AN: The following is based on a true place, a true event, and a real period in time. Be aware, however, that not all of this is completely accurate, and for no reason should you assume that all of the below is truth. Enjoy.
Ludwig lifted his head as soon as word began to pass around the ship that they were in America. Some of his fellow Germans made their way towards the windows to see if the rumors were true. Ludwig, already sitting by one of the few round windows in the ship's hull, turned his head to face the light of day. The rumors were not true; in plain sight, he saw the New York skyline, and standing proud in front of him, the Statue of Liberty, as perfect as the day it had been given to America by the French. Some shouting began to surface from one man nearby. "No! This must be some sort of trick!" the man insisted. Ludwig sighed softly. This was one of the true believers of the word of their leader's endless propaganda. He stood up and said, "Be quiet. There stands the statue and city, untouched by our bombs. This is no trick, soldier; New York was never bombed." He sat down as soon as the words sunk in amongst those who also doubted what they saw. He rolled his eyes, not quite understanding how a man could be so stubborn.
So they were in America. Here it was told they would be starved, and they would die on these grounds. They were taken from the ship and boarded onto a train. Ludwig leaned against the wall of the train and looked around at his fellow men. The Americans called them Nazi Supermen, but Ludwig knew better. All of them, including himself, were beaten and worn; some were young, some were old, but all longed for rest and a good meal. The train lurched forward slightly as the wheels underneath began to turn. He sat down and crossed his arms. Ludwig closed his eyes and grumbled, "Someone wake me when we get to the camp."
Alfred Jones laughed to himself as the women made a bee-line to the train station, all searching for a good seat on the lumber piles to get a good, hard look at the thousand of Germans that would be coming to the new prisoner-of-war camp built in their town. It was kind of funny to him how badly the citizens wanted to see the first shipment of their new "fenced in guests", but as it was such a small town, it was understandable. This was Aliceville, after all. Everyone had to know someone somehow in a small rural town like this one.
Alfred himself was not interested. He had to be there, he was going to get to see the Germans regardless if he had a good seat or anything. He had taken a job as a guard for the camp, even though his boss had strictly forbidden him to get so close to the Germans. All it took was a few days of endless persuasion, begging, getting to the right people, and just a hint of luck and he was assigned to Aliceville. He was sure his boss hated him so bad at the moment, but he could care less. He had to get involved in this war in some form or another.
A whistle sounded in the distance. The train was close. Alfred made his way to the station with the other officers and guards to welcome the prisoners. He flashed a smile and a wave to the young ladies on the lumber pile, and they all giggled in response. One of the higher ranking officers patted Alfred forcefully on the back and said, "Stop goofing off, Jones, we've got to get everyone to the camp and processed without trouble."
"Sorry, sir," Alfred said, looking away to roll his eyes indifferently. The ladies caught this and giggled again. He liked being the center of attention, getting in trouble didn't matter much.
The train rolled to a stop and the P.O.W.s were unloaded. The way the Germans all stood, the way they looked, was a bit of a shock. Were these not the Afrikakorps, one of the most elite groups of the German army? All of these men were broken, dirty, and tired, not anything like the strong warriors the town had been expecting. Alfred walked along the side of the group as they were led by foot to the camp. Most stayed silent and did not look at anything but the floor or the road ahead, but he did hear some muttering to each other. It was all in German, though, so he couldn't understand any of it. Maybe it would've been a good idea to learn a second language…
As they processed the P.O.W.s, checking paperwork and getting medical attention where it was needed, Alfred stood casually by the entrance to the camp, muttering meaningless words of welcome. This was a camp for war prisoners, specifically Germans. It wasn't meant to be fun and games and happy and whatnot, just a place to hold them in a humane manner until this war was over and they could all be sent home. "Hey, welcome to Camp Aliceville," he muttered. This was going to be boring. Why did he take this job again? Oh yeah, because he wanted it. Irony.
As soon as the troops were processed and taken care of, they were released into the mess hall and given food. They all seemed shocked to be given meat and vegetables, bread, water, salt and pepper… It was just a small meal, to Alfred. Why had it shocked them so much? As he walked around the mess hall, one of the P.O.W.s lifted his hand. "Excuse me."
Alfred turned and tilted his head. "Hm? What do you want?" he asked the blonde man.
"Vaht is tis?" the man asked, holding up a jar that had been on the table.
Alfred laughed, "That's peanut butter! You can put it on bread and eat it." The German was slightly confused, but after a long delay as he tried to understand what Alfred had said, he smeared it on the bread and ate it cautiously. He smiled and passed the jar to his comrades, who also cautiously tried the peanut butter. This action spread like wildfire. "What, you guys don't have peanut butter?" Alfred asked.
The blonde turned, and after a delay, said, "Nein."
That much Alfred could understand. "What's your name?" he asked the blonde.
Another delay. "Ludwig."
"I'm Alfred F. Jo-"
"Jones! Stop harassing the prisoners!" one of the commanding officers shouted from the distance.
Alfred sighed and said to Ludwig, "Whatever, I probably shouldn't be speakin' to Nazis anyway. Enjoy the meal." As Alfred walked away, Ludwig growled below his breath, "Ich bin Nazi nicht…." He continued his meal, wondering why the meal was so… normal? This was a camp for prisoners, not a "fine" dining facility. He couldn't help but wonder if this was some form of propaganda. Apparently the others thought so too, because the man to his left whispered, "What is this? Edible propaganda? I won't stand for this."
"I don't know, but that's how it seems… they won't break us down that easily. Now finish your meal, this may be our last. You know what they say – American camps mean starvation," the man to Ludwig's right replied.
Ludwig stayed silent and replied to neither. He ate his meal without another sound. Once the P.O.W.s had all finished eating every speck of meat, bread, and peanut butter and had emptied every salt shaker, they were rounded up and led to their barracks. As Ludwig stepped into the building, he caught a soldier waving to him in the corner of his eye. Alfred. Ludwig rolled his eyes and closed the door behind him, ignoring the rather annoying soldier in preference for a good sleep in one of the fifty beds within the barrack.
