by Maureen Buick.
Hardback (6.2×9.3 inches). 231 pages. 2026.
Subtitle: WWII’s Longest-Serving American POW Camp Leader
This biography of Kenneth “Kurt” J. Kurtenbach examines his life as a tail-gunner in a B-17 who became a WWII POW in Germany. Conditions in German POW camps were bad enough to later convene war crimes investigations. Scarce food, inadequate water and fuel, and withheld Red Cross packages pepper the pages — with a bonus of horrendous conditions aboard train cattle cars shuttling the POWs between camps.
Kurtenbach was elected “Man of Confidence” — a term that meant Camp Leader. He oversaw the POWs, interacted with German commandants and Swiss Red Cross teams, and supervised escape committees.
He was indeed a determined fellow — constantly complaining to the Swiss Red Cross inspection teams about missing packages, bad rations, and other violations of the Geneva Convention. Although mostly ignored by the German commandant, several POWs later said he provided stability to POW life and convinced the Germans to allow sports equipment, theater, and other distractions to alleviate the starvation rations.
In 1945, when it came time for a forced march to keep the POWs out of Allied hands, Kurtenbach stayed behind with the wounded and too weak to walk. A US rescue column gave him two hours to pack up the POWs for the drive back to ambulances and hospitals. He later gave depositions about the horrendous camp conditions to post-war prosecutors.
It’s an easy read and vividly describes gritty POW life — this is no clean Hogan’s Heroes or Great Escape portrayal. It is a tale of adjustment, dedication, and grit.
Enjoyed it.
— Reviewed by Russ Lockwood
