Accidental Captives, The: The Story of Seven Women Alone in Nazi Germany

Bibliography Includes bibliographical references p.

The passengers were pulled from the waters and transported to Nazi-occupied France, where the majority, as at that time neutral citizens of the United States, were released and returned home. News of their fortunate escape soon broke and the story became an overnight sensation.

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Yet amidst the excitement generated by the captives' release, the fate of those left behind was all but forgotten. Among these unlucky few were seven Canadian women, whose remarkable wartime journey was only just beginning. Interned in German detention camps as 'enemy aliens', they were eventually moved to Berlin, to await repatriation. But - due to a bureaucratic mix up - when they arrived in Berlin, this small group of women found themselves alone, stranded in the heart of Hitler's Germany. The accidental captives had no way home: Who were these seven strangers and how did they survive Hitler's internment camps, the war-ravaged streets of Berlin and the threat of the omnipresent Gestapo?

Drawing on first-hand accounts and interviews, Carolyn Gossage pieces together the extraordinary story of the year they spent together in wartime Germany. Nielsen Book Data This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Feb 15, Bev Walkling rated it really liked it Shelves: I had never heard of the incident in question and was very curious to read it and find further details. I finished it within 24 hours and found it a meticulously researched book with many annotations and references and lots of portions which came directly from journals or letters belonging to the involved individuals.

The book also had many photographs including some taken at the time of the sinking 4. The book also had many photographs including some taken at the time of the sinking of the Eyptian ship ZamZam off the coast of South Africa by the German Raider Atlantis.

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All members of the cast and crew survived the sinking and were taken on board first the Atlantis and then another ship The Dresden. The ship had been en route to South Africa at the time of the sinking, filled with many missionaries, as well as women off to join their spouses and boys signed up as ambulance volunteers.

Americans formed the majority on board and they were fairly quickly repatriated as the US was not yet at war with Germany. The non-American men were mostly interned, but the story really focuses on the Canadian women who were transferred from place to place and eventually arrived at a place called Liebenau Internment Camp which had once been a home run by nuns for the mentally deficient.

They had been removed and no doubt were sent to their deaths well before the women arrived. Seven of these women, after many months and numerous petitions, ended up living in Berlin as they awaited repatriation through a prisoner exchange. Their experiences in Berlin were similar to those of all local residents in that they suffered food and clothing shortages, experienced the odd air raid, but surprisingly they were for the most part left to live independently with little contact with Gestapo.

Several of these women kept very good records one published a book when she got home so their voices are heard more frequently throughout the book. At times I found it difficult keeping track of exactly who the seven women referred to in the title were but I finished with a greater understanding of what life was like for the average person in Berlin in Nov 08, Jamie Strachan rated it it was amazing Shelves: Almost all of what I know of my grandmother is from the stories and recollections of others.

I was young when she died and she had been suffering from Alzheimer's for years before that so my own memories of who she was are few. I mention this for context and as disclosure. My grandmother was one of the titular Accidental Captives, Kitsi Strachan, and she figures prominently in this book so it's safe to say that my review will be a biased one. I knew, in broad strokes, what my grandmother had gone Almost all of what I know of my grandmother is from the stories and recollections of others. I knew, in broad strokes, what my grandmother had gone through during the war.

Aboard a passenger vessel crossing to Africa that was sunk by a German raider, she and her fellow travellers became wards of the Third Reich and remained interned in Germany until a diplomatic exchange could be made to get them home. This book details, with extensive use of first-hand source material, what they endured during the months between their capture and release: I'm sure it is in no small part due to my personal connection to the story but this book affected me profoundly.

Reading about what these women experienced and descriptions of civilian life in Germany at the height of the conflict forced me to pause and reflect more than any other wartime account I've seen or heard.

It's an amazing story and, for me, another glimpse into the life of a woman I wish I had known. Mar 26, Shani rated it it was ok.

Appallingly insufficient book on a very interesting subject. I'm left wondering if the author got distracted halfway through her research and forgot to finish. Nov 18, Shonna Froebel rated it really liked it Shelves: This is an interesting nugget of history I wasn't aware of until I heard of this book. The women were on an Egyptian ship bound for South Africa. On the ship were missionaries bound for Africa, women and children on their way to join their husbands, US tobacco farmers, and volunteer ambulance workers volunteering with the Free French army.

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This book concentrates on the Canadian women on board, and follows them from the beginning of the trip, through the bombing of the ship by Germans, the captur This is an interesting nugget of history I wasn't aware of until I heard of this book. This book concentrates on the Canadian women on board, and follows them from the beginning of the trip, through the bombing of the ship by Germans, the capturing of all those on board, their landing in occupied France, and their internment in Germany. Seven of the Canadian women went on to get permission to travel to Berlin to try to secure their release, and this book follows them through the months in Berlin and their trip home.

Using official documents, books published by a couple of the women, articles by a life journalist and photographer on board the ship, and family documents of the women, Gossage is able to piece together this amazing story. Four of the women had written down at least parts of their story, and these help us to see the reality of their lives through these difficult months. One of the four had two small children with her, and chose not to leave the internment home for the uncertainty of Berlin, a wise move in retrospect.

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The ones who did make it to Berlin showed adventure, stamina, and a sense of optimism that got them through, making friends with the locals, and finding lighter moments even in the midst of disappointment. Well-researched, this book gives us a view into another part of history. Oct 25, Cj Zawacki rated it it was amazing. April ,, the passenger ship. On board were American volunteers ambulance drivers, American and Canadians missionaries families, two Life Magazine photographers ,tobacco businessmen, crew , and some others. All thought they were safe on a neutral ship, under the Egyptian Flag.

Sunk, and taken aboard the surface raider , Atlantis, they quickly find themselves as pawns in a mistaken attack by Germany. Transferred to another ship and la April ,, the passenger ship. Transferred to another ship and landed at Biarritz, France, passengers soon find themselves headed off to different destinations.

The book focuses on the Canadian women and and children, who are separated and sent to the Liebenau disabled hospital camp ran by nuns. There some women are sent onward to Berlin. The story pieces together the struggles these women face in wartime Germany. Many times not knowing of the survival of husbands , or others left behind. Or of the future release they are hoping to seek. Excellent reading from Carolyn Gossage, as she has taken a look into the city of Berlin during the days right before America entered the war. Jun 10, H Wesselius rated it liked it. As the World War II has become perhaps the most studied period of human history, historians and writers are constantly searching for a new angle or story line.

Gossage through fortuitous accident unmines an interesting side story not yet told. An interesting yet unchallenging tale of civilians who find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time and thus provide an interesting eye witness account of history in the making, ie life in Berlin.

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I enjoyed the tale but found it ended without As the World War II has become perhaps the most studied period of human history, historians and writers are constantly searching for a new angle or story line. I enjoyed the tale but found it ended without really telling the reader how it ended. Besides the seven ladies who made it home what happened to the men interned as POWs, the other internees, and the Germans who associated with the seven ladies in Berlin.