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The PoWs who survived Nagasaki

HistoryExtra podcast

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The Prisoner's Diary by Ron Breyer

Ron Breyer was one of ten children, brought up in rural poverty outside Harrogate. Yet he went to the local grammar school and was selected by the RAF for special training. He had lots of qualities that you needed to survive during World War II. The story has been invisible for so many decades because it was very dangerous to keep a diary or to keep notes. You'd get beaten up or sometimes even worse. For example, one prisoner wrote his diary in Irish, an Irish prisoner, so that if no one would understand them,. others, knowing they were dangerous, buried diaries in graves of other prisoners. Then, after the war, they were then collected again.

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