Table of Contents

Acknowledgements, List of abbreviations; Current place names; Introduction; 1. The prisoners of war and the German women; 2. The legal framework, 3. The relations; 4. Discovery; 5. The trials; 6. Behind bars; 7. Case studies; 8. Memory; Conclusion. Resistance, dissent, opposition?; Bibliography.

Promotional Information

An innovative study of empathy, sex, and love between prisoners of war and German women during World War II.

About the Author

Raffael Scheck is Audrey Wade Hittinger Katz and Sheldon Toby Katz Distinguished Teaching Professor of History at Colby College, Maine. He is the author of six books including Hitler's African Victims: The German Army Massacres of Black French Soldiers in 1940 (2006), and French Colonial Soldiers in German Captivity during World War II (2015). He is currently working on a new book project on the meaning of the German victory in the West in 1940.

Reviews

'A scholarly masterpiece. It tackles one of the most fascinating problems and most flaunted prohibitions of the Nazi racial state, the love affairs between prisoners of war from the western Allies and German women. Drawing on an unparalleled range of sources from all sides, Raffael Scheck has written the definitive account. A must read.' Nicholas Stargardt, University of Oxford
'Scheck's meticulous investigation of the military prosecution of illicit relationships reveals the contradictions and absurdity of the Nazi faith in 'the healthy feeling of the Volk' as a means of enforcing racial consciousness. His juxtaposition of surprising tolerance and harsh punishments demonstrates the power of the human need for connection in face of the hatreds of war.' Annette Timm, University of Calgary
'Based on wonderfully rich archival sources, this important addition to scholarship takes seriously intimate relationships between prisoners of war and civilians in twentieth-century Europe. Raffael Scheck is to be commended for his on-going insistence that narratives of 'everyday' women and men in wartime deserve to be highlighted.' Lisa Todd, University of New Brunswick
'This ground-breaking work brings to light the many intimate relationships between Western POWs and local women in Nazi Germany. Resisting simple narratives of guilt, innocence or heroism under duress, Scheck underlines the complexities of relationships 'between enemies'. With consummate skill, he connects these moving individual stories to much broader questions about wartime justice, ground-level war experiences, and international relations.' Julia Torrie, St. Thomas University
'... fascinating ... Scheck is to be congratulated, not only for the sheer amount of legwork he has put into archival research in several different countries, but also for his careful, nuanced interpretations.' Matthew Stibbe, European History Quarterly