The author of this unusual book, Yuri Vladimirovich Vladimirov, is a simple Soviet soldier. In 1942, he was sent with his unit to participate in the infamous operation near Kharkov. At the end of May, after his first fierce battle with German tanks, he miraculously remains alive and is captured. During three years of the camps, Yuri Vladimirovich endured inhuman trials, but not only survived, but managed to preserve human dignity, good spirits and the will to live. The book tells in detail, with important, now almost forgotten, historical and everyday details about the pre-war period, the war , German captivity and the first post-war years.