"The Englishmen had known for twelve hours that the Americans were on their way. They had never had guests before, and they went to work like darling elves, sweeping, mopping, cooking, baking- making mattresses of straw and burlap bags, setting tabels, putting party favors at each place." (95)
The part of the novel about the Englishmen really surprised me. I was not aware of the Germans being nice to anyone in the war, but apparently they nearly worshipped these men. The life that the English prisoners are living is in sharp contrast to all other POWs who are hardly fed, kept in train cars because of lack of room, and have no supplies and bad clothes and shoes. It seems as though these people were better off than the german soldiers and guards which doesn't really make sense. Also, it seems as though these Englishmen are having a good time as prisoners. They eat lovely meals because they have large stashes of supplies and food. They have plays and feasts because they can. They act as if they aren't prisoners of war. Although this is puzzling for me, it may have been to their benefit. Obviously the soldiers kept them around because of there massive connections to food that was becoming scarce. Without a chance at being killed, it makes sense that they would just live wall wihtout a care in the world because if they worried about what was going on elsewhere or even within their own camp, they may be devastated by war.
I also noticed that the Englishmen looked down on the other POWS. They especially hated the Americans. They welcomed them being moved to Dresden. One would think that if a country came to your rescue you would be more grateful. I mean America comes into a fight that they are losing and are on their side. I would be grateful to any help I could receive, especially if I was about to lose the entire war.
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