The Russians are coming -- Abandoned to their fate -- Out into the cold -- Fears of a massacre -- The retreat from Stalag Luft IV -- The deadly road to the west -- The rivers of humanity -- Liberated by the Red Army -- Hostages of Stalin -- Waiting for Patton -- The hell of Fallingbostel -- Death by "friendly fire" -- A German savior? -- Heading for home -- Welcome back -- Epilogue -- Appendix 1. Chronology of the end of the Second World War -- Appendix 2. The Yalta Agreement on Prisoners of War, February 1945 -- Appendix 3. The senior American officer's complaint about conditions at Stalag XIIID, Nuremberg -- Appendix 4. The numbers game