Frantz Zaviska's Life as a POW

My father's diary started in April 1940. By the end of the year, he "ran out" of days to write on and, being a war prisoner, he could not buy a 1941 diary in the local shop. He therefore started the Year 1941 using January 1st 1940, meticulously crossing out and correcting each day of the week in the process.

When translating from French into English, I have tried to keep to my father's words as closely as possible.

As his days were filled with routine work tasks (barbed wire, forest clearing and so on), I only translated what seemed significant, sometimes adding a translator's note for clarity. I believe my father did not allow himself to fall apart, although he did feel miserable at times. He even learnt German. He was motivated by his will to survive and the hope of seeing his loved ones again.