"The thought of ever becoming a prisoner of war had never previously entered my mind." (Diary)

Aben S. Caplan

War: World War II, 1939-1946 Branch: Army Unit: 3rd Infantry Division, 15th Infantry, 3rd Battalion, Company I Service Location: Italy; France; Germany Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant POW: Yes Place of Birth: Chicago, IL

When infantryman Aben Caplan was taken prisoner on the German side of the Rhine in January 1945, he was lucky in that he spoke German and could communicate with his captors. What he didn't want to tell them, however, was that he was Jewish. Caplan found other Jews among the prisoner population, and in one of the many camps in which they lived, they were even able to hold religious services. His stories are vividly told in a series of letters he wrote to his wife and son in the last two months of the war, many of the details culled from a coded diary he kept.