Jump to content
Free downloads from TNA ×
The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

PoWs held in Germany


charlie2

Recommended Posts

A very interesting book, in the German language - Kriegsgefangene Völker https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_Py4DAAAAMAAJ#page/n0/mode/1up 

Written shortly after the war and contains some interesting tables, such as  numbers of PoWs held by year and nationality, deaths while in captivity by cause etc. Censoring of post, employment of PoWs and punishment are also mentioned

 

Charlie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, charlie962 said:

produced by who and for whom ?

 

Produced on behalf of the German Ministry of Defence.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Charlie

Because it is in German I wont understand a word but I am curious to know why they invested in such a book in 1921 ?

Charlie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Charlie,

part of the reason is as GreyC correctly said - justification. To quote the author “ due to the accusations of the foreign people and press, it became necessary after the fall of the German Empire, to produce a true picture of life as a prisoner in Germany from the German point of view”

When the histories are written shortly after any conflict it is the history as written by the victor which becomes the accepted side of events. It seems to me as though the author realises this and in his own words “With confidence I leave judgement firstly to the reader of today burdened by the events of the present time and also to the reader of a more enlightened future - the cosmopolite as a thinking reader”

 

Charlie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...