"Traumatic Defeat is a comparative study of wartime and postwar Prisoner of War (POW) and Missing in Action (MIA) activism and politics in Germany after World War II and the US after the Vietnam War. Patrick Gallagher argues that under certain circumstances, a postwar form of national mythology develops, derived from POW/MIA activism and the belief that substantial numbers of MIAs continue to survive in secret captivity after war's end. He refers to this phenomenon as the "secret camp myth," after the covert facilities in which these missing men supposedly survive. Gallagher demonstrates that these two parallel cases of national trauma over prisoners and the missing demonstrate how wars can breed mythologies that, if not satisfied, can take on lives of their own and come to dominate national conversations on the history of warfare, aftermath, and defeat."--Provided by publisher.

Introduction -- Germany's war on the Eastern Front, and the origins of its secret camp myth -- The short-lived German secret camp myth -- Missing Americans in Southeast Asia and the origins of POW/MIA activism -- Radicalization of POW/MIA advocacy and the emergence of the secret camp myth -- High-water mark of the secret camp myth -- Conclusion.