We Were Each Other's Prisoners: An Oral History of World War II American and German Prisoners of War

To survive as a POW is an act of heroism, despite the accusations of cowardice often associated with being taken prisoner, according to Carlson, a history professor at Western Michigan University. In this fiercely personal work, Carlson includes 35 oral histories resulting from more than 150 interviews that he conducted over five years. A brief headnote to each history places its subject in the context of WWII. The American accounts describe the often ghastly conditions these men endured, which contrast starkly with the more placid prison routine of the Germans in U.S. camps. How each man coped is a story in itself, but universal for the Americans were hunger, fear, brutality and torture, while German POWs were often subject to abuse by fanatic Nazi fellow prisoners. Carlson chronicles the effects of imprisonment on both Americans and Germans, showing that whereas Americans often tried to escape, many German soldiers deserted to the enemy, preferring prison life in the States to the chaos at home. The interviewees were eager to talk to Carlson, and many unlocked painful memories of the dreadful events they had repressed for years. One of the most dramatic accounts is by an American POW who, along with fellow POW Kurt Vonnegut, helped dispose of dead Germans after the fire bombing of Dresden in 1944. The revelations of the prisoners make riveting reading; some speak of still trying to obtain veteran's benefits. Carlson has done a service to history and to the reader with his compilation of these wrenching accounts. Photos not seen by PW. (Apr.)