Thank you Netgalley and Sutherland House for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

"Hanged in Medicine Hat" by Nathan Greenfield looks at the executions of WW2 German Soldiers who murdered their own.

I would give "Hanged in Medicine Hat" by Nathan Greenfield a 2 star review because, the story was so interesting to learn about but it was confusing at times.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me review this story. My opinions are entirely my own.

I was very excited to see this title. I have a love for local history and have visited the site of my local POW camp. I was disappointed that it could not keep my attention. I tried picking it up on three occasions and could not get past the first few chapters. There was just too many details, most of it not associated to the actual case. I appreciate back story and mostly read non fiction, but this one was not a favorite writing style.

The compelling true story of Hanged in Medicine Hat is such a surprise to me as a Canadian...why did I not know about this?! Embroiled in controversy, this is a fascinating look at the executions of WWII German Nazi soldiers who murdered their own in a POW camp in Medicine Hat. So many unanswered questions linger which add to the mystery and intrigue. Should they have been tried differently? Was justice served? Were (all) the real killers caught? Photographs really bring the already vivid story to life.

Britain had no room for 13,000 Nazi prisoners so they were sent to Alberta, Canada dubbed the "Pittsburgh of the West" where they established their own small Nazi Germany with their own hierarchy and rules. Unlike many other prisoners of war, those in Medicine Hat were treated very well with education possibilities, plenty of nourishing food, hot water (many residents did not have that privilege), dental hut, theatre and soccer. This background story adds even more layers to the murder of two men by four others, apparently as they were traitors and needed to be killed.

The Gestapo influence was alive and well in the camp. In this book author Nathan Greenfield describes the last mass hanging in Canada (the four perpetrators in the camp plus a child killer) and the story behind the hangings including gruesome details of the men's murders. The RCMP infiltrated the camp to investigate. Their findings are detailed and the Nuremberg trials are referenced. Much of the book is about the trial itself including quotes from notes and interviews.

Those who like to learn more about WWII, court cases, unresolved crimes (in my mind it's not completely settled) and an unknown important story in Canada's history, do read this. It induced me to do further research.

My sincere thank you to Sutherland House and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this captivating book.

Growing up near Medicine Hat, this was an obvious read. Well, was I sure shocked at this not widely known piece of Canadian history surrounding this small Albertan city! Nathan does a great job giving a broader background of POW camps in Canada and then narrows the information to events that took place specifically in a POW camp in Medicine Hat. I really enjoy reading about pockets of history I never gave much thought to.

Nazis couldn't even stop killing when they were POWs. Go figure.

Nathan Greenfield's "Hanged in Medicine Hat" is a look at two executions of German soldiers in a POW camp in Canada. The German soldiers had created their own subculture within the camp and continued to fall under German military authority for the most part. Accusations are made, men are hung, and the perpetrators face a non-military Canadian court.

Greenfield tells a very straightforward story. The details are there as far as can be expected when talking about an episode at the end of World War II in central Canada. Greenfield's prose is easy to read and he keeps his narrative to the the point.

The problem becomes the lack of flair around the writing. As a meditation on a trial that probably should not have happened the way it did, Greenfield makes excellent legal points. However, I never felt like I was in the camp, or in the courtroom, or at the gallows. This felt too much like a recitation of facts instead of a full story.

(This book was provided as an advance read copy by Netgalley and Sutherland House. The full review will be posted to HistoryNerdsUnited.com on 11/17/2022.)

The impact of National Socialism and its associated atrocities is far reaching. As an avid reader of historical accounts of many aspects of WWII and the Holocaust, I was fascinated to find this account of true crime linked to the post war experience in Canada. There is a lot of information here and it is by no means a comfortable read as you are offered details and perspectives which make you think. But the depth of information and analysis make for a fascinating account of a relatively obscure case.

Hanged in Medicine Hat is a book I requested more or less on a whim — I spent my teenaged years on the “bald prairies” of Southern Alberta without ever hearing the story of the Nazi POW camp that once was there, let alone the story of the last mass execution in Canadian history, so my interest was piqued — and historian Nathan Greenfield’s account is well-researched, well-told, and presents a nuanced question: In the immediate aftermath of WWII, what should justice have looked like in the handling of unrepentant Nazis who killed some of their own “within the wires” of Medicine Hat’s Camp 132? Full of fascinating details, shining a light on a near-forgotten episode in Canadian history, what’s not to like?

If you enjoy true crime and stories related to World War II, I think you will enjoy this book. I was initially attracted to this book due to the fact that I was born in Medicine Hat, AB. I had known about the POW camp in Lethbridge, but I never knew that a POW camp had existed in Medicine Hat during World War . It was very interesting to read about the hanging crimes that happened at this POW camp.
While the all the evidence and information presented was very interesting, at times I found the book a bit dry and difficult to read at times. Sometimes it felt the book lacked a bit of flow and I struggled at times to keep track of all the different people being mentioned and what their role was in regards to the crimes. I would be interested to listen to this book on audio to see how it compares to reading it.
My rating for this book is 3.5 stars.