Captured!

by Ferdinand Huszti Horvath

Captured! is the autobiography of World War I Austrian POW Ferdinand Horvath who is taken prisoner on the front lines in 1914 and sent to a concentration camp in Siberia. There he endures brutal conditions for two and a half years until one day fate presents an opportunity for escape. Against impossible odds, Horvath flees the frozen fortress undetected and attempts to make his way across war-torn Russia to the safety of Sweden…

Genres: Nonfiction

211 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1930

Reviews

[A.L. Sowards · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this memoir. It wasn’t very polished, but I haven’t come across too many first-hand accounts of Austro-Hungarian POWs during WWI, so I found it really interesting. The book includes an account of his fighting on the Eastern Front, his capture, time in several POW camps (or billets—he was an officer, so they far better housing than enlisted prisoners), and his escape back to Austria. Rounding up to 4 stars.

[Bradley Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

The memoir of an Austro-Hungarian officer, Horvath was captured by the Russians for over two years and describes the daily struggles of POV life over such a long portion of time. A heartfelt read I thought, especially regarding times of wrenching, fleeting romance pending his release/escape. Overall enjoyed.

Though not part of the book, Horvath would later move to America and become an artist for Disney and animator for Colombia Pictures.

[Wayne Ikola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good and mostly believable

I've read a couple of books similar to this one. The main character is captured in war, spends time in a POW camp, has an affair with a beautiful foreign woman, makes a miraculous escape , gets

trapped in a foreign country, and an equally spellbinding escape to freedom. Since this book was written about a hundred years ago, I suppose someone has by now figured out the exact facts of Austrian officer's tale. The facts are inconsequential to me. I just like the story, true or not.

[Anthony C. Wilk · Rating 5 out of 5]

WWI memoir of Austrian Empire Officer captured by the Russian

I bought this book on Kindle for practically nothing. Very interesting autobiographical that covered this mans life primarily from 1914 to probably 1918. This book gives you an insight into how different the men on the eastern front were treated as prisoners of war. Officers were generally respected and had an unbelievable amount of freedom in prison camps. Very interesting book.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

The translation is very good, very good writing. The first portion of the book was excellent, it captured the experience of the author as a young officer in the Austrian Army in Galicia during the first year of the war with great realism. However, the remainder of the book covering his 2.5 years of Russian captivity under the Tsar and then Bolsheviks; then escape didn't seem realistic. It was also dominated by what could be described as a Harlequin Romance story embedded in this tale.

The second portion of the book didn't seem believable or particularly realistic, it didn't explain much about being a POW. It was too smooth and fanciful.

[Adam Mahler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hope in the face of adversity

This was a chilling take of the conditions people had to face in Russia during ww1. I did enjoy the story and the characters but people were treated terribly.