{"product_id":"the-barbed-wire-university-the-real-lives-of-allied-prisoners-of-war-in-the-second-world-war","title":"The Barbed-Wire University: The Real Lives of Allied Prisoners of War in the Second World War","description":"\u003cp\u003eAccording to popular myth, Allied prisoners of war during the Second World War spent most of their time escaping. In fact, from Germany to the Far East, they were doing much more remarkable things.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eF\u003c\/i\u003eaced with the prospect of years of boredom, these servicemen took up the crafts and professions they'd\npursued before their captivity - or set about learning new ones. They formed orchestras\n(asking the Red Cross to send kettle drums), sat accountancy exams (textbooks,\nplease), dressed up in drag and put on operas. They contested Ashes series, laid\nout golf courses in the exercise yard. When they needed medical care, their own\nsurgeons perfected camp dentistry, fashioned prosthetic limbs. Actors like Clive Dunn and Donald Pleasance, cartoonists like Ronald Searle, artists like Terry Frost - all developed, or even first plied, their crafts while POWs.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLittle wonder\nthat one camp in Germany became known as 'the Barbed-Wire University' . . .\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAcclaimed on first\npublication, this superb book is now reissued with an extensive Afterword. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback \/ softback | 528 pages | Published June 2025\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"GARDNERS","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":63986324210013,"sku":"9781068516221","price":21.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0978\/3459\/8749\/files\/9781068516221.jpg?v=1774498016","url":"https:\/\/www.thebookmark.ie\/products\/the-barbed-wire-university-the-real-lives-of-allied-prisoners-of-war-in-the-second-world-war","provider":"The Bookmark ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}