In enemy hands: South Africa's POWs in World War II, by Karen Horn

In enemy hands: South Africa's POWs in World War II, by Karen Horn. Jonathan Ball Publishers. Johannesburg; Cape Town, South Africa 2015. ISBN 9781868426515 / ISBN 978-1-86842-651-5

For her book In enemy hand South Africa's POWs in World War II, Dr. Karen Horn interviewed former POWs. Together with written memoirs and archival documents, their interviews reveal rich narratives of hardship, endurance, humour, longing and self-discovery. Instead of fighting, these men adapted to another war, one which was fought on the inside of many prison camps. It was a war against hunger and deprivation, at times against ever-encroaching despondency and low morale amongst their companions in captivity.

Karen Horn  

When we read about war, we are more often than not spellbound by the heroic acts of the men in the firing line, their bravery, endurance and all too often, their sacrifices. We speculate and wonder about the heart-wrenching, or heartless, decisions and military tactics of the generals and politicians who put these young men at risk. Today, books on World War II are plentiful, yet for some reason, there seem to be remarkably few publications on South Africa's role in this war, which had such an influence on how we live today. There is even less written about those who participated on the margins of the war, especially those who were physically removed from the battlefields through capture by enemy forces. South Africa's prisoners of war during World War II, their experiences and recollections, were almost forgotten. In 2010 I tracked down a number of former POWs, all of whom expressed surprise at being asked to share their experiences of almost 70 years earlier. Together with written memoirs and archival documents, their interviews revealed rich narratives of hardship, endurance, humour, longing and self-discovery. Instead of fighting, these men adapted to another war, one which was fought on the inside of many prison camps. It was a war against hunger and deprivation, at times against ever-encroaching despondency and low morale amongst their companions in captivity. Considering their experiences, I found it astonishing that almost all of them claimed not to be heroes of any kind. Almost all of the former POWs stated this 'fact' at the beginning of each interview. When one considers that they returned home in 1945 to a country which soon afterwards tried its utmost to promote national amnesia with regard to its participation in the war and that the official war history project was unceremoniously stopped, it is perhaps understandable that these men found it unusual that someone would be interested in their stories many years later. However, as one of the former POWs put it, they 'saw history from the inside', and we would do well to take note of what they saw. Seeing the war from the enemy's point of view and seeing what it did to its citizens changed how all of them viewed the world. If anyone can teach us anything about the futility of war, it is these men who looked the enemy in the eye every day. This book is about these heroes, the POWs who came back home and who carried on with life. [...]

This is an excerpt from the book In enemy hands: South Africa's POWs in World War II, by Karen Horn.

Title: In enemy hands
Subtitle: South Africa's POWs in World War II
Author: Karen Horn
Genre: War history
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers
Johannesburg; Cape Town, South Africa 2015
ISBN 9781868426515 / ISBN 978-1-86842-651-5
Softcover, 16 x 24 cm, 308 pages, several b/w photographs