Book Talk: British POWs and the Holocaust

The Library is pleased to partner with the Holocaust Educational Trust in order to discuss Dr Russell Wallis' new book, British POWs and the Holocaust

The Library is pleased to partner with the Holocaust Educational Trust in order to discuss Dr Russell Wallis' new book, British POWs and the Holocaust, published by IB Tauris.

British POWs were held all over Germany and the occupied lands, spending their war in and around towns and villages with names now long forgotten except in local lore. But in many of these out-of-the-way places, another event was playing itself out. Supposedly shrouded in secrecy, the Jews of Europe were being stigmatised, marginalised, starved, worked to death, shot or eventually gassed. It is widely assumed that British POWs saw little of this, with only a handful witnessing anything at all. In fact, captured Britons saw and understood a great deal more than anyone has so far realised. This talk explores their story. Using eyewitness testimony, Dr. Russell Wallis reveals their essentially human response and shows that conventional notions of courage and gallantry, fear and timidity cannot explain the actions and reactions of POWs.

The talk will be chaired by Martin Winstone, an Education Officer for the Holocaust Educational Trust.

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