Review by Choice Review
Koop's well-written book tells the story of a small, relatively unimportant, and in some ways atypical German prisoner-of-war camp located in New Hampshire's White Mountains during the latter part of WW II. Stark Decency explains how shared strains of war, work, and general conditions, together with a variety of human contacts, changed suspicion and animosity between German prisoners and Americans to common effort, understanding, and even some sense of community. Koop also examines the significant ideological differences among the Germans, a preponderance of whom were anti-Nazi. Based largely on reminiscences of American and German survivors that Koop (Colby-Sawyer College) could locate and interview, the book inevitably reflects problems of representativeness, selective memory, and nostalgia. Yet Koop deftly weaves in material from existing contemporary sources and relevant scholarly accounts, and ultimately provides a persuasive portrait of life at the Stark POW camp. By design a circumscribed book, Stark Decency nonetheless illuminates aspects of the WW II experience that deserve attention and reflection. Recommended especially for general readers. J. W. Jeffries University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
