The Prisoners' Progress. An Illustrated Diary of the March Into Captivity of the Last of the British Army in France - June 1940
- Title:
- The Prisoners' Progress. An Illustrated Diary of the March Into Captivity of the Last of the British Army in France - June 1940
- Alternate Title:
- The Prisoners' Progress
- Collection:
- Persuasive Maps: PJ Mode Collection
- Creator:
- Hunt, Leslie C.
- Other Creators:
- Lund, Humphries & Co. Ltd., printer
- Date:
- 1941
- Date 2:
- 2024-04-25
- ID Number:
- 2346.01
- File Name:
- PJM_2346_01.jpg
- Style/Period:
- 1940 - 1959
- Subject:
- World War II
- Measurement:
- 26 x 36 page (centimeters, height x width)
- Notes:
- This is the title page of a remarkable set of pictorial propaganda maps produced by a British officer in a German prisoner of war camp, approved and made available by German authorities, and published in Britain in 1941 with government consent.
As the subtitle accurately says, this work is “An Illustrated Diary of the March Into Captivity of the Last of the British Army in France - June 1940.” It details the route and experience of thousands of officers and enlisted men captured by the Germans at the time of Dunkirk. From June 11 to July 7, 1940, these soldiers were marched across France, Belgium and Holland to German POW camps . The author is identified as Leslie C. Hunt, “2nd Lieutenant, The East Surrey Regiment. No. 1351, Oflag VII C, Germany.” Oflag VII-C was a German POW camp for officers located at Lauren in southeastern Bavaria and operated from 1940 to early 1942. Each page of the work bears an oval stamp, reproduced in publication, reading “Oflag VII C geprüst” (“approved”).
The book begins with a one-page “Introduction” (ID #2346.02), a textual overview of the march and the conditions faced by the soldiers. That is followed by a series of eight pictorial maps: an initial “Key Sheet” entitled “The Whole Weary Trail” (ID #2346.03) and seven detailed maps of the course of the march (ID ##2346.04-10). Each of the detailed maps contains charming illustrations: soldiers, tanks, airplanes, columns of refugees and soldiers, graveyards, windmills, factories and important landmarks, including the city of Ghent, the Brandenburg Gate, and a number of cathedrals (Rouen, Amiens, Antwerp, Cologne). Each detailed map also includes several text blocks describing events along the way.
The Introduction and the text on individual maps includes credible descriptions of the privations the prisoners faced, from persistent shortages of food to “Nights spend huddled together in fields, in the pouring rain without any cover, after a twenty-mile march.” Introduction. At Domart St. Leger, for example, “Had only one ladle of soup in two days.” Sheet Two. At Bergen, “Too crowded and cramped to move. No food and hardly any drinking water.” At Nijmegen, “Hungry, cold, and dirty.” Sheet Six.
On the other hand, the Germans come off reasonably well in the telling. “At first there was little or no food: this was not the fault of the German escort, who were as badly off themselves, but simply the inevitable result of the speed of their advance through France. . . . Food and nightly camps improved as we got further away from the zone of recent fighting.” Introduction. At Doullens in France, “German rations increased.” Sheet Two. At St. Pol, “Meat and soup from Germans with amply supply of biscuits,” and at Bethune, “Some British greatcoats and underclothes distributed by Germans.” Sheet Three. At Tournai, “Seemed like the ‘Ritz,’ with cold showers, liberal rations.” Sheet Four. Once in Germany, there were “people regarding us in silence, but there were no hostile demonstrations.” Introduction.
One interesting question is why the Germans not only permitted the creation of these maps and supporting text, but “approved” and facilitated their transmission to Britain. The most likely answer is that the material generally presents German soldiers as treating prisoners of war humanely, and thus provides some reassurance to British soldiers who might at some point consider surrender.
It is also possible - albeit unlikely - that Germany continued to harbor hope for a peace settlement with Britain at the time this material was sent, in order to avoid the two-front war that resulted from its invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941. In this regard, the timing is consistent with Rudolf Hess’s mysterious and controversial flight to Scotland in May 1941, purportedly with a peace proposal in hand. Whether Hess was acting with Hitler’s knowledge and direction, or was simply mentally deranged, is hotly debated to this date. See Handwerk 2016.
The cover page of the book reproduces the stamp of the British “Press & Censorship Bureau,” which shows that the material was “Passed for Publication” on July 7, 1941. It’s likely that the British censors approved this publication in order to reassure the families of captured soldiers as to their treatment. The book was published in 1941 in a limited, numbered edition; the copy in the collection is No. 74. There was a larger edition published in 1942.
For further information on the Collector’s Notes and a Feedback/Contact Link, see https://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/content/about-collection-personal-statement and https://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/content/feedback-and-contact - Source:
- Hunt, Leslie C. 1941. The Prisoners' Progress. An Illustrated Diary of the March Into Captivity of the Last of the British Army in France - June 1940. London: Hutchinson and Co.
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- For important information about copyright and use, see http://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/copyright.