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Prisoner of the Swiss - A World War II Airman's Story (Hardcover)
Loot Price: R539
Discovery Miles 5 390
You Save: R68
(11%)
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Prisoner of the Swiss - A World War II Airman's Story (Hardcover)
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List price R607
Loot Price R539
Discovery Miles 5 390
You Save R68 (11%)
Expected to ship within 9 - 17 working days
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During World War II, 1,517 members of US aircrews were forced to
seek asylum in Switzerland. Most neutral countries found reason to
release US airmen from internment, but Switzerland took its
obligations under the Hague Convention more seriously than most.
The airmen were often incarcerated in local jails, and later
transferred to prison camps. The worst of these camps was
Wauwilermoos, where at least 161 U.S. airmen were sent for the
honorable offense of escaping. To this hellhole came Dan Culler,
the author of this incredible account of suffering and survival.
Not only did the prisoners sleep on lice-infested straw, were
malnourished and had virtually no hygiene facilities or access to
medical care but worse, the commandant of Wauwilermoos was a
die-hard Swiss Nazi. He allowed the mainly criminal occupants of
the camp to torture and rape Dan Culler with impunity. After many
months of such treatment, starving and ravaged by disease, he was
finally aided by a British officer. Betrayal dominated his cruel
fate - by the American authorities, by the Swiss, and in a last
twist in a second planned escape that turned out to be a trap. But
Dan Culler's courage and determination kept him alive. Finally
making it back home, he found he had been abandoned again.
Political expediency meant there was no such place as Wauwilermoos.
He has never been there, so he has never been a POW and didn't
qualify for any POW benefits or medical or mental treatment for his
many physical and emotional wounds. His struggle to make his peace
with his past forms the final part of the story. Rob Morris's
introduction and notes provide historical background and context,
including recent efforts to recognise the suffering of those
incarcerated in Switzerland and afford them full POW status.
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