Allied Pow's and the Collapse of Nazi Germany. . - The Last Escape: The Untold Story of Allied Prisoners of War in Germany 1944-45 - book review

Contemporary Review, May, 2003 by James Munson

The Last Escape: The Untold Story of Allied Prisoners of War in Germany 1944-45. John Nichol and Tony Rennell. Viking. [pounds sterling]20.00. 471 pages. ISBN 0-670-91094-5.

Among the horrors that the Second World War produced, the plight of Allied prisoners of war has ranked fairly low, after concentration camps, the suffering of the Russian people and the bombing of Dresden. This book is not a history of prisoners of war in German camps. It is rather a history of what happened to p-o-w's in the final months of the war, when Germany was collapsing and when the massive Soviet front pushed inexorably west. To make escape more difficult, German authorities had moved most captured soldiers, sailors and airmen to the east which meant that these men were left facing the oncoming Soviets. Fear was mixed with a breakdown in the Nazi command structure to cause confusion. Even today no one knows for sure how many p-o-w's there were, how many were put onto forced marches or how many died.

Decisions were taken to move allied p-o-w's to the west. It was a confusing period and from it a confused picture emerged. Because this book's story of these forced marches is almost totally based on surviving diaries and talks with veterans the account we have can also sometimes appear confusing. Some men suffered terribly as they were forced out of their camps at a moment's notice without adequate clothing, boots and food. Some saw or experienced inhumane treatment at the hands of their guards for which no excuse can ever be offered. Men were beaten and murdered in cold blood, forced to march hundreds of miles in one of Germany's coldest winters, made to sleep on the snow without rents or heat. Starvation and dysentery (which affected 80 per cent of the men) killed many whilst the latter reduced men to inhuman conditions.

Fear was the greatest emotion and one that survivors today recall most vividly. There was the fear of those who had not been moved that they would be captured by the Soviets and simply transferred into new camps even further east. There was the fear that death would claim them en route. There was the fear, for which there was some justification, that the SS (who were being put in charge of the camps) would round up p-o-w's as a bargaining counter with the Allied troops. There was the fear as the men moved west that they would be killed by their own troops. All these fears were justified: those men who were 'liberated' by the Soviets were used by them to force Britain and the U.S. to return the thousands of Russian troops to certain deaths. Men were killed by Allied troops and aeroplanes. Himmler did want to use p-o-w's to bargain with Eisenhower and Montgomery.

This book not only tells these men's stories but gives readers an insight into the fear and horror that p-o-w's faced. It is not an enjoyable book for it is not an enjoyable story but it is one that needed to be told. There are some villains and some heroes, brave men who risked their lives for others. Occasionally there is even some humour. Mostly it is the story of individuals told in their own words. To these are added an account of life in p-o-w camps, the efforts of governments in London and Washington to cope with the crisis, the internal struggles among Nazi leaders, the reception the men received back home and the future some of them made for themselves.

Yet it is the marches themselves and the individual stories that stick in the mind: the importance of a 'buddy' to keep one going, the bravery of Sgt. 'Dixie' Dean in standing up to Nazi bullies, the American soldier who risked his life to steal some cream to help his mate. The stories of men's final release and of their homecomings can be heart-wrenching. Whilst one can make one or two criticisms -- as Churchill was not Tony Blair it is wrong to refer to troops as 'his armies' -- they were the King's and it is wrong to imply that Churchill was 'head of state' because he was head of the government -- these are relatively minor. As someone whose uncle was listed as 'missing in action' and whose fate has never been learnt, the reviewer is personally grateful for this book. The authors are to be warmly congratulated for having written a most moving book and for having set the historical record straight.