Description
Book SynopsisThe story of Wildflecken through the eyes of very different groups
Trade ReviewIn clear, straightforward prose, Seipp does yeoman's work with his extensive use of both primary and secondary sources. . . . His treatment of the pentagonal interaction of the camp's residents, the town of Wildflecken, the US Army, the UNRRA and the Land of Bavaria contributes to a greater understanding of just how complex the reconstruction of a country's socio-political infrastructure must necessarily be in the aftermath of a major conflict.
* German History *
This book is a carefully crafted treatment of how one community, Wildflecken, in rural eastern West Germany fared with its various refugees and US occupation troops while the world transitioned from the horrors of WWII to the tensions of the Cold War. . . . Highly recommended.
* Choice *
Strangers in the Wild Place is a mix of social, government, and military history. The book capably captures individual plight, describes group interactions, and sets all these relationships in an understandable historical context of the place of Wildflecken. It is definitely a work of imaginative and sound scholarship. . . . Strangers in the Wild Place is worth exploring for the complex human tale that it so imaginatively reveals.
* Journal of Military History *
[T]his book makes an important contribution to a more nuanced understanding of how (West) Germans negotiated the transition from Nazism to democracy, from war to postwar.47.4 Dec. 2014
* CENTRAL EUROPEAN HISTORY *
Well written and based on an abundance of local, national, and international sources, Strangers in the Wild Place reveals the inner 'workings of rural society in occupied and semi-sovereign West Germany'. . . . [T]his book makes an important contribution to a more nuanced understanding of how (West) Germans negotiated the transition from Nazism to democracy, from war to postwar.
* Central European History *
Seipp has written a meticulously researched, enlightening study.
* Journal of Modern History *
Strangers in the Wild Place is well written, and the history it provides would be a valuable supplementary text for a graduate course. Seipp's extensive use of previously untapped sources is impressive.
* Oral History *
Table of ContentsIntroduction
1. The Wild Place, 1933-1945
2. The Seigneurs of Wildflecken, 1945-1947
3. Keeping Refugees Occupied, 1945-1948
4. These People, 1947-1949
5. A Victory for Democracy, 1949-1952
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
