Kriegies

<p class=ql-align-justify><strong>Winner Nonfiction ACT Literary Awards 2024 self-publishing category. </strong><strong style=color: rgba(85 90 92 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>Winner 2024 NSW Premier's History Awards The Anzac Memorial Trustees Military History Prize.</strong></p><p class=ql-align-justify>Who could pronounce<em> Kriegsgefangener? </em>The German for prisoner of war was too much of a mouthful. More to the point it reminded POWs of their status as unwilling non-combatants. They were ashamed of it. Instead airman POWs dubbed themselves 'kriegies' based on the first syllable - war. It became a 'fun' word which emphasised that they were still men of war. It was one of the many ways in which they coped with captivity.</p><p><em>Kriegies: the Australian Airmen of Stalag Luft III</em> explores how Australian POWs and their families responded to captivity. Drawing on letters diaries memoirs interviews and medical records <em>Kriegies </em>describes - in their own words - how the airman POWs coped with the trials of incarceration: monotony separation from loved ones absence of sex homosexuality and threats to their mental health. <em>Kriegies</em> also delves into the reactions of those on the home front who provided love and support as they anxiously awaited their loved ones' return. It features the events of the Great Escape - perhaps the most notorious mass escape from German captivity - the tragic fate of five young Australians and the grief expressed by their comrades and families. Based on the author's award-winning PhD thesis <em>Kriegies</em> is an intimate portrayal of captivity. It reveals the human story of wartime imprisonment. It is an inspiring account of love courage and resilience.</p>