Just Finished Reading: The Escape Artists – A Band of Daredevil Pilots and the Greatest Prison Breakout of WW1 by Neal Bascomb (FP: 2018) [267pp] 

Most of us will be familiar with the PoW camp breakouts of WW2 popularised by such films as ‘The Great Escape’ but what about the Great War? One thing that I hadn’t realised, until reading this interesting narrative, was the fact that prisoners at that time where not covered by what we now think of as the Geneva Convention. The Third Geneva Convention "relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War" was only adopted in 1929, so any prisoners taken from 1914-1918 would have been covered under the earlier, and much less precise or robust, Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907. This meant that at least some of the captured could be forced to work for the opposing side and could have their freedoms restricted on top of their actual captivity. Indeed, they could be denied all of the ‘rights’ including their right to life itself with only the possibility of retribution after the war or the fear of reprisals against their own soldiers in captivity to stop them. The running or various camps – in Germany in this case – was, by and large, up to the officer in charge under whatever direction he had been given from his superiors. 

What was also clear, as we were still in the era of Edwardian sensibilities and the (mostly) rigid class system, was that officers and ‘other ranks’ were treated VERY differently within the PoW system. Although not actually in the regulations of the British Army it was considered the duty of an officer to at least try to escape. If an enlisted man did likewise, and was caught, it was entirely possible that he would either be shot or, at the very least, sent somewhere to serve out the rest of his captivity doing hard labour for the enemy. If an officer successfully escaped and was later recaptured, they might very well be punished – usually be a period of solitary confinement and loss of any privileges – but they would, by and large, be physically safe. So, it’s no surprise that any escape, attempted or successful, was undertaken by officers only although assisted by their enlisted men who were essentially ‘escaping’ by proxy. 

The main thrust of the narrative was the escape of around 30 captives – Army and RFC in the main – from the Holzminden camp where the most persistent and hardened escapees from other camps were held. [Side note: Its always amused me the way that the authorities kept the most dangerous people in the same place so that they could plan things together and learn from each other's mistakes and who, eventually, expressed shock and surprised when the best of the best managed to break out of supposedly escape proof facilities]. The place did have a ‘Colditz’ feel to it which helped with visualisation and the author made a valid point when pointing out that the escape ‘philosophy’ often felt familiar (from the arguably much more famous WW2 escapes) because the escapes of WW1 actually informed the escape and evasion training given during WW2. 

I won’t give too much away about the escapes and how they were accomplished (from various camps before Holzminden as well as the place itself) but needless to say they were as various and as excentric as the officers devising them. This is/was one of the aspects of war that I haven’t really thought about or read about previously, but I think I’ll see if I can pick up a bit more on the subject. Although obviously written by a non-historian this was still an interesting and sometimes moving tale of fortitude, grit and determination under often extreme circumstances. Recommended if you’re interested in this aspect of warfare or just want some ideas of how to get out of a secure facility. 

"It's not likely to be a coincidence that the global shift away from democracy has tracked so closely with the advent of the Internet, the introduction of smart phones, and the widespread use of social media."

Barbara F Walter, How Civil Wars Start and How to Stop Them.

Impressive! Although I did wonder about Sweden for a bit, until I realised that I was probably thinking about Denmark.... 

Happy Birthday: Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by the nickname Bono, is an Irish singer-songwriter and activist. He is a founding member, the lead vocalist, and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his impassioned vocal style as well as his grandiose song writing and performance style. His lyrics frequently include social and political themes, and religious imagery inspired by his Christian faith.

Born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, he attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where in 1976 he began dating his future wife, Alison Stewart, as well as forming, with schoolmates, the band that became U2. During U2's early years, Bono's lyrics contributed to the group's rebellious and spiritual tone. As the band matured, his lyrics became inspired more by personal experiences shared with the other members. As a member of U2, Bono has received 22 Grammy Awards and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Hilarious......!

Just Finished Reading: News From Berlin by Otto De Kat (FP: 2012) [203pp] 

Switzerland, June 1941. It was a dangerous whisper in a public place. Dutch diplomat Oscar Verschuur was delighted to see his daughter Emma and her German husband Carl on an official trip from Berlin. What he didn’t expect was the content of her whispered message. She had discovered from her husband that Germany was about to attack its supposed ally and invade the Soviet Union. She even had a date, June 22nd, and a name that meant nothing to her: Barbarossa. But what was Oscar supposed to do with this information? Who could he tell? His Dutch colleagues? Hardly. The neutral Americans? The British? Would they believe him? Would they accept any news out of Berlin except as misinformation or simply lies? Even if he managed to pass the information on, even if an Allied contact believed him, would the Russians? They had little love for the capitalists and assumed, rightly to be honest, that they desired to break the Axis-Soviet Pact, so what would their reaction be? What was worse was the fact that Emma’s actions were bound to have been seen and reported back to Berlin. Oscar was often under surveillance and if the warning could be traced back to him then his daughter, and his son-in-law, would be real danger. But to do nothing? To let the attack go ahead unhindered? Could he live with that? The deaths of thousands, or even millions, that his words might avoid... What to do... What to do... 

On the face of things this sounds like a pretty standard “race against time” espionage ‘thriller’. There are some *faint* echoes of that, but this is much, much more. Oscar is a man of secrets. No one is quite sure what his function is and exactly what he’s doing in Switzerland. His family is, like so many others during the war, scattered across Europe. His only daughter is in Berlin under constant threat of Allied bombing attacks. His wife Kate is in London savouring the drop in German air attacks (as the Luftwaffe presumably reposition on the soon to be Eastern Front). Oscar has just started an affair with a fellow Dutch refugee and Kate is still thinking about her first husband who died in Italy before the war. All of the main, and subsidiary, characters have deep believable backstories and motivations for what they do – or don’t do. They’re all real in that sense as is the central tension created by Emma and the leak from the German Foreign Office. We now know that Stalin had been warned repeatedly by the Allies (and by his own military intelligence!) that an attack was coming but refused to accept the fact and his country paid a very heavy price for that denial. Oscar, of course, didn’t know any of this (unfortunately for his sleepless nights) but OUR knowledge of that fact makes his situation all the more dramatic I feel. 

I’d been looking forward to reading this since I picked it up in my Indie bookshop last year. By page 3 I knew I’d picked a winner. The prose is sublime, the characters very well drawn and it was overall a delight from beginning to end. I think the author has 3-4 more books in translation, so I’ll be looking out for them. One of the highlights of the year. Highly recommended for lovers of well-written character driven stories. 

Translated from the Dutch by Ina Rilke.

[Oh, I almost forgot.... There was ONE disappointment. I was hoping that this would add Switzerland to my fictional world tour but, 'unfortunately' the 'action' was too split between Berlin, London, Lisbon (briefly) and various parts of Switzerland to count.]  

Victory in Europe @ 80.