Master of Business Administration, The Ohio State University, 1948, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2007, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2023, History

John M. Sant was a World War II bomber co-pilot who was shot down over German-occupied Czechoslovakia in 1944. He and the other eight surviving crew members were captured and sent to Stalag Luft I, a German prison camp near the Baltic Sea. Sant spent the next ten months in captivity, keeping a logistical journal of his daily life in the camp. With this journal, along with primary documents, copies of declassified military paperwork, and a typed account of Sant's narrative located in the Skinner Personal Archive as a chronological framework, this thesis constructs a biographical narrative of Sant's life and wartime experiences. Sant's journal provided an indirect glimpse into his inner thoughts. His entries reflect a fear of being overlooked, both during captivity and following release. Sant found solace in escapism through literature and reminisced about home life, emphasizing the importance of morale and interpersonal connections among the POWs. Elements of optimism infuse the passages he chose to copy down, showing his enduring belief in the strength of the Allied forces. The journal also served as a covert way to challenge the authority of the main camp authorities. Sant's hopefulness played a crucial role in maintaining his emotional well-being, a theme more prominent in his post-war writings. The arrival of new prisoners, while disheartening, meant access to more current information. Sant's diary entries not only reflect his emotional state regarding his fellow POWs but also his reaction to news like General Patton's progress in Europe, offering him temporary relief from worries about America's military effectiveness. His aspirations for post-war life served as a comfort and a way to look forward to a future beyond the uncertainty of war. The journal also played a key role in asserting Sant's sense of self-determination under the strict confines of his POW status. While it contained no information unknown to his captors, it provided him with a sense of con (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Randolph Roth (Committee Member); David Staley (Advisor) Subjects: American History; Armed Forces; History; Military History; Military Studies; Modern History

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2023, History

This study represents a historical analysis of Erie Proving Ground in LaCarne, Ohio, from its inception until the end of World War II. From its roots as a small proofing facility attached to Camp Perry, it grew to become one of the most important Ordnance facilities in the country. It was responsible for the testing and shipping of over 70% of the mobile artillery and armament used by the United States and its Allies under Lend-Lease. This work uses newly uncovered primary sources and documentation from the Ordnance Department to reveal the astounding output achieved at this location during the critical war period. Despite constant personnel attrition and a facility expansion that swelled the site from 44 buildings in 1918 to 374 structures by 1943, Erie Proving Ground proofed and shipped artillery worth an estimated two million dollars each day, delivering them to battlefields in every theatre of the war. These documents show that this output was achieved because of the complete integration of the local community, Ordnance officials, and employees into the operational objectives of Erie Proving Ground. When selective service and volunteer enlistment winnowed the pool of experienced workers, women, African Americans, and former prisoners of war were brought in to fill the employment rolls, allowing them to achieve “maximum efficiency.” The management at this site developed habits of cooperation with the local community which resulted in the creation of roads, bridges, and housing that could accommodate the needs of Erie Proving Ground and its employees. They also used targeted strategies, propaganda, and occasional falsehoods to motivate and retain this diverse workforce. This work adds to the historiography of the Homefront during World War II, the role of women, African Americans, and prisoners of war in defense work during this era, and the impact of military installations on local communities. It also uncovers the importance of a facility whose impact on (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Benjamin Greene Ph.D (Committee Chair); Rebecca Mancuso Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: History; World History

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2018, History

The following dissertation examines the ways in which Union and Confederate ex-prisoners of war discussed their experiences of captivity between 1862 and 1930. By examining former prisoners' captivity narratives, this dissertation demonstrates that to the end of their lives, ex-prisoners worked to construct a public image—one of suffering—that differed from the typical gallant volunteer who fought and died on the battlefield. Ex-prisoners shared their stories of captivity as a way of affirming their identities as a distinct type of veteran and to affirm their place as American men, regardless of their time as a prisoner of war. Viewed singly, any of these narratives might be dismissed as a fascinating story of personal suffering and survival, but when they are considered as a body of literature, one can trace the development of a master narrative, both separate from and intertwined with the American public's postwar memory. This dissertation challenges conventional understandings of postwar reconciliation and adds to recent scholarship on veterans' reintegration into civilian life. Both Union and Confederate ex-prisoners of war often contradicted this preferred heroic narrative of the war. Some men, as they got older, accepted reconciliation and censored their bitterness and hatred. Others promised to never forget their sufferings and, as a result, remained obstacles to reconciliation. By examining ex-prisoners' narratives, this dissertation reveals how ex-prisoners did not accept or fit into the ideal trajectory of reconciliation.

Committee: Walter Hixson (Committee Chair); Lesley Gordon (Committee Co-Chair); Stephen Harp (Committee Member); Kevin Adams (Committee Member); Patrick Chura (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; American Literature; History; Military History

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2010, History

For German soldiers of the Great War (1914-1918), falling into enemy hands was an emasculating ordeal that called one's courage and loyalty into question and physically separated men from the national struggle upon which their identity as soldiers in the service of a higher ideal rested. This dissertation examines the ways that the stigma of captivity affected how approximately 132,000 German military prisoners held in the United Kingdom from 1914-1920 experienced the Great War and life in captivity. An analysis of the German prisoners' lives in the United Kingdom stands to broaden our understanding of the Great War captivity experience and how idealized visions of appropriate male behavior impacted soldiers' actions in the frontlines and shaped how they responded to the pressures of life in captivity. The stigma of surrender predated the outbreak of war in 1914, but as German soldiers fell into enemy hands in increasing numbers after 1916, German authorities strengthened the correlation between surrender, cowardice, and disloyalty. Thus, this dissertation argues that the Great War failed to alter popular notions of what it meant to be a man at war and actually reinforced existing mores. By war's end, more than 8 million soldiers had surrendered to their enemies. Despite the frequency with which soldiers made the transformation to prisoners, they struggled to come to terms with the implications of their surrender. Although the British treated German prisoners in the United Kingdom exceptionally well, prisoners suffered from feelings of detachment, inadequacy and abandonment, and their letters from captivity indicate an urge to reestablish contact with the front and homefront in order to convince themselves that as prisoners they still had a place within the national community. Prisoners in the United Kingdom accordingly devoted themselves to the establishment of vibrant cultural communities that accentuated their nationalism and commitment to the same higher ideal (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Alan Beyerchen (Committee Co-Chair); Robin Judd E. (Committee Co-Chair); Jennifer Siegel (Committee Member) Subjects: History

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2008, History

This paper explores how perceived cultural and ethnic identities effected the interactions between German prisoners of war and the citizens of Adams County, Pennsylvania during the Second World War. Newspapers articles, oral histories and government documents were analyzed to gauge the level of interaction between and the reception of German POWs who worked in the community as temporary labor relieve. The first chapter locates Camp Sharpe geographically within the history of Adams County and Pennsylvania, historically within the larger study of German prisoners of war in America and outlines the development of German culture within southern Pennsylvania. Chapter two provides a chronology of the creation and management of Camp Sharpe and the temporary work camp in Gettysburg. It also details the interactions between German prisoners of war and the citizens of Adams Country, showing that there was ample opportunity for German prisoners and Americans to communicate with each other due to the peculiar policies for prisoner of war labor. The last chapter examines the creation and maintenance of German culture and the existence and influences of several factors that could impact the formation of identity. By acknowledging these factors, this work will explore why German prisoners of war and the citizens of Gettysburg generally responded favorably to each others' presence and try to account for the varying influences that caused both this reaction and less frequent negative responses.

Committee: Beth Griech-Polelle PhD (Advisor); Christina Guenther PhD (Advisor); Geoffrey Howes PhD (Committee Member); Gary Hess (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; European History; History; Language; Military History

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1960, History

Committee: Robert W. Twyman (Advisor) Subjects: History

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1960, History

Committee: Robert W. Twyman (Advisor) Subjects: History

Master of Arts in History, Youngstown State University, 1998, Department of Humanities

“American Prisoners of the Luftwaffe: Realities and Images,” provides readers with a comprehensive picture of the lives of World War II American fliers held in German POW camps. The material included in this work begins with some of the hair-raising experiences that the fliers went through prior to capture and internment in a POW camp. Interrogation procedures are discussed as a means of dispelling the myth that all captured American soldiers revealed only their name, rank and serial number to their captors. This project focuses on the harsh realities of camp life that these men endured. Images from movies such as Stalag 17 and the Great Escape, and episodes of Hogan's Heroes are used to reveal some of the fallacies and realities that have become part of the American mythology concerning the lives of Prisoners of War.

Committee: Martin Berger (Advisor) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2009, History

This dissertation examines the captivity of the American soldier during the American Civil War (1861–1865). The plethora of fine works that exist about the experiences of Civil War captives have focused their attention on the harshness of prison life, the resulting casualties, and the need to assign blame. This dissertation takes another approach. Instead, it examines how prisoners of war in both the North and South adapted and made the best of a restrictive and harsh environment. The study shows that prison life, in despite of its trauma and suffering, included the rudiments of an American community. This dissertation also examines the positive aspects of the prison experience. Many captives accepted the reality of the circumstances and set out to make the best of their situation. They used their values to engineer a culture of captivity that made imprisonment endurable and survival possible. The adoption of this culture among Civil War prisoners of war is hardly surprising. The Civil War generation came to war equipped with habits and traditions that made captivity sustainable. These traits did not disappear when the combat soldier relinquished his weapon and commenced the journey into captivity. If anything, the stressful nature of imprisonment pushed these habits underground briefly, forcing the prisoners to reshape them in original ways. Thus, this work interprets captivity as a transforming experience.

Committee: Joan Cashin (Committee Chair); Warren VanTine (Committee Member); C. Mark Grimsley (Committee Member) Subjects: American History