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Richard Van Emden
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Prisoners of the Kaiser: The Last POWs of the Great War Kindle Edition

by Richard van Emden (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 out of 5 stars 162 ratings
Based on interviews with survivors of German WWI prison camps, this account documents the heroism and perseverance of British troops in captivity.

Drawing on the memories of the last surviving prisoners of the Great war, Prisoners of the Kaiser tells the dramatic story of life as a POW in Germany. Stories include the shock of capture on the Western Front, to the grind of daily life in imprisonment in German prison camps. Veterans recall work in salt mines, punishments, and escape attempts, as well as the torture of starvation and the relief at their eventual release. With over 200 photographs and illustrations, Prisoners of the Kaiser is filled with vivid, moving eye-witness accounts, almost all of which never been have published before.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Richard van Emden interviewed 270 veterans of the Great War, has written extensively about the soldiers' lives, and has worked on many television documentaries, always concentrating on the human aspects of war, its challenge and its cost to the millions of men involved. Richard van Emden’s books have sold over 660,000 copies and have appeared in The Times’ bestseller chart on a number of occasions.

He has also worked on more than a dozen television programmes on the Great War, including the award-winning Roses of No Man’s Land, Britain’s Boy Soldiers, A Poem for Harry, War Horse: the Real Story, Teenage Tommies with Fergal Keane and most recently, Hidden Histories: WW1’s Forgotten Photographs. He lives in London.

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    4.3 out of 5 stars 162 ratings

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Richard Van Emden

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4.3 out of 5 stars
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Frank Lee
    5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling read
    Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2014
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    No holes barred from the mouths of those who were there, in accounting the ghastly period and experiences that those old soldiers encountered as a POW in World War One. I was quite amazed how serious were the food shortages in wartime Germany, and that the German soldiers were also too often starving. A most dreadful time.

    An extremely moving read, which served yet again to strenghten my respect for those who gave so much, even in captivity, and to those who gave their lives through the harshness of their treatment.

    Frank Lee
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Kevin M Quigg
    4.0 out of 5 stars British prisoners in World War One.
    Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2006
    This is surprisely a nice read about British prisoners of war in World War One. All of these men were captured on the Western Front. They relate the hardships of life in a POW camp. The Germans guarding them were hardly better off in terms of food. Food was the one thing all POWs thought about. In terms of physical abuse, the German guards occasionally used their rifle butts for pushing the prisoners along. Some Germans were definitely humane, but others had a cruel streak. These prisoners suffered much, but not as much as the Russians. The British received care packages throughout the war and this relieved the starvation of the German food.

    This is a nice read about a little known aspect of the Great War. I am surprised others have not written about this aspect.

    There was a lot of good information about Allied POWs in German camps.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Daniel A. partker
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2016
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    Compliments "Silent Battle".
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Top reviews from other countries

  • JDB
    5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding book on the rarely investigated topic of Prisoners of the First World War
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 29, 2014
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    Each chapter begins with the author’s concise introduction to the scene and theme then leads on to the Veterans’ first-hand accounts of their time in captivity – enlightening and moving. I know from his other books that Richard van Emden spent decades visiting, interviewing & recording numerous surviving Veterans of the Great War to build up an invaluable archive of their experiences before they were lost to us. He states in the intro that research for this book began in 1999, when he could only find 20 or so remaining PoWWI and he directly recorded the thoughts of 10 of these men. All his contributors had 19th Century birth dates and were thus Centenarians at the time of these interviews - it seems really important that these testimonies have been recorded. The numerous photographs excellently illustrate and compliment the subject matter and together the full range of experiences are covered – from capture and transport through the lines to the camps, the daily grind of life, interaction between inmates and guards, works including salt mining, terrible near-starvation experiences, extraordinary orchestral and theatrical performances permitted in some of the camps (including photos of a prisoner in a full jousting Knight’s costume), tributes to those who did not survive imprisonment, to the eventual release and poignant home comings for the lucky ones (including the irony of one returnee being put to work guarding German Prisoners in East Sussex). Highly recommended book.
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  • Mike Watkinson
    4.0 out of 5 stars Light in a dusty corner...
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 14, 2015
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    The author specialises in eye-witness accounts of The Great War. Usually, he writes sparingly, allowing the eye-witnesses to speak, and does a very good job. Here, whilst this shines light into a dusty corner of WWI and is well worth reading, he hasn't done quite his usual job as compared with the likes of Sapper Jack Martin's diaries, or his biography of Henry Patch, The Last Fighting Tommy.

    He had two basic choices, either to split the book up by individuals or by "aspects of the POW experience", as he says in his Introduction e.g. the moment of capture, being processed, etc. He chose the latter, not unreasonably, but I'm not entirely convinced it was the better way to organise the book. For whatever reasons (and only he can know), he quotes the veterans somewhat unevenly, in terms of quantity. Bill Easton & Ernie Stevens seem to feature more than others. It's easy to think of reasons why that might be so. However, by the time you're halfway through the book, you may well find yourself struggling to remember who Fred Bloggs was, what was his regiment (or even service arm), where he was captured, when & how, and so on.

    Personally, I found it a bit difficult to keep a sense of who most of the men were as men. I got the feeling that that was what van Emden was trying for. Not just eye-witness testimony; he had interviewed these men personally, spent time with them. Presumably, in producing this book as a tribute to them, he wanted to introduce them to you as individuals. Most of them, as with any other eyewitness book, become simply names on the page.

    There are also some oddities & minor production issues with this edition. For the latter, the most noticeable is the random hyphenation of words. I can only assume that it was originally published in a different physical size, and the publisher was too lazy (or cheap) to re-check the type-setting. For the former, van Emden gives a detailed description of a photo including Bill Easton, it isn't included in the (more than adequate) photo's that are included. It does seem to be included in another of his books (it matches the description, at least), Meeting The Enemy. A strange & slightly irritating omission.

    Therefore, whilst this is a fine tribute to these men, to their experiences, their perseverance, and their longevity, it doesn't, for me, quite hit the mark that the author aimed for. This is a book well worth reading. But if you've not a lot of WWI eye-witness on your shelves, I'd suggest putting this on your wishlist for now, and something else from the the same author in your basket.
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars A unique view of WW1 life.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 25, 2014
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    Having read many books on the lives of those who lived through WW!, this was an angle I had not yet come across. I was totally absorbed by both the emotions the words of these men, and touched by the way many of them showed such strength, humanity, comradship, humour, and how unlikely friendships were struck up. It is a truely absorbing read, of an oft overlooked fact of WW1.
    Prepare to smile, laugh, and fill up with tears as you read this, but overall the sense of immense admiration for those men who having faced the horrors of the trenches, the fear of capture, and the resilience and stoisism in internment. I finished this book wishing I could have met at least some of these incredible men, to whom we owe an unpayable debt.
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  • Shiny
    5.0 out of 5 stars A great read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 24, 2014
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    If you are interested in WW1 prisoners of war then this is the book for you.

    I am researching someone who was taken prisoner but didn't really know much about WW1 POW's and how they were treated. I had an image in my mind of the great escape - everyone sitting around in their huts or digging their gardens. This book certainly put me straight on that one.

    It's based on interviews with people who were POW's and is very readable, in fact I finished it in two days!

    I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about the life of a World War One prisoner.
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  • stuart r
    3.0 out of 5 stars Being captured by an army that has no food and really no structures to house POWs on any scale was never going to be good. Forgo
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 30, 2014
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    Slow speed accounts of awful times. Being captured by an army that has no food and really no structures to house POWs on any scale was never going to be good. Forgotten heroes.
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