camp, who've kept silent all that time. There is warmth and humor mixed with the grim stuff;there are good and bad Americans, good and bad Germans. I plan to share it with my grandchildren--boys and girls--as a window on this "ancient history."