'Survival, Memoir of a Forced Labourer in the Third Reich'   by George Beeston.

Dennis Abbott, journalist, author, and Chair of the Royal British Legion (RBL) in Brussels, led a discussion of the ebook version of George Beeston's book. The book focuses on the adventures and misadventures of a young Belgian man, the son of an Englishman and a Belgian mother. 

When German forces invaded Belgium in May 1940, Beeston was nineteen and determined to resist.

"His first instinct was to reach Britain and join the Allied war effort. When that plan collapsed amid the chaos of France's defeat, he enlisted instead in the French Foreign Legion. The experience proved brief and chaotic; abandoned by officers and surrounded by advancing German forces, his unit surrendered.

Beeston narrowly escaped execution as a suspected partisan. After a gruelling march across eastern France, he was placed in a prisoner-of-war camp, where German interrogators took a particular interest in his Australian birthplace. His eventual escape — achieved with forged papers and a good deal of nerve — carries the breathless energy of a wartime thriller, yet the memoir recounts it with an almost disarming matter-of-factness.

Returning to occupied Belgium in late 1940 did not bring safety. His father was deported to an internment camp in Silesia the following year, leaving the young Beeston responsible for supporting his mother and younger brothers. Like many families under occupation, they lived precariously, taking whatever work could be found.

The real ordeal began in December 1942 when Beeston himself was deported to Germany as a forced labourer and sent to work for Siemens in Nuremberg. Here, the memoir shifts tone, becoming darker and more reflective. The daily grind of industrial labour under Nazi supervision is described without embellishment: long hours, meagre pay, constant surveillance, and the ever-present danger of punishment.

Added to this was the grim irony that forced labourers in German cities were exposed to the growing intensity of Allied bombing. Beeston writes of nights spent in fear beneath the thunder of air raids — caught between the regime that enslaved him and the bombs intended to destroy it.

What distinguishes Survival is not simply the catalogue of hardship but the author's understated resilience. Beeston recounts moments of brutality and despair, yet the memoir never lapses into bitterness. Instead it records a series of narrow escapes and improbable survivals, particularly in the chaotic final weeks of the war when he twice fled German authorities as the front lines collapsed.

When American forces finally liberated the area, Beeston's linguistic abilities once again proved valuable. He served briefly as an interpreter during the round-up of German officers and SS personnel — an extraordinary reversal for a man who had only recently been their captive labourer."

"Compulsory deportation of Belgian workers to Germany began in October 1942. At the beginning of the scheme, Belgian firms were obliged to select 10 percent of their workforce, but from 1943, workers were conscripted by age class. 145,000 Belgians were conscripted and sent to Germany, most for work in manual jobs in industry or agriculture for the German war effort. Working conditions for forced workers in Germany were notoriously poor. Workers were paid little and worked long hours, and those in German towns were particularly vulnerable to Allied aerial bombing."

Secure your copy here: https://branches.britishlegion.org.uk/branches/brussels-branch/history/survival-george-john-beeston/  Unzip the folder to see the text and read it in your favorite reader app