Overview

Eleven Months to Freedom recounts the daring World War I escape of Germanmidshipman Erich Killinger. Falsely accused of bombing a railway station aftercrashing his plane at sea, he was sentenced to life in the Sakhalin coal mines.Shipped by rail with several other POWs across Russia, Killinger wasdetermined to return home. In order to do this, though, he needed to jumpfrom the train, cross Siberia, and make it to a German-run escape pipeline inChina-all while braving bandits, subzero temperatures, threats of starvation,the risk of capture by Japanese and Russian troops, and possible internmentby the Chinese. Once he made it to China, Killinger used money and fakeidentity papers to survive along the 800 miles to Shanghai. Improbably playing the role of a dashing French blade, Killinger lived the highlife on one ship, then later served as a humble deckhand on another. Riskingdiscovery by the British, he made a bold and risky move as his finaldestination neared.

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9781682470657

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Reviews

Dwight Messimer, an expert on World War I history, tells Killinger's story in great detail, giving the reader a true taste of the daily odds an escapee faces on such a journey. Anyone who appreciates the risks of an odyssey like Killinger's will relish reading this account. -Linda Goetz Holmes, author of Guests of the Emperor: The Secret History of Japan's Mukden POW Camp

Author Information

Dwight R. Messimer is a U.S. Army veteran and former lecturer in history atCalifornia State University San Jose, USA. His most recent book is The BaltimoreSabotage Cell: German Agents, American Traitors and the U-boat Deutschland duringWorld War I. He resides in Northern California, USA.

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