Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

October 10, 2008 6:38:24 PM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

From Detroit to Dresden to Siberia

Posted Nov 16, 07 5:42 PM CST in US,  World 

(Newser) – John Noble, an American who wrote two memoirs about the decade he spent as a Soviet prisoner, including 3 years in the gulag, died last week at 84, the Telegraph reports. Taken into Soviet custody in 1945, Noble and his father were incarcerated in Dresden, Germany, where they had run a family-owned camera factory. "Justice doesn't exist," a guard warned them.

"The Soviets in Dresden were worse than the air raids," Noble said later. After his father was released in 1952, Noble was transferred to the gulag system; he participated in an inmate revolt in Siberia in 1953 and was freed in 1955 after President Eisenhower intervened in his case. Noble later wrote about finding faith in God through the experience and returned to live in Dresden after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Source Daily Telegraph (UK)

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • Motown Great Norman Whitfield Dies

    Sep 18, 08 10:24 AM CDT
    Motown Great Norman Whitfield Dies Norman Whitfield, the visionary producer who helped shape the Motown era, has died at 67 from diabetes complications, the Los Angeles Times reports. Whitfield produced most of the Temptations’ recordings, and co-wrote dozens of Motown standouts, including Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard it Through the Grapevine.” It was Whitfield who helped shift Motown records from the catchy love tunes of the early ‘60s to more socially relevant themes. More »

  • Russia Parades Its Might, With Soviet Echoes

    May 9, 08 1:46 PM CDT
    Russia Parades Its Might, With Soviet Echoes Russia marked the 63rd anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany today with a parade of Soviet-era of tanks, missile launchers, and columns of foot soldiers, the New York Times reports. President-turned-prime-minister Vladimir Putin and his successor, Dmitry Medvedev, looked on, surrounded by the contrast of communist ritual with symbols of modern Russia's cut-throat capitalism. More »

  • Would-Be Hitler Killer Dead at 90

    May 3, 08 6:29 PM CDT
    Would-Be Hitler Killer Dead at 90 The last surviving member of a cabal that twice tried to assassinate Adolf Hitler died this week at age 90, the Telegraph reports. Nearly all of Phillip Von Boeselager’s co-conspirators were executed after a 1944 attempt to plant a bomb under the table at Hitler’s East Prussian headquarters, but von Boeselager escaped and Hitler sustained only minor injuries in the blast. More »

  • Auto Worker Powerhouse Doug Fraser Dead at 91

    Feb 25, 08 2:47 AM CST
    Auto Worker Powerhouse Doug Fraser Dead at 91 Former United Auto Workers president Doug Fraser, who played a vital role in saving Chrysler from bankruptcy, died yesterday at age 91. The cause of death was unknown, but Fraser had been suffering from emphysema, the Detroit Free Press reports. As UAW president during the ’70s and ’80s, Fraser helped win comprehensive health care and improved working conditions. More »

  • Ex-GM CEO, Chairman Smith Dead at 82

    Nov 30, 07 12:33 PM CST
    Ex-GM CEO, Chairman Smith Dead at 82 Roger B. Smith, the chairman of General Motors from 1981 to 1990 and the subject of Michael Moore's critical documentary Roger and Me, died yesterday in Detroit at 82. "He was a leader who knew that we have to accept change, understand change, and learn to make it work for us," said current GM CEO Rick Wagoner. More »

John H. Noble holding a speech in Nossen, Germany   (Wikimedia Commons)
John Noble spent several years in the Soviet gulag system despite being an American citizen, later documenting that time in two volumes of memoirs.   (janhofer.de)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (
1
 of 1)

Tags

obituary  • Detroit  • World War II  • Soviet Union  • Dresden


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Other World Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »