South African WWII POW Stories

South African WWII POW Stories Telling the untold stories of the brave South Africans captured during WWII — preserving their courage, sacrifice and legacy.

05/02/2026

South African historian and author David Katz shares his thoughts after attending the Cape Town premiere of In Enemy Hands. He reflects on the film’s historical integrity and emotional impact.

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01/02/2026

On 29 January, In Enemy Hands premiered in Cape Town.
What followed was more than a screening — it was recognition, remembrance, and connection.
We are deeply grateful to everyone who joined us and to all who have carried these stories for generations.
Viewing information will be shared here once distributorship is finalised.








28/01/2026

The College of Magic, Lansdowne, all ready for the premiere tomorrow.

Here is a historian and author our team have been wanting to meet. Have a chance to chat to one of the most knowledgeabl...
23/01/2026

Here is a historian and author our team have been wanting to meet. Have a chance to chat to one of the most knowledgeable people on the subject of South Africa's role in WWII. Great opportunity for those attending our screening in Cape Town on the 29th of January!

Dr David Brock Katz is an author and historian, as well as a part-time lecturer and research fellow in the Department of Military History at the Faculty of Military Science at SU. Katz is also an active member of the Andrew Mlangeni Regiment. He is the author of South Africans vs Rommel (2019) and General Jan Smuts and his First World War in Africa: 1914-19-17 (2022).

We are so glad to have JP Sherman joining us on the 29th in Cape Town. 1. Jean Pierre Scherman (SANDF Officer/Academic) ...
23/01/2026

We are so glad to have JP Sherman joining us on the 29th in Cape Town.

1. Jean Pierre Scherman (SANDF Officer/Academic)
* Role: He is a senior military officer with over 30 years of experience in the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).
* Rank/Position: In 2020, he was transferred to the South African Military Academy as a Military University Educator with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
* Specialization: He has written on "Reflective Learning" within the SANDF.
2. 6th South African Armoured Division (WWII Service)

Meet Evert Kleynhans at the screening of 'In Enemy Hands' on Thursday!Dr Evert Kleynhans is a senior lecturer in the Dep...
23/01/2026

Meet Evert Kleynhans at the screening of 'In Enemy Hands' on Thursday!

Dr Evert Kleynhans is a senior lecturer in the Department of Military History at the Faculty of Military Science at Stellenbosch University (SU). He is the author of Hitler’s Spies: Secret Agents and the Intelligence War in South Africa (2021) and The Naval War in South African Waters, 1939-1945 (2022). He is also the editor of Scientia Militaria: South African Journal of Military Studies.

We have a few very distinguished guests at the screening of our film on the 29th of January. Meet Karen Horn and chat to...
23/01/2026

We have a few very distinguished guests at the screening of our film on the 29th of January. Meet Karen Horn and chat to someone who knows more about the POWs than anyone! Karen's bio in the description.

Karen Horn is a historian and an author. Her first book, In Enemy Hands: South Africa’s POWs in WWII, was nominated for the Alan Paton Sunday Times non-fiction award in 2016. Horn is a research fellow at the International Studies Group at the University of the Free State. In her work, she investigates individuals’ experiences on the home front and the battlefront, looking for humanity in the fog of war. In her spare time, she observes her husband’s gastronomic skills and has long conversations with her two collies. She lives in Somerset West.

Karen's books will be available for purchase at the event.

17/01/2026

The son of a prisoner of war recounts a story his father told him — a moment of false hope when an aircraft was shot down near a ship transporting POWs in the Mediterranean.

For a brief moment, they thought freedom might come.










15/01/2026

Many South African POWs came home and never spoke about what they endured.
Not because it didn’t matter — but because it was too much to put into words.
These interviews help explain why — and what they carried home and help families understand what their fathers and grandfathers lived through.










15/01/2026

One of the last prisoners of war describes life inside a camp.
Thousands of men. Too little water. Survival at any cost.
These voices are disappearing.










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