Everybody, especially Americans, should see this, although perhaps only Americans, and maybe even only Americans who have some sense of direct connection with the events, will find all fourteen hours of it engrossing, as I did. I may have something more to say about it later, but I wanted to note this bit from the last installment. A former American soldier describes a conversation with a German POW, noting that the German spoke English with no discernible accent:
German: Where are you from?
American: The United States.
G: Where in the United States?
A: The Northeastern part.
G: But where exactly?
A: Connecticut.
G: Oh. Where in Connecticut?
(The American has begun to be puzzled by the German's level of interest.)
A: Waterbury.
G: Oh yes–where the Naugatuck and Mad Rivers meet.
(Now the American is really surprised and puzzled, because most people who aren't from the area would only know the Naugatuck, the Mad River being much smaller and less significant there.)
A: How do you know so much about Waterbury?
G: I was in school for the administration.
A: "The administration?"
G: The administration of the territories.
I suppose this is no surprise to students of the war, but it was startling to me. It sort of weakens the argument that the U.S. should, or in the long run could, have stayed out of the war.
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