The Portal to Texas History 2023 Research Fellowship Awardee

Holly L. Harris

Project Title

Marching through Götterdämmerung: Second World War Anglo-American Airmen Prisoners of War and the Holocaust

Project Description

Holly’s project focuses on Anglo-American prisoners of war (POWs) during the last six months of World War II. During this timeframe, predominately American and British airmen POWs endured a series of forced “death marches” from the Eastern Front to central Germany– where they came face to face with the extreme suffering of Jewish people and Russian POWs as well. While the airmen themselves endured incredible hardship, they framed it in comparison with the other Nazi atrocities. She is also interested in how these events relate to broader issues in the memory studies field.

Biography

Holly Harris is a PhD student and University PhD Fellow at Southern Methodist University. Holly’s research focuses on allied prisoners of war during the last year of World War II. She is interested in how these events connect to geopolitics, violence, memory, and welfare. Her research has been supported by the United States Air Force Academy, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the American Historical Association, the Society for Military History, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.