Download or read book Prisoners of the Empire written by Sarah Kovner and published by . This book was released on 2020-09-15 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many Allied POWs in the Pacific theater of World War II suffered terribly. But abuse wasn't a matter of Japanese policy, as is commonly assumed. Sarah Kovner shows poorly trained guards and rogue commanders inflicted the most horrific damage. Camps close to centers of imperial power tended to be less violent, and many POWs died from friendly fire.

Download or read book Long Hard Road written by Thomas Saylor and published by Minnesota Historical Society. This book was released on 2008-10-14 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scores of WWII POWs offer lessons of wartime as they remember the terror and hardship of their days in captivity.

Download or read book The Anguish of Surrender written by Ulrich A. Straus and published by University of Washington Press. This book was released on 2011-10-01 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On December 6, 1941, Ensign Kazuo Sakamaki was one of a handful of men selected to skipper midget subs on a suicide mission to breach Pearl Harbor’s defenses. When his equipment malfunctioned, he couldn’t find the entrance to the harbor. He hit several reefs, eventually splitting the sub, and swam to shore some miles from Pearl Harbor. In the early dawn of December 8, he was picked up on the beach by two Japanese American MPs on patrol. Sakamaki became Prisoner No. 1 of the Pacific War. Japan’s no-surrender policy did not permit becoming a POW. Sakamaki and his fellow soldiers and sailors had been indoctrinated to choose between victory and a heroic death. While his comrades had perished, he had survived. By becoming a prisoner of war, Sakamaki believed he had brought shame and dishonor on himself, his family, his community, and his nation, in effect relinquishing his citizenship. Sakamaki fell into despair and, like so many Japanese POWs, begged his captors to kill him. Based on the author’s interviews with dozens of former Japanese POWs along with memoirs only recently coming to light, The Anguish of Surrender tells one of the great unknown stories of World War II. Beginning with an examination of Japan’s prewar ultranationalist climate and the harsh code that precluded the possibility of capture, the author investigates the circumstances of surrender and capture of men like Sakamaki and their experiences in POW camps. Many POWs, ill and starving after days wandering in the jungles or hiding out in caves, were astonished at the superior quality of food and medical treatment they received. Contrary to expectations, most Japanese POWs, psychologically unprepared to deal with interrogations, provided information to their captors. Trained Allied linguists, especially Japanese Americans, learned how to extract intelligence by treating the POWs humanely. Allied intelligence personnel took advantage of lax Japanese security precautions to gain extensive information from captured documents. A few POWs, recognizing Japan’s certain defeat, even assisted the Allied war effort to shorten the war. Far larger numbers staged uprisings in an effort to commit suicide. Most sought to survive, suffered mental anguish, and feared what awaited them in their homeland. These deeply human stories follow Japanese prisoners through their camp experiences to their return to their welcoming families and reintegration into postwar society. These stories are told here for the first time in English.

Download or read book American POWs of World War II written by Tom Bird and published by Praeger. This book was released on 1992-10-09 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During World War II, thousands of American servicemen were taken prisoner by the Axis powers. They were beaten and tortured; over half never reached home again. Of those who did, many never fully recovered from what they saw, what they lived through, and the feelings that so racked their lives. Almost all have or had a drinking problem. Some suffer such consistently extreme flashbacks that they are forced to use sleeping medication just to help them make it through the night. The ten interviews included in this work were chosen from dozens of contact POW accounts. Theirs are stories of hardship, pain, survival, and at times, enlightenment. From the introduction to Mario Garbin's interview: Mario was one of the more fortunate POWs who put to use in his later life what he learned from his incarceration. At the present, he is retired from over twenty-six years of service with the Chrysler corporation. . . . Although powerful and charismatic, he still cried uncontrollably during one portion of the interview and had to pause several times to keep his composure in other portions. Hidden in the tales of these men is a message we can all relate to, making this book a must read not only for the ex-POW or World War II history buff, but for any reader who cares about life and freedom.

Download or read book Nebraska POW Camps written by Melissa Amateis Marsh and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2014-04-15 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During World War II, thousands of Axis prisoners of war were held throughout Nebraska in base camps that included Fort Robinson, Camp Scottsbluff and Camp Atlanta. Many Nebraskans did not view the POWs as "evil Nazis." To them, they were ordinary men and very human. And while their stay was not entirely free from conflict, many former captives returned to the Cornhusker State to begin new lives after the cessation of hostilities. Drawing on first-person accounts from soldiers, former POWs and Nebraska residents, as well as archival research, Melissa Marsh delves into the neglected history of Nebraska's POW camps.

Download or read book American POWs in World War II written by Harry Spiller and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2015-03-10 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These accounts describe the battle and POW experiences of twelve American military men captured by either Germany or Japan during World War II. Brutality, frostbite, disease, hunger, strenuous working conditions, and the jubilation of release are presented in the words of the soldiers, who describe such events as the Bataan Death March, the battle for Wake Island, D-Day, and the Battle of the Bulge and vividly portray the camps where they watched their comrades in arms suffer and perish. The book also features photographs, maps, camp lists, and POW regulations.

Download or read book The Enemy Among Us written by David Fiedler and published by Missouri History Museum. This book was released on 2003 with total page 488 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "For residents of the mostly small towns where these camps were located, the arrival of enemy POWs engendered a range of emotions - first fear and apprehension, then curiosity, and finally, in many cases, a feeling of fondness for the men they had come to know and like."--BOOK JACKET.

Download or read book Nazis on the Potomac written by Robert K. Sutton and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2022-01-07 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A fascinating account” of the secret Virginia facility code-named PO Box 1142, where the US gathered intelligence and interrogated German prisoners (Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International). About fifteen miles south of Washington, DC, Fort Hunt, Virginia is a green open space enjoyed by residents. But not so long ago, it was the site of one of the highest-level clandestine operations of World War II. Shortly after the US entered the war, the military realized it had to work on exploiting any advantages it might gain on the Axis Powers. One part of this endeavor was to establish a secret facility not too close to—but also not too far from—the Pentagon, which would interrogate and eavesdrop on the highest-level Nazi prisoners and also translate and analyze captured German war documents. That complex was established at Fort Hunt, known by the code name: PO Box 1142. The American servicemen who did the interrogating and translating were young, bright, hardworking, and absolutely dedicated to their work. Many of them were Jews who’d escaped Nazi Germany as children—some had come to America with their parents, others had escaped alone, but their experiences, and what they’d been forced to leave behind, meant they had personal motivation to do whatever they could to defeat Nazi Germany. They were perfect for the difficult and complex job at hand. They never used corporal punishment in interrogations of German soldiers but developed and deployed dozens of tricks to gain information. The Allies won the war against Hitler for a host of reasons, discussed in hundreds of volumes. This is the first book to describe the intelligence operations at PO Box 1142 and their part in that success. It will never be known how many American lives were spared, or whether the war ended sooner with the programs at Fort Hunt, but it’s doubtless that they made a difference—and gave the young Jewish men stationed there the chance to combat the evil that had befallen them and their families. “Fills a gap in World War II intelligence history by documenting the origins of a number of European Theater intelligence successes thanks to the work of Ft. Hunt interrogators.” —Studies in Intelligence Includes photographs

Download or read book Unjust Enrichment written by Linda Goetz Holmes and published by Stackpole Books. This book was released on 2017-09-15 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The use of American POW's as slave labor by Japanese companies is the great unresolved issue of the Second World War in the Pacific. Unjust Enrichment provides a forum for American servicemen to tell their own stories, while Linda Holmes gives the reader the historic context to recognize the seriousness of the crimes. Bio: Linda Goetz Holmes has been interviewing and writing about World War II prisoners in the Pacific for over 30 years. She is the first historian appointed to the U.S. Government Interagency Working Group, formed in 1999 under the aegis of the National Archives to locate and declassify material about World War II war crimes.

Download or read book Former U S World War II POW s a Struggle for Justice written by U. S. Senate and published by . This book was released on 2012-10-23 with total page 86 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, UNITED STATES SENATE,ONE HUNDRED SIXTH CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION, ON DETERMINING WHETHER THOSE WHO PROFITED FROM THE FORCED LABOR OF AMERICAN WORLD WAR II PRISONERS OF WAR ONCEHELD AND FORCED INTO LABOR FOR PRIVATE JAPANESE COMPANIES HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO REMEDY THEIR WRONGS AND WHETHER THE UNITED STATES CAN HELP FACILITATE AN APPROPRIATERESOLUTION

Download or read book World War II POW Camps in Ohio written by Dr. James Van Keuren and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2018 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During World War II, more than six thousand prisoners of war resided at Camp Perry near Port Clinton and its branch camps at Columbus, Rossford, Cambridge, Celina, Bowling Green, Defiance, Marion, Parma and Wilmington. From the start, the camps were a study in contradictions. The Italian prisoners who arrived first charmed locals with their affable, easygoing natures, while their German successors often put on a serious, intractable front. Some local residents fondly recall working alongside the prisoners and reuniting with them later in life. Others held the prisoners in disdain, feeling that they were coddled while natives struggled with day-to-day needs. Drawing on first-person accounts from soldiers, former POWs and residents, as well as archival research, Dr. Jim Van Keuren delves into the neglected history of Ohio's POW camps.

Download or read book Men in German Uniform written by Antonio Thompson and published by Univ. of Tennessee Press. This book was released on 2010-11-16 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examining the largest prisoner-of-war handling operation in U.S. history, this book offers a meticulous account of the myriad history, this book offers a meticulous account of the myriad problems—as well as the impressive successes—that came with 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.

Download or read book Former U S World War Two POW s written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents State estimates of personal income. It presents the following estimates for each State, for the eight Census regions, and for the U.S. Includes: annual estimates of total and per capita personal income for 1929-93; annual estimates of total and per capita disposable personal income for 1948-93; annual estimates of personal income by major type of payment and by industry for 1929-93, and quarterly estimates of total personal income for 1969-93. Extensive maps, charts and tables.

Download or read book Former U s World War II Pows written by United States. Congress and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-01-08 with total page 86 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Former U.S. World War II POW's : a struggle for justice : hearing before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundred Sixth Congress, second session ... June 28, 2000.

Download or read book Profiles in Survival written by John C. Shively and published by Indiana Historical Society. This book was released on 2011 with total page 641 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The stories of seven men and one woman from Indiana who survived the horrors of captivity under the Japanese in the Pacific during World War II are captured in vivid detail. These Hoosiers were ordered to surrender following the fall of Bataan and Corregidor in 1942. It was the largest surrender of American armed forces in U.S. history and the beginning of three years of hell starting with the infamous Bataan Death March, facing brutal conditions in POW camps in the Philippines, and horrific journeys to Japan for some onboard what came to be known as “hellships.” Former Indiana governor Edgar D. Whitcomb, one of those featured in the book, notes that the American prisoners had to endure “unimaginable misery and brutality at the hands of sadistic Japanese guards,” as they were routinely beaten and many were executed for the most minor offenses, or for mere sport. In addition to Whitcomb, those profiled include Irvin Alexander, Harry Brown, William Clark, James Duckworth, Eleanor Garen, Melvin McCoy, and Hugh Sims.

Download or read book The Complete Book of World War II USA Pow Internment Camp Chits written by David E. Seelye and published by . This book was released on 2019-01-10 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is an often forgotten piece of World War II history that between 1942 and 1946, 425,000 Germany, Italian, and even some Japanese prisoners of war were held at 700 POW camps in 46 U.S. states. All except the Japanese got here on troop transport ships that would have otherwise returned from Europe empty. This is a comprehensive look at one of the overlooked, yet more intriguing aspects of the camps' operations ¿ the money, or ¿chits¿ that the POWs used for discretionary expenses (canteen) in their camps. The camps issued their own ticket-like chits in booklets prepared under contract by private printers. This is the most comprehensive work ever done on the subject. The book contains brief histories for most of the camps, and even some anecdotes. Chits and the booklets they came in are illustrated in color. Prices are given in used and new conditions with a new numbering system devised by the authors. Historical maps, documents, and photographs are interspersed throughout.

Download or read book Bataan Survivor written by David L. Hardee and published by University of Missouri Press. This book was released on 2017-12-01 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A forgotten account, written in the immediate aftermath of World War II, which vividly portrays the valor, sacrifice, suffering, and liberation of the defenders of Bataan and Corregidor through the eyes of one survivor. The personal memoir of Colonel David L. Hardee, first drafted at sea from April-May 1945 following his liberation from Japanese captivity, is a thorough treatment of his time in the Philippines. A career infantry officer, Hardee fought during the Battle of Bataan as executive officer of the Provisional Air Corps Regiment. Captured in April 1942 after the American surrender on Bataan, Hardee survived the Bataan Death March and proceeded to endure a series of squalid prison camps. A debilitating hernia left Hardee too ill to travel to Japan in 1944, making him one of the few lieutenant colonels to remain in the Philippines and subsequently survive the war. As a primary account written almost immediately after his liberation, Hardee’s memoir is fresh, vivid, and devoid of decades of faded memories or contemporary influences associated with memoirs written years after an experience. This once-forgotten memoir has been carefully edited, illustrated and annotated to unlock the true depths of Hardee’s experience as a soldier, prisoner, and liberated survivor of the Pacific War.