SIGNED!! Inside Story - Ike Rosmarin

Inside Story - Ike Rosmarin - Frontispiece by Fay Rosmarin - Flesch & Partners - 1999, second edition - 124pp, Tobruk casualty list, black and white photographs - Hardcover and dustcover in good condition - Internally clean and tightly bound.

In his book, "Inside Story" Ike later related his experiences, when in the early hours of 20 June 1942 Genl Erwin Rommel and his German Afrika Korps "attacked with Stuka dive-bomber, Mark IV and Mark III tanks, panzers and blistering artillery barrage." The Allied forces were overrun by the Germans and Ike was captured, along with several thousand Allied and fellow South African soldiers. After their capture by the Germans, Ike and the other South African prisoners-of-war were handed over to the German allies at the time, the Italians, who soon sent them off by ship across the Mediterranean to prison camps in Southern Italy. He relates the terrible suffering of the prisoners at the hands of the Italians, while also having to contend with hunger, thirst and disease.

They later arrived at their new home at Campo 65, in the southern tip of Italy after having disembarked at Gravina station and marched to the camp. As if life was not tough enough in the camps, they were soon taken over by the German SS, after the capitulation of Italy. Ike wrote that seeing the SS guards was a terrifying situation, as the possibility existed that the prisoners could be moved to Germany. His worst fears later came true, and they were moved to Lamsdorf Camp, the infamous Stalag 88, later known as 344, the oldest and one of the largest camps in Germany, which had been used during World War I. in Germany. Here the prisoners were "dog-tagged" and Ike was given the prisoner number 31313.During what he termed his "lost years" Ike had to come to terms with his conscience. He developed a shocking guilt complex because he surrendered to the enemy without any real resistance, as he had not fired a shot in anger. "It was as if I had committed a cowardly act," he wrote.

In his book, Inside Story, he makes an honest attempt to convey in a simple way his experiences, thoughts and life as an Allied prisoner-of-war. He describes his daily routine, the harsh regulations and the tough physical and mental conditions.

Ike later said that his time as a prisoner of war had made him a better person. He and his wife Faye devoted their free time to trying to alleviate distress and help people less fortunate than themselves. On being freed from the camp at the end of the war and upon his return to South Africa in 1945, he joined the SA Red Cross Society and carried out his vow, and in that way, he tried to repay his debt to Red Cross for all the help he received during his time in the camps. Ike's welfare work among fellow prisoners of war later earned him a Swiss YMCA medal, which he was overjoyed to receive on his return home.

(Source: "Inside story" by Ike Rosmarin).