Translated by Jack R. Meister, English department, Director of Radio Communication, German, Cloud County Community College (Retired) Edited by Susan Sutton Humanities Dean, Cloud County Community College (Retired) Text and Graphics Formatted by Emma Herman

'The history of prisoner of war camps in the United States is a subject that has been largely ignored by historians. Pride and Honor: The Diary of Franz Kuester, is an interesting and valuable recording of history. It gives us the views and thoughts of a Wehrmacht officer that were held in prisoner of war camps in Kansas, Indiana and Kentucky. Kuester comments on the work, leisure time (to include what movies he saw), education, food, weather and the quarters the PW's had. The sketches are an excellent record of Kuester saw. All of this is an insight into the prisoner of war camps in the United States that has rarely been recorded and even more rarely published. It is a work that should be read by students of World War II.' -Lowell A. May, Author of Camp Concordia and the Prisoners of War in Kansas 1943 to 1946

Reading like tweets from the grave, the diary of Franz Kuester offers us a moment now past. Kuester, a World War Two German officer brought to America as a POW after fierce combat in Europe, speaks to us as a stranger from a strange land. Offering observation not opinion, pause not pretension, Kuester lets us ride along with him as fate sets him on his adventure.'-Tom Nelson, Associate Professor in School of Communications, Elon University, Elon, North Carolina

'This diary is a great primary resource for historians of all stripes.'-Shereen Perry West, retired Library Media Specialist, Siloam Springs, Arkansas

German Lieutenant Franz Kuester's diary, Pride and Honor: The Diary of Franz Kuester, sketches the revealing detail of his 1-year, 10-months, 11-day, 11-hour and 22-minute incarceration as a POW. It is this precision, through both the jotted entries of his personal diary and the pencil strokes of his intricate drawings, that Kuester immerses the reader in the details of daily existence: weather, food, religion, coffee, movies, music, sports, and the names of those with whom he interacts. Kuester's travel between POW camps paints a picture of 1940s America with vivid descriptions of the land and its structure. A single word ("gloomy"), short phrase ("Technically fantastic!") or sentence ("One would think that time stood still here.") provides insight into rarely expressed emotions or critical observations. In fact, it is strikingly few emotions shared and very guarded commentary about the American people with whome he interacts that underscore Kuester's place: he is a German POW in America, recording his observations but not his opinions, never knowing who might read his words. How very fortunate that his diary and artwork were preserved so that future generations can gain insight into the personal experiances and observations of a German officer's life as an American POW. Pride and Honor: The Diary of Franz Kuester is a must-read for anyone interested in the human experience of World War II.' -Marlesa A. Roney, Ph. D., Professor of Practice, Higher Education Administration, School of education and Human Sciences, University of Kansas, Lwrence, Kansas