Daniel J. Markowitz, Author
Synopsis
Dan Markowitz brings a historian’s curiosity, an attorney’s attention to detail, and a philosopher’s appreciation for moral complexities in this story of German POWs working among Kansas Mennonites in WWII. It is a tale well worth reading – and pondering. I’m looking forward to more.
– Wynn M. Goering, Ph.D., Chair, Bethel College (KS) Board of Directors
The Spoils of Victory is a story of everyday Germans and Americans caught up in the global cataclysm that was World War II, but this story takes place far from the battlefields.
Rolf Mueller is a young corporal from Olpe, Germany, who came of age in the Nazi era and, like so many, was swept up by Hitler's promise to make Germany great again. In the Wehrmacht, he fought his way across Europe and North Africa before being wounded and captured in Tunisia in 1943 with the remnants of Rommel's Afrika Korps. The Spoils of Victory chronicles his journey as a POW from the blood-soaked sands of the Sahara to the fields and meadows of Kansas.
After crossing the Atlantic by ship and half of North America by rail, Rolf was incarcerated first in Concordia, Kansas, then sent to Peabody, a subcamp where POWs were hired out to local farmers. These camps were part of a vast network of camps that sprang up overnight across America to hold the nearly four hundred thousand Germans and tens of thousands of other Axis soldiers who would be captured and brought here between 1943 and 1945. While they were held in the United States, these POWs were generally treated respectfully and in scrupulous conformity with the 1929 Geneva Convention governing the treatment of prisoners.
Some Americans did not want foreigners in their midst, especially former enemy combatants, and some Germans captives would not tolerate their countrymen cooperating with Americans. Tensions were inevitable and conflicts manifested in unexpected ways, from minor incidents to tragic events. Surprisingly, abiding friendships also formed between former enemies.
Along with the physical and psychological trauma he suffered as a soldier and a POW, Rolf must confront his blind, brutal loyalty to the Reich, grapple with the terrible deeds he committed, and find a way through guilt to forgiveness. He must also endure the pain of separation from his family as their world explodes around them, and he must decipher who are enemies and who are friends.
On his journey, Rolf is influenced by guards, other POWs, and civilians. No one has a greater impact on him than the Unruhs, a tight-knit Mennonite family living on Doyle Creek east of Peabody, descendants of German peace pilgrims who left Russia for America decades earlier to stay true to their religious beliefs. Due to the critical wartime labor shortage, the Unruhs are willing to hire Rolf and other POWs to work on their farm. But the irony and the risks - Hitler's warriors working for pacifists to save the harvest and feed America - are not lost on anyone.
On the farm, Loretta, the eldest Unruh daughter, is embarking on her own uncharted journey in a world rapidly changing due to war, modernization, and evolving social mores. She must decide whether and how to pursue her personal dreams while still honoring the family and religious traditions that define and sustain her.
Around the Unruh dinner table, Rolf comes to know America, while Loretta learns about the world beyond her insulated community. Together, they discover the contours of love and reach for the possibility for happiness even in the darkest times and the strangest circumstances.
Who were the winners in World War II, and who were the losers? What are the true costs of any war? Who are its prisoners? How should enemies treat one another? Is world peace possible? These questions and more arise in The Spoils of Victory.
The characters and story of The Spoils of Victory are fictional, but the larger events and places described have been carefully researched and are presented historically accurately.
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