{"product_id":"the-spoils-of-victory-9781966323211","title":"The Spoils of Victory","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA compelling story between Germans and Americans caught up in WWII, but far from the battlefield.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRolf Mueller, a young corporal from Olpe, Germany who comes of age in the Nazi era, is swept up by Hitler's promise to make Germany great again. In the \u003cem\u003eWehrmacht\u003c\/em\u003e, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany, he fights his way across Europe and North Africa before being wounded and captured in 1943.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTransported to America, Rolf is incarcerated in the Flint Hills of Kansas, where under a U.S. Army program, he is sent to work on a farm owned by Mennonites-their ancestors are German peace pilgrims who left Europe decades earlier to escape religious persecution. This family, the Unruhs, must hire POWs because of the acute wartime labor shortage. The irony-Hitler's warriors working for pacifists to save their harvest and feed America-is not lost on anyone. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSeparated from his family and imprisoned after years of gruesome war and relentless Nazi indoctrination, Rolf must acknowledge the terrible deeds he committed and reckon with his guilt before he can hope for forgiveness.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLoretta Unruh, the family's eldest daughter, also embarks on her own uncharted journey in a changing world, deciding how to pursue her own dreams while honoring the family and traditions that sustain her.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAround the Unruh dinner table, Rolf comes to know America and Loretta learns about the world beyond her insulated community. Together, they discover the contours of love and hope for happiness, even in the darkest of times.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMarkowitz, Daniel J.:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Daniel Markowitz is a descendant of German and Slovenian immigrants who came to America in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Raised in Olpe, Kansas, at the edge of the Flint Hills, he earned degrees from Emporia State University (social sciences) and the University of Kansas (law) and spent decades in quixotic pursuit of success in a career for which he was ill-suited, before embarking on a trial-and-error journey for authenticity and purpose. He has five children, five grandchildren, and lives near the beaches of Baja California, where the big skies, low horizons, and undulating waves of the Pacific Ocean remind him of the rippling tallgrass prairies of home. \"The Spoils of Victory,\" is Markowitz's first novel and \"Book 1 in the Prisoners of War Series.\"","brand":"Flint Hills Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51764153647378,"sku":"9781966323211","price":32.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_7fb0fc4c-7df2-4c09-a23d-25b3a18e9283.jpg?v=1764757986","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-spoils-of-victory-9781966323211","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}