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The book, Wolf’s Mouth, begins in 1944 when an Italian officer is captured by Allied forces and shipped to a POW camp in the Upper Peninsula.
This tale of fiction traces his experiences at the camp through his escape and relocation in Detroit – across time and over continents.
Smolens said, “What distinguishes him from most of the other prisoners who were brought to the United States during World War II is he stays in the country after the war ends. He stays illegally, he changes his identity and he is here for many years. So the story really transpires over nearly a half century.”
Underlying the story however, is the real story of the POW camps in the UP, the impact they had upon our communities, and how they were among many spread across the United States.
Smolens said, “People just say that they had no idea that these camps had been here in Michigan, let alone in the United States. In fact, there were 32 POW camps during the last couple of years of World War II in Michigan. And in the United States, historians don’t always agree on the exact number, but I would say the common number is approximately 170 camps.”
Smolens will be at the Calumet Public Library today at 6:30pm to discuss what led him to write this novel and the research he conducted to do so.
Books will be available to purchase with proceeds going to support the work of the Friends of the Calumet Public Library.
