My latest book “Helvete på jord”, translated to “Hell on Earth” by Rolf Ivar Jordbruen. The story about 17 year old Hermod Tuft who signed up as a volunteer for the German army during WW2 and fought in 5. SS-Panzerdivision “Wiking”. Read more about Norwegian “frontkjempere” here http://www.frontkjemper.info (Also in English)
Most of the book which is about the fighting on the eastern front http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Front_(World_War_II) brings no really new information to me. Not to be misunderstood, the story is good, but I’ve read other similar stories before. But what was new to me was how the allies treated the captured soldiers after the peace in May 1945. Until now I’ve believed that POWs captured by the Americans and the French where treated quite good, but according to figures referred to in the book almost 1 million died in prison camps the first year after the war due to violence and lack of food. How many who was captured by the Russians and died is yet another story.
Soldiers from SS was also not treated as POW’s the first months after the war, and they where told that the Geneva convention did not apply for them. Guantanamo Bay, need I say more?
There is no doubt that the parts of the Nazi army did things that where so bad that it is not possible to imagine what punishment they deserved, but then again, but that was not an excuse to treat the POW’s as bad as they did long after the war was over.
