The Stigma of Surrender: German Prisoners, British Captors, and Manhood in the Great War and Beyond

by Brian K. Feltman

Overview

Approximately 9 million soldiers fell into enemy hands from 1914 to 1918, but historians have only recently begun to recognize the prisoner of war's significance to the history of the Great War. Examining the experiences of the approximately 130,000 German prisoners held in the United Kingdom during World War I, historian Brian K. Feltman brings wartime captivity back into focus.

Many German men of the Great War defined themselves and their manhood through their defense of the homeland. They often looked down on captured soldiers as potential deserters or cowards—and when they themselves fell into enemy hands, they were forced to cope with the stigma of surrender. This book examines the legacies of surrender and shows that the desire to repair their image as honorable men led many former prisoners toward an alliance with Hitler and Nazism after 1933. By drawing attention to the shame of captivity, this book does more than merely deepen our understanding of German soldiers' time in British hands. It illustrates the ways that popular notions of manhood affected soldiers' experience of captivity, and it sheds new light on perceptions of what it means to be a man at war.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781469633510
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	08/25/2016
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Brian K. Feltman is assistant professor of history at Georgia Southern University.

What People are Saying About This

Adam R. Seipp Texas A&M University

In this engaging and well-researched study, Feltman tells us a great deal about not only the experience of captivity in the First World War, but also about the cultural and psychological impact of imprisonment on those who returned to the ‘world gone wrong’ of postwar Germany.

From the Publisher

Superbly written and extremely well researched, this history of the German POW experience significantly advances our understanding of captivity during the First World War. With a novel argument that also sheds new light on constructions of soldierly masculinity and ideas about 'national community' in wartime and postwar Germany, Feltman presents an excellent study that will make a substantial and original contribution to the field.—Matthew Stibbe, Sheffield Hallam University

In this engaging and well-researched study, Feltman tells us a great deal not only about the experience of captivity in the First World War, but also about the cultural and psychological impact of imprisonment on those who returned to the 'world gone wrong' of postwar Germany.—Adam R. Seipp, Texas A&M University

Matthew Stibbe Sheffield Hallam University

Superbly written and extremely well researched, this history of the German POW experience significantly advances our understanding of captivity during the First World War. With a novel argument that also sheds new light on constructions of soldierly masculinity and ideas about 'national community' in wartime and postwar Germany, Feltman presents an excellent study that will make a substantial and original contribution to the field.

Editorial Reviews

The research sparkles with primary sources, and the writing flows extremely well . . . . A wonderful contribution to both POW and WW I studies." —CHOICE



Feltman's discussion of the psychological struggles of captivity applies to more than just these POWs. . . . It is nuanced enough to be a useful guide to understanding the psychological effect being prisoners of al-Qaeda in the Maghreb for almost a hundred days in 2008-09 had on the Canadian diplomats Bob Fowler and Louis Guay.—Times Literary Supplement



Provides a new perspective on the German concept of Heldentod (the hero's death) by exploring those who avoided such a fate through surrender.—H-Net Reviews



[A] welcome addition to First World War scholarship.—Military History



[This] well written, carefully researched study persuasively clarifies the elusive and intricate definitions of manhood at the grass roots level of soldiers' everyday lives.—Michigan War Studies Review



Provides useful signposts on the path for further research.—Revista Universitaria de Historia Militar



Offers a commendable study of the experiences of German prisoners in Britain during the period 1914-1920.—Journal of the North Carolina Association of Historians



Relies on solid research and features a well-written narrative. It is well worth reading for First World War and prisoners of war scholars, as well as anyone interested in the era of the two world wars and the interwar period.—Global War Studies



Presents a richly detailed case study of how captivity affected soldiers and of how those soldiers affected the history of their nation and indeed their world.—The Historian



Feltman's rich analysis of British-held POWs raises important questions that suggest room for further research.—American Historical Review

From the Publisher