During World War II, Michigan became a temporary home to six thousand German and Italian POWs. At a time of home-front labor shortages, they picked fruit in Berrien County, harvested sugar beets in the Thumb, cut pulpwood in the Upper Peninsula, and maintained parks and other public spaces in Detroit. The work programs were not flawless, and not all prisoners were cooperative; but many of the men established enduring friendships with their captors. Author Gregory Sumner tells the story of these detainees and the ordinary Americans who embodied our highest ideals, even amid a global war.

Required Reading: Michigan POW Camps in World War II, ISBN 978-1625858375, is available in the Calvin University Campus Store and online.

Subject: history, war

Gregory D. Sumner is co-chair of the department of history at the University of Detroit Mercy, where he has taught since 1993. Sumner holds a PhD in American history from Indiana University and a JD from the University of Michigan Law School. His previous books include Unstuck in Time: A Journey through Kurt Vonnegut's Life and Novels (Seven Stories Press, 2011) and Detroit in World War II (The History Press, 2015).