Phylactis Aristokleous’s memoir gives a detailed picture of life as a prisoner of war in Europe during the Second World War. Through his descriptions, we see not only how men survived, but how they thought, felt and helped one another. His words turn distant history into lived experiences. 

His story also shows both the limits and the power of memory. These memoirs were written long after the events they describe and were shaped by time, experience, and the audience they were written for. Phylactis was not keeping an official record but writing for his descendants — to pass on what he had lived through and the lessons he drew from it. In doing so, he searched for meaning, and perhaps for comfort, where war had often left none. These are memory accounts, not fixed records, and they change emphasis depending on who reads or hears them and why. 

It was written many years after the events he describes, yet the feelings remain sharp: hunger, fear, cold, and moments of kindness. Memory may fade or reshape details, but it still carries deep truth about what people endured and what it meant to them. 

These stories must be taught and preserved because they help us ask questions about the past that are still relevant today. They remind us how ordinary people behave in extraordinary situations, how courage and compassion survive even in captivity, and how easily freedom can be lost. Phylactis’s memoir stands as both a historical record and a human reminder of what war costs and why remembering matters. 

Phylactis’s story encourages us to think about fairness, courage and the choices people make in times of conflict.