For this true account of British and Canadian internment in Nazi Germany in WWII we have the good fortune of the late Kathleen Levitt's detailed manuscript.
The Britons and the Canadians aboard the Zamzam were in a worse predicament than the American passengers who were citizens of a neutral country and who were repatriated as soon as they set foot ashore in Europe. No such luck for the others who were separated, menfolk from the women, and then dragged unceremoniously through France and Germany to a final destination in a converted mental hospital where the women and children were interned until, through the miracle of an exchange, and after some 18 months of captivity, they were reunited with their families in various parts of the world. This story of human fortitude on the part of Peter Levitt's extraordinary mother and her group of fellow detainees, is brought out in human terms by the sensitive editing of Kathleen Levitt’s hitherto unpublished manuscript. It is impossible to read these chapters without breathing the air of those tense and surreal years. The flurries of correspondence in almost a microscopic hand to and from the camp; the narrow thread of survival ensured by the faithful Red Cross parcels; the bold attempt at civilized life; the determination to maintain the health of the children under almost impossible circumstances. All this amounts to a compelling human story that enshrines those values that ultimately proved triumphant in that gargantuan struggle for decency that, collectively, we now call WWII.

* Levitt, Peter. A Memoir on The Sinking of The Zamzam. Toronto, Lugus: 2011. $25 + 5% GST = $26.25

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1. The Cape Argus, 19 May, 1941	2. The Toronto Daily Star, 19 May 1941	3. The New York Times, 21 May, 1941	4. The Journey to Liebenau	5. Lionel Levitt
6. Kathleen Levitt	7. Peter and Wendy Levitt in Liebenau	8. Lionel to Peter	9. Life in Liebenau	10. Life in Liebenau
11. Life in Liebenau	12. Life in Liebenau	13. The International YMCA	14. Kathleen to Lionel	15. Kathleen to Lionel
16. Liebeanu in Winter	17. Liebenau in Winter	18. Lieneau in Winter	19. The International Red Cross	20. The Red Cross Parcels
21. Life in Liebenau	22. The Children at Liebenau	23. Exit Passport Pictures	24. The Route to Palestine	25. To South Africa by Sunderland

Internment in Liebenau

From a new book by Peter Levitt*