Daniel J. Markowitz, Author
Meet The Author
Daniel Markowitz is a descendant of German and Slovenian immigrants who came to America in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Born in 1954 and raised in Olpe, Kansas, at the edge of the Flint Hills, he grew up listening to his grandparents’ and other beloved elders’ stories of their home countries, traditions, and the hardships and joys experienced on their way to stability and prosperity.
His love for history and storytelling grew out of their often humorous and sometimes hyperbolic oral chronicles.
He earned degrees from Emporia State University (social sciences) and the University of Kansas (law) and spent decades in quixotic pursuit of success in a career for which he was ill-suited, before embarking on a trial-and-error journey for authenticity and purpose.
The Spoils of Victory, Markowitz’ first novel and book one in the Prisoners of War series, focuses on a largely forgotten aspect of the history of World War II – the confinement and employment of hundreds of thousands of German POWs throughout the United States from 1943 to 1946. Publication of the second book in the series is anticipated in early 2026.
Markowitz is a passionate advocate for peace, equality, justice, and respect for all, especially the marginalized and the forgotten. He has five children and five grandchildren and lives near the beaches of Baja California, where the big skies, low horizons, and undulating waves of the Pacific Ocean remind him of the rippling tallgrass prairies of home.
Book Acknowledgements
With humility and gratitude, I recognize the contributions of so many people who inspired and guided me as I researched and wrote The Spoils of Victory. Thank you, Trish Markowitz, Jerilynn Jones Henrikson, Jan Darting, Phil Witt, Steve Farney, Colette Bizal, and others for reading the original manuscript that included this story. Thank you for your honest reactions and detailed thoughts about what you did and didn’t like.
Thank you, Antonia Felix, for brainstorming with me in your kitchen all those years ago when we first discussed POWs in the heartland. Thank you for the syllabus you created to help me learn to write. Your guidance was invaluable, and your recommendations, On Writing by Stephen King, The Scene Book by Sandra Scofield, and Inside Story by Dara Marks, were transformative.
Cheryl Unruh, your Flyover People essays were my inspiration to start writing in the first place. Thank you for all your quiet, steady, practical encouragement. Thank you for sharing your own family history to guide me and for allowing me to use your family name in the story.
Thank you, Thea Rademacher and Flint Hills Publishing for answering the phone that day when the Universe said it was time for me to submit the manuscript, and thank you for sharing your sage advice and beautiful energy so generously since then. Working with you and the FHP team, including Amy Albright and Greg German, has been a wonderful collaborative experience. You are all appreciated.
Thank you, Nathan Fredrickson, for guiding me through the revisioning process with your uncannily insightful wisdom and pragmatic suggestions. I can’t imagine working with a better editor. Thanks to you, I’m learning to be a storyteller, not just a historian.
Lastly, I offer my special thanks to Teresa Markowitz for repeatedly encouraging me to tell this story and for gently prodding me to get at it when I got sidetracked, as frequently happened. Thank you, sister dear, for never doubting that this book would be published.