Flights from Fassberg: How a German Town Built for War Became a Beacon of Peace (Willie Morris Books in Memoir and Biography)
Zoomicon-zoom-in
Flights from Fassberg: How a German Town Built for War Became a Beacon of Peace (Willie Morris Books in Memoir and Biography)

Flights from Fassberg: How a German Town Built for War Became a Beacon of Peace (Willie Morris Books in Memoir and Biography)

By
Wolfgang W. E. Samuel (Author)  

Hardback

Available / dispatched within 1 - 4 weeks

Quantity

Also available on eBook for £12.99. Click here to purchase from Rakuten Kobo

Wolfgang W. E. Samuel, Colonel, US Air Force (Ret.), interweaves his story and that of his family with the larger history of World War II and the postwar world through a moving recollection and exploration of Fassberg, a small town in Germany few have heard of and fewer remember. Created in 1933 by the Hitler regime to train German aircrews, Fassberg hosted Samuel's father in 1944-45 as an officer in the German air force. As fate and Germany's collapse chased young Wolfgang, Fassberg later became his home as a postwar refugee, frightened, traumatized, hungry, and cold. Built for war, Fassberg made its next mark as a harbinger of the new Cold War, serving as one of the operating bases for Allied aircraft during the Berlin Airlift in 1948. With the end of the Berlin Crisis, the airbase and town faced a dire future. When the Royal Air Force declared the airbase surplus to its needs, it also signed the place's death warrant, yet increasing Cold War tensions salvaged both base and town. Fassberg transformed again, this time into a forward operating base for NATO aircraft, including a fighter flown by Samuel's son. Both personal revelation and world history, replete with tales from pilots, mechanics, and all those whose lives intersected there, Flights from Fassberg provides context to the Berlin Airlift and its strategic impact, the development of NATO, and the establishment of the West German nation. The little town built for war survived to serve as a refuge for a lasting peace. 125 black & white illustrations
Wolfgang W. E. Samuel, Colonel, US Air Force (Ret.), was born in Germany in 1935 and immigrated to the United States in 1951 at age sixteen with an eighth-grade education and no English-language skills. Upon graduation from the University of Colorado, he was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the US Air Force, then flew over one hundred strategic reconnaissance missions against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. His first book German Boy: A Refugee's Story garnered favorable reviews from the New York Times and numerous other outlets. He is author of eight books published by University Press of Mississippi.
  • Contributor: Wolfgang W. E. Samuel
  • Imprint: University Press of Mississippi
  • ISBN13: 9781496833648
  • Number of Pages: 248
  • Packaged Dimensions: 156x235mm
  • Packaged Weight: 542
  • Format: Hardback
  • Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
  • Release Date: 2021-04-30
  • Series: Willie Morris Books in Memoir and Biography
  • Binding: Hardback
  • Biography: Wolfgang W. E. Samuel, Colonel, US Air Force (Ret.), was born in Germany in 1935 and immigrated to the United States in 1951 at age sixteen with an eighth-grade education and no English-language skills. Upon graduation from the University of Colorado, he was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the US Air Force, then flew over one hundred strategic reconnaissance missions against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. His first book German Boy: A Refugee's Story garnered favorable reviews from the New York Times and numerous other outlets. He is author of eight books published by University Press of Mississippi.

Delivery Options

Home Delivery

Store Delivery

Free Returns

We hope you are delighted with everything you buy from us. However, if you are not, we will refund or replace your order up to 30 days after purchase. Terms and exclusions apply; find out more from our Returns and Refunds Policy.