taken by force

[Terry OToole]

just acquired the book-- "taken by force" rape and American gi s in europe during ww2 - by j robert lilly , has anyone else read it ? i m reading Dirlewanger at the moment so it ll have to wait

[Terry OToole]

well as no one else has read this , having finished it i can comment -- understandandly a very touchy subject , but also very interesting as in a little discussed part of history ,rottoen apples in every army , this book does not condemm the whole ,only the tiny minority , some very controversial stats are given ,don t think i could repeat them on this forum ,one interesting point - frontline troops are rarely mentioned as offenders ,virtually all rear echeclon soldiers ,worth a read but slightly depressing

[Michael Fay]

myth vs truth

Thanks for bringing this up,
I have not read it, but I do remember one historian describing the Soviet army seeming to enact ritual rapes upon vast numbers of the German female population as if it ritually paid back for past transgressions.
But very depressing . Like the taking of grisly trophys in the Pacific, the "mythic" story-line that we all enjoy believing is not necessarily a perfect fit with absolute "scientific" truth.

As my old WAF signature used to say:

"If a way to the better there be, it lies in taking a full look at the worst."
-Thomas Hardy