Review by Choice Review
Captives held by Americans attracted scholarly notice in the 1970s with an outburst of editorial stress on internment of Japanese Americans. German captives received less attention. Judith Gansberg and Arnold Krammer set high standards for general treatment of German POWs in the US; Allen V. Koop, John Hammond Moore, and Allen Kent Powell produced intriguing analyses of experience in specific localities. So has Billinger, who applies professional archival, oral-history, and regional-history methodology and compelling narration to the situation of 10,000 POWs in Florida. 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 US authorities, terrorized anti-Nazi inmates, and rioted, even in the special compound for anti-Nazis at Camp Blanding. There were escape attempts but none succeeded; one ended in a suicide that still excites suspicion. Inmates worked on farms and met local, mostly friendly people. Later recollections made this seem a positive contribution to international understanding. But at the time, alleged "coddling" of Nazis at McDill Field and a program of "re-education" considered too mild by a Florida congressman brought unwanted publicity. After the war's end, thousands of POWs were turned over to France for reconstruction labor before repatriation. All levels. G. H. Davis; Georgia State University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
