‘The Canadians Said, ‘Saskatoon Berry Pie” | Female German POWs Licked Their Plates Clean
Chapter 1: The Arrival on the Prairie The sky over southeastern Alberta on October 15, 1944, was an immense, unforgiving blue, stretching so far in every direction…
‘The Americans Said, ‘Apple Pie À La Mode” | Female German POWs Had Never Tasted Ice Cream
I. The Slats of the Truck The metal slats of the transport truck were cold against Charlotte Werner’s forehead, vibrating with the shudder of a low gear…
‘The Americans Said, ‘Cotton Candy | From the Fair” | Female German POWs Touched It Like Gold
I. The Pink Mist The sign above the wooden booth read COTTON CANDY | FROM THE FAIR, painted in looping blue script that none of the forty-three…
‘The Americans Said, ‘Salisbury Steak Dinner” | Female German POWs Thought Every Day Was Sunday
Chapter I: The Fragrant Illusion The canvas canopy of the transport truck did not flap; it frozen-stiffened under a skin of November ice. Inside, forty-eight pairs of…
‘Is This Still North America ‘ | German Women POWs Shocked by Canadian Prairie Farmlands
Chapter I: The Endless Sea of Gold The floor of the Canadian Pacific Railway car vibrated with a relentless, rhythmic clanking that had, over the course of…
‘The Americans Said, ‘Cherry Pie à la Mode” | Female German POWs Thought It Was Christmas
Part I: The Geometry of Melting Ice Cream The heat in the Allegheny Ridge was not like the heat in Bremen. In northern Germany, summer was a…
PART 2: The Christmas Eve wind bit sharply as I pushed my father’s wheelchair through the ankle-deep snow
PART 2: The Christmas Eve wind bit sharply as I pushed my father’s wheelchair through the ankle-deep snow We moved through the blizzard slowly. Each shove of…
The Christmas Eve wind bit sharply as I pushed my father’s wheelchair through the ankle-deep snow
The Christmas Eve wind bit sharply as I pushed my father’s wheelchair through the ankle-deep snow The Christmas Eve wind bit sharply as I pushed my father’s…
PART 2: The morning after the engagement dinner, the weight of the previous night didn’t lift
PART 2: The morning after the engagement dinner, the weight of the previous night didn’t lift The days after that engagement dinner were like stepping into a…
‘The Americans Said, ‘Fresh White Bread” | Female German POWs Clutched It Like Gold
The White Mirage The desert did not care about the war, but it knew all about exile. As the transport truck jolted across the rutted dirt tracks…