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To Hell in a Halifax: The Story of an RCAF Pilot and His Fellow POWs
Flying Officer Herbert Krentz, 431 Squadron, was shot down over Germany in early 1944, the only survivor from a crew of seven. He spent the remainder of the war in Stalag IV B, near Dresden. (Slaughterhouse-Five author Kurt Vonnegut Jr. was also a prisoner in the camp.) Because Krentz’s mother tongue was German, he worked on behalf of his fellow POWs as an interpreter, quickly winning their confidence and gratitude. As proof of this, they wrote their stories in his journal. Read the heart-wrenching accounts of what brought nearly 60 members of the RAF, RCAF, RNZAF, U.S. Army, U.K. and Canadian paratroop units to the same Nazi prison camp.
While most of the POWs gave some information about their final flights, as well as their rank, aircraft, and squadron (or unit, battalion, campaign, etc., if they were in the Army), the editors have supplemented that with full information about bombing targets and dates, types of aircraft, and the fate of other crew members (where known). Click here for a list of squadrons and army/paratroop units represented.
The book also contains Krentz’s own story—his last two bombing missions over Nazi Germany in late January 1944, his dramatic escape from his exploding bomber, his capture, interrogation, imprisonment, and final liberation in the last days of the war. Read more >>
Book Details
• 150 pages, with 8 pages of photos and illustrations
• Format: 5.5" x 8.5" (14 x 22 cm)
• ISBN: 0-9780358-0-1
