When Europe Was a Prison Camp

Father and Son Memoirs, 1940-1941

Nonfiction, History, France, Modern, 20th Century, Biography & Memoir, Historical
Cover of the book When Europe Was a Prison Camp by Peter Schrag, Otto Schrag, Indiana University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Peter Schrag, Otto Schrag ISBN: 9780253017857
Publisher: Indiana University Press Publication: August 3, 2015
Imprint: Indiana University Press Language: English
Author: Peter Schrag, Otto Schrag
ISBN: 9780253017857
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Publication: August 3, 2015
Imprint: Indiana University Press
Language: English

In a compelling approach to storytelling, When Europe Was a Prison Camp weaves together two accounts of a family’s eventual escape from Occupied Europe. One, a memoir written by the father in 1941; the other, begun by the son in the 1980s, fills in the story of himself and his mother, supplemented by historical research. The result is both personal and provocative, involving as it does issues of history and memory, fiction and "truth," courage and resignation. This is not a "Holocaust memoir." The Schrags were Jews, and Otto was interned, under execrable conditions, in southern France. But Otto, with the help of a heroic wife, escaped the camp before the start of massive transfers of prisoners "to the East," and Peter and his mother escaped from Belgium before the Jews were rounded up and sent to Auschwitz. Yet, the danger and suffering, the comradeship and betrayal, the naïve hopes and cynical despair of those in prison and those in peril are everywhere in evidence.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In a compelling approach to storytelling, When Europe Was a Prison Camp weaves together two accounts of a family’s eventual escape from Occupied Europe. One, a memoir written by the father in 1941; the other, begun by the son in the 1980s, fills in the story of himself and his mother, supplemented by historical research. The result is both personal and provocative, involving as it does issues of history and memory, fiction and "truth," courage and resignation. This is not a "Holocaust memoir." The Schrags were Jews, and Otto was interned, under execrable conditions, in southern France. But Otto, with the help of a heroic wife, escaped the camp before the start of massive transfers of prisoners "to the East," and Peter and his mother escaped from Belgium before the Jews were rounded up and sent to Auschwitz. Yet, the danger and suffering, the comradeship and betrayal, the naïve hopes and cynical despair of those in prison and those in peril are everywhere in evidence.

More books from Indiana University Press

Cover of the book Illinois State Parks by Peter Schrag, Otto Schrag
Cover of the book New Humanitarianism and the Crisis of Charity by Peter Schrag, Otto Schrag
Cover of the book Imagined Landscapes by Peter Schrag, Otto Schrag
Cover of the book Nomadic Text by Peter Schrag, Otto Schrag
Cover of the book O Let Us Howle Some Heavy Note by Peter Schrag, Otto Schrag
Cover of the book Interpreting Musical Gestures, Topics, and Tropes by Peter Schrag, Otto Schrag
Cover of the book Philanthropy for Health in China by Peter Schrag, Otto Schrag
Cover of the book American Religious Liberalism by Peter Schrag, Otto Schrag
Cover of the book History of the Concept of Time by Peter Schrag, Otto Schrag
Cover of the book The Italian Traditions & Puccini by Peter Schrag, Otto Schrag
Cover of the book Modernity, Freedom, and the African Diaspora by Peter Schrag, Otto Schrag
Cover of the book Africans in Exile by Peter Schrag, Otto Schrag
Cover of the book Dante’s Inferno, The Indiana Critical Edition by Peter Schrag, Otto Schrag
Cover of the book Arctic Cinemas and the Documentary Ethos by Peter Schrag, Otto Schrag
Cover of the book Plowed Under by Peter Schrag, Otto Schrag
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy