"A damned dangerous act" : New Zealand prisoners of war on the run in Europe during the Second World War : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in History at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
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Date
2016
DOI
Open Access Location
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Massey University
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The Author
Abstract
During
the
Second
World
War
thousands
of
New
Zealand
servicemen
found
themselves
behind
barbed
wire
as
prisoners
of
war.
The
vast
majority
of
them
were
taken
captive
in
failed
campaigns
in
Greece,
Crete
and
North
Africa.
This
thesis
will
analyse
the
journey
taken
by
those
who
dared
to
escape
in
the
European
theatre
of
war.
It
will
begin
by
analysing
the
impact
that
the
unsuccessful
campaigns
in
the
Mediterranean
and
North
Africa
had
on
motivating
servicemen
to
escape.
From
there
it
will
begin
to
analyse
the
many
different
ways
in
which
men
attempted
escape;
starting
with
those
who
slipped
away
in
the
heat
of
battle,
to
those
who
jumped
from
moving
trains
en
route
to
prison
camps,
to
those
who
planned
elaborate
get-‐aways
under
the
noses
of
prison
guards
in
Italy
and
Germany.
The
final
section
of
this
thesis
will
examine
what
it
was
like
for
escaped
prisoners
on
the
run
in
enemy
occupied
territory,
including
those
who
could
not
get
back
to
their
own
lines
and
ended
up
fighting
with
partisan
groups
in
Greece,
Yugoslavia
and
Italy.
Description
Keywords
World War, 1939-1945, Prisoners and prisons, German, Prisoners and prisons, Italian, Prisoner-of-war escapes, Prisoners of war, New Zealand, Europe