Men in German Uniform
Title | Men in German Uniform PDF eBook |
Author | Antonio Thompson |
Publisher | Univ. of Tennessee Press |
Pages | 193 |
Release | 2010-11-16 |
Genre | History |
ISBN | 1572337427 |
Examining the largest prisoner-of-war handling operation in U.S. history, this book offers a meticulous account of the myriad history, this book offers a meticulous account of the myriad problems—as well as the impressive successes—that came with problems—as well as the impressive successes—that came with housing 371,000 German POWs on American soil during World War II. Antonio Thompson draws on extensive archival research to probe the various ways in which the U.S. government strove to comply with the Geneva Convention’s mandate that enemy prisoners be moved from the war zone and given food, shelter, and clothing equal to that provided for American soldiers. While the prisoners became a ready source of manpower for the labor- starved American home front and received small wages in return, their stay in the United States generated more than a few difficulties, which included not only daunting logistics but also violence within the camps. Such violence was often blamed on Nazi influence and control; however, as Thompson points out, only a few of the prisoners were actually Nazis. Because the Germans had cobbled together military forces that included convicts, their own POWs, volunteers from neutral nations, and conscripts from occupied countries, the bonds that held these soldiers together amid the pressures of combat dissolved once they were placed behind barbed wire. When these “men in German uniform,” who were not always Germans, donned POW garb, their former social, racial, religious, and ethnic tensions quickly reemerged. To counter such troubles, American authorities organized various activities—including sports, arts, education, and religion—within the POW camps; some prisoners even participated in an illegal denazification program created by the U.S. government. Despite the problems, Thompson argues, the POW-housing program proved largely successful, as Americans maintained their reputation for fairness and humane treatment during a time of widespread turmoil.
Deutsche Soldaten
Title | Deutsche Soldaten PDF eBook |
Author | Agustin Saiz |
Publisher | Casemate Publishers |
Pages | 159 |
Release | 2008-11 |
Genre | History |
ISBN | 1932033963 |
A visual history of the German soldier, providing a unique insight into how they lived, ate, maintained themselves at the front, and how they behaved when out of line, through a collection of personal items and artifacts they left behind.
German Army Uniforms of World War II
Title | German Army Uniforms of World War II PDF eBook |
Author | Stephen Bull |
Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
Pages | 257 |
Release | 2021-02-04 |
Genre | History |
ISBN | 147283805X |
In the years after World War I, the defeated and much-reduced German Army developed new clothing and personal equipment that drew upon the lessons learned in the trenches. In place of the wide variety of uniforms and insignia that had been worn by the Imperial German Army, a standardized approach was followed, culminating in the uniform items introduced in the 1930s as the Nazi Party came to shape every aspect of German national life. The outbreak of war in 1939 prompted further adaptations and simplifications of uniforms and insignia, while the increasing use of camouflaged items and the accelerated pace of weapons development led to the appearance of new clothing and personal equipment. Medals and awards increased in number as the war went on, with grades being added for existing awards and new decorations introduced to reflect battlefield feats. Specialists such as mountain troops, tank crews and combat engineers were issued distinctive uniform items and kit, while the ever-expanding variety of fronts on which the German Army fought – from the North African desert to the Russian steppe – prompted the rapid development of clothing and equipment for different climates and conditions. In addition, severe shortages of raw materials and the demands of clothing and equipping an army that numbered in the millions forced the simplification of many items and the increasing use of substitute materials in their manufacture. In this fully illustrated book noted authority Dr Stephen Bull examines the German Army's wide range of uniforms, personal equipment, weapons, medals and awards, and offers a comprehensive guide to the transformation that the German Army soldier underwent in the period from September 1939 to May 1945.
German Uniforms of the Third Reich, 1933-1945
Title | German Uniforms of the Third Reich, 1933-1945 PDF eBook |
Author | Brian Leigh Davis |
Publisher | Arms & Armour |
Pages | 222 |
Release | 1997 |
Genre | History |
ISBN | 9781854094209 |
During the Third Reich, almost every German wore a uniform, whether military or civil. Nearly 250 of the most important ones appear here, modeled by their most typical wearers. The paintings -- based on contemporary photographs for accuracy-depict all the primary styles ptive sections explain each uniform's place in the hierarchy, the battle roles of the wearer, and a fascinating range of detail.
German Military Police Units 1939–45
Title | German Military Police Units 1939–45 PDF eBook |
Author | Gordon Williamson |
Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
Pages | 113 |
Release | 2012-06-20 |
Genre | History |
ISBN | 178096997X |
The military policeman must be one of the least appreciated yet most indispensable military figures in modern history. In the mobile warfare of the 20th century no army could keep its vital supply routes open without the military policeman. This book documents the organisation, uniforms and insignia of the many and varied German military police units of World War II. Their duties included traffic control; maintaining military order and discipline; collection and escorting prisoners of war; prevention of looting; disarming civilians; checking captured enemy soldiers for documents; collection of fallen enemy propaganda leaflets and providing street patrols in occupied areas.
The German Army 1939–45 (2)
Title | The German Army 1939–45 (2) PDF eBook |
Author | Nigel Thomas |
Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
Pages | 107 |
Release | 2012-09-20 |
Genre | History |
ISBN | 1782004408 |
Hitler first considered an invasion of Great Britain in autumn 1940, then scheduled Operation Barbarossa, the conquest of the European part of the Soviet Union, for May 1941. Anxious to emulate Hitler's successes, the Italian dictator Mussolini embarked upon unnecessary military adventures in North Africa and the Balkans, which forced Hitler's intervention, diverting and depleting precious German resources, and a six-week postponement of Barbarossa. In this second of four volumes [Men-at-Arms 311, 316, 326 & 330] on the German Army of the Second World War, Nigel Thomas examines the uniforms and insignia of the forces involved in North Africa and the Balkans. Men-at-Arms 311, 316, 326, 330 and 336 are also available in a single volume special edition titled 'German Army in World War II'.
Comrades in Arms
Title | Comrades in Arms PDF eBook |
Author | Tom Smith |
Publisher | Berghahn Books |
Pages | 280 |
Release | 2020-02-03 |
Genre | Social Science |
ISBN | 1789205565 |
Without question, the East German National People’s Army was a profoundly masculine institution that emphasized traditional ideals of stoicism, sacrifice, and physical courage. Nonetheless, as this innovative study demonstrates, depictions of the military in the film and literature of the GDR were far more nuanced and ambivalent. Departing from past studies that have found in such portrayals an unchanging, idealized masculinity, Comrades in Arms shows how cultural works both before and after reunification place violence, physical vulnerability, and military theatricality, as well as conscripts’ powerful emotions and desires, at the center of soldiers’ lives and the military institution itself.