Men in German Uniform : POWs in America During World War II
Saved in:
| Title: | Men in German Uniform : POWs in America During World War II |
|---|---|
| Description: | Examining the largest prisoner-of-war handling operation in U.S. history, this book offers a meticulous account of the myriad problems—as well as the impressive successes—that came with housing 371,000 German POWs on American soil during World War II. Antonio Thompson draws on extensive archival research to probe the various ways in which the U.S. government strove to comply with the Geneva Convention's mandate that enemy prisoners be moved from the war zone and given food, shelter, and clothing equal to that provided for American soldiers.While the prisoners became a ready source of manpower for the labor-starved American home front and received small wages in return, their stay in the United States generated more than a few difficulties, which included not only daunting logistics but also violence within the camps. Such violence was often blamed on Nazi influence and control; however, as Thompson points out, only a few of the prisoners were actually Nazis. Because the Germans had cobbled together military forces that included convicts, their own POWs, volunteers from neutral nations, and conscripts from occupied countries, the bonds that held these soldiers together amid the pressures of combat dissolved once they were placed behind barbed wire. When these “men in German uniform,” who were not always Germans, donned POW garb, their former social, racial, religious, and ethnic tensions quickly reemerged.To counter such troubles, American authorities organized various activities—including sports, arts, education, and religion—within the POW camps; some prisoners even participated in an illegal denazification program created by the U.S. government. Despite the problems, Thompson argues, the POW-housing program proved largely successful, as Americans maintained their reputation for fairness and humane treatment during a time of widespread turmoil. |
| Authors: | Antonio Thompson |
| Resource Type: | eBook. |
| Subjects: | World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons, Ame, Prisoners of war--History--20th century.--Un, Prisoners of war--History--20th century.--Ge, Soldiers--History--20th century.--Germany, Germans--History--20th century.--United Stat, World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--Uni, World War, 1939-1945--United States |
| Categories: | HISTORY / Wars & Conflicts / World War II / General, HISTORY / Europe / Germany, HISTORY / United States / 20th Century |
| Database: | eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) |
| FullText | Links: – Type: ebook-pdf Text: Availability: 0 |
|---|---|
| Header | DbId: nlebk DbLabel: eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) An: 353447 RelevancyScore: 1031 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: eBook PubTypeId: ebook PreciseRelevancyScore: 1031.17456054688 |
| IllustrationInfo | |
| ImageInfo | – Size: thumb Target: https://rps2images.ebscohost.com/rpsweb/othumb?id=NL$353447$PDF&s=r – Size: medium Target: https://rps2images.ebscohost.com/rpsweb/othumb?id=NL$353447$PDF&s=d |
| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Men in German Uniform : POWs in America During World War II – Name: Abstract Label: Description Group: Ab Data: Examining the largest prisoner-of-war handling operation in U.S. history, this book offers a meticulous account of the myriad problems—as well as the impressive successes—that came with housing 371,000 German POWs on American soil during World War II. Antonio Thompson draws on extensive archival research to probe the various ways in which the U.S. government strove to comply with the Geneva Convention's mandate that enemy prisoners be moved from the war zone and given food, shelter, and clothing equal to that provided for American soldiers.While the prisoners became a ready source of manpower for the labor-starved American home front and received small wages in return, their stay in the United States generated more than a few difficulties, which included not only daunting logistics but also violence within the camps. Such violence was often blamed on Nazi influence and control; however, as Thompson points out, only a few of the prisoners were actually Nazis. Because the Germans had cobbled together military forces that included convicts, their own POWs, volunteers from neutral nations, and conscripts from occupied countries, the bonds that held these soldiers together amid the pressures of combat dissolved once they were placed behind barbed wire. When these “men in German uniform,” who were not always Germans, donned POW garb, their former social, racial, religious, and ethnic tensions quickly reemerged.To counter such troubles, American authorities organized various activities—including sports, arts, education, and religion—within the POW camps; some prisoners even participated in an illegal denazification program created by the U.S. government. Despite the problems, Thompson argues, the POW-housing program proved largely successful, as Americans maintained their reputation for fairness and humane treatment during a time of widespread turmoil. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Antonio+Thompson%22">Antonio Thompson</searchLink> – Name: TypePub Label: Resource Type Group: TypPub Data: eBook. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22World+War%2C+1939-1945--Prisoners+and+prisons%2C+Ame%22">World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons, Ame</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Prisoners+of+war--History--20th+century%2E--Un%22">Prisoners of war--History--20th century.--Un</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Prisoners+of+war--History--20th+century%2E--Ge%22">Prisoners of war--History--20th century.--Ge</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Soldiers--History--20th+century%2E--Germany%22">Soldiers--History--20th century.--Germany</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Germans--History--20th+century%2E--United+Stat%22">Germans--History--20th century.--United Stat</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22World+War%2C+1939-1945--Concentration+camps--Uni%22">World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--Uni</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22World+War%2C+1939-1945--United+States%22">World War, 1939-1945--United States</searchLink> – Name: SubjectBISAC Label: Categories Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="ZK" term="%22HISTORY+%2F+Wars+%26+Conflicts+%2F+World+War+II+%2F+General%22">HISTORY / Wars & Conflicts / World War II / General</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="ZK" term="%22HISTORY+%2F+Europe+%2F+Germany%22">HISTORY / Europe / Germany</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="ZK" term="%22HISTORY+%2F+United+States+%2F+20th+Century%22">HISTORY / United States / 20th Century</searchLink> |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=nlebk&AN=353447 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Classifications: – Code: 940.54727308931 Scheme: ddc Type: prePub Languages: – Code: eng Text: English Subjects: – SubjectFull: World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons, Ame Type: general – SubjectFull: Prisoners of war--History--20th century.--Un Type: general – SubjectFull: Prisoners of war--History--20th century.--Ge Type: general – SubjectFull: Soldiers--History--20th century.--Germany Type: general – SubjectFull: Germans--History--20th century.--United Stat Type: general – SubjectFull: World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--Uni Type: general – SubjectFull: World War, 1939-1945--United States Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Men in German Uniform : POWs in America During World War II Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Antonio Thompson – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Antonio Thompson IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 01 Type: published Y: 2010 – D: 04 M: 02 Type: profile Y: 2014 Identifiers: – Type: isbn-print Value: 9781572337282 – Type: isbn-print Value: 9781621902317 – Type: isbn-electronic Value: 9781572337428 Titles: – TitleFull: Men in German Uniform : POWs in America During World War II Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
