L0810

By late April 1945, the war in Europe was effectively over. Germany was collapsing, and Allied armies were sweeping across what remained of the Reich, liberating camps and accepting surrenders by the thousands. Most German commanders saw the writing on the wall. They surrendered peacefully, handed over their prisoners, and avoided unnecessary bloodshed. They wanted … Read more

In March 1945, a captured Panzer general was brought to Third Army headquarters in Germany. He was tall and rigid, the kind of Wehrmacht officer who still believed Germany could win the war. His uniform was immaculate despite days in captivity, and his Iron Cross was still pinned to his chest. Intelligence officers wanted to … Read more

In May 1945, Germany surrendered and the war in Europe ended. But for 5,000 American soldiers, the war was not over. They were prisoners liberated from German camps by Soviet forces. Under the Yalta agreement, they should have been returned to American control immediately. They were not. They were held in Soviet-controlled territory, behind a … Read more

In April 1945, at a POW camp outside Munich, an American mess sergeant faced a problem he had never encountered before. He had just served lunch to 200 German prisoners: standard rations of bread, soup, and canned meat. The food was good, better than what most Germans were eating at the time. But the prisoners … Read more

In April 1945, a German town had just surrendered to the Third Army. General George S. Patton was there to inspect the surrender, walking through the town square and meeting with the local German commander to formalize the terms. The Wehrmacht officer was a colonel, tall and gray-haired, a career soldier who had fought on … Read more