A Forbidden World War II Love Story That Defied All Boundaries
Enemies in Love uncovers a shocking, hidden chapter of World War II history—a true story of forbidden romance between Elinor Powell, an African American military nurse, and Frederick Albert, a German prisoner of war held in the Arizona desert.
An Unlikely Romance in a Segregated World
During World War II, the U.S. military relegated most black nurses to second-class assignments in dusty, segregated Western towns. The army assumed that fraternization between African American nurses and white German POWs was virtually impossible. They were wrong.
Elinor Powell and Frederick Albert met under the most improbable circumstances—she, serving her country despite facing discrimination at every turn; he, a captured enemy soldier thousands of miles from home. In the racist climate of 1940s America, they should have been bitter enemies. Instead, they fell deeply in love at the height of the war.
Years of Research Reveals Hidden History
Journalist Alexis Clark spent years conducting interviews and historical research to piece together this astounding narrative. Originally featured in The New York Times, this story drew national attention for revealing the surprising possibilities for human connection during one of history's most violent conflicts.
The book paints a vivid tableau of dreams deferred and love struggling to survive—twenty-five years before the Supreme Court's Loving decision would legalize mixed-race marriage in America.
Critical Acclaim
"Alexis Clark illuminates a whole corner of unknown World War II history."
—Walter Isaacson, New York Times bestselling author of Leonardo da Vinci
"An irresistible human story... Clark's voice is engaging, and her tale universal."
—Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power
Selected as "New & Noteworthy" by The New York Times Book Review, this deeply moving narrative explores race on the American home front while chronicling a love story unlike any other.
