This is a record of 13 months in a German POW camp during World War II, illustrating a phenomenal grace under pressure.
Stalag Luft I (short for Kriegsgefangenen-Mannschafts-Stammlager-Luft) was one of nine German POW camps for Allied airmen during World War II in addition to the Dulag Luft interrogation center. The camps were run by the Luftwaffe independently of the German Army. At the time of its liberation by Russian troops in May 1945, nearly 9,000 men were incarcerated at Stalag Luft I alone.
The International Red Cross gave blank diaries to POWs to use as they pleased. Many...