Morton Brooks was born in Brooklyn, New York in January 1926. He grew up there, with younger twin siblings, the children of an auto mechanic and parts supplier. The Great Depression was a difficult time, but with bartering and hard work, the family managed. Brooks earned pocket money by doing part time jobs. He was 14 years old when Pearl Harbor was attacked and was playing sports with friends when he heard the news. After high school, Brooks began his studies at Brooklyn College, but had also taken the ASTP [Annotator's Note: Army Specialized Training Program] exam, and had the opportunity to get into a military curriculum that would lead to a commission. He enlisted in October 1943, and was sent to Syracuse University under the auspices of the ASTP. When the war's casualty rate dictated a need for additional foot soldiers, the program was closed, and in February 1944 Brooks found himself in the infantry. After boot camp at Camp Wolters, Texas, he joined the 42nd Division, 242nd Infantry, Co. C [Annotator's Note: Company C, 1st Battalion, 242nd Infantry Regiment, 42nd Infantry Division] at Camp Gruber, Oklahoma. Basic training consisted of marching, instruction in hand-to hand combat, learning how to take care of a rifle, and a lot of housekeeping. There was extensive field training, and Brooks was trained as a rifleman. The military training experience threw Brooks into a changed environment, and he experienced some anti-Semitism, but he dealt with it. Brooks visited his family during a short leave out of Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, then was part of a huge group, most of a battalion, that was shipped overseas.

At the time of his overseas deployment, Morton Brooks had little knowledge about the German treatment of Jews, except for what little information about Kristallnacht [Annotator's Note: Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass, was a pogrom against Jews carried out by German military forces and civilians throughout Nazi Germany on 9 and 10 November 1938] had filtered through American radio and newsreels. Brooks' two week transatlantic voyage to Marseille was constantly threatened by German u-boats [Annotator's Note: submarines], and when he arrived, his unit [Annotator's Note: Company C, 1st Battalion, 242nd Infantry Regiment, 42nd Infantry Division] was almost immediately thrust into combat alongside a Free French outfit. Word filtered through the ranks of the high casualty rate the Allies were experiencing. He remembers being strafed while moving down a road and experiencing what it was like to "crawl up into his helmet." Moving north toward Strasbourg, it got cold, and Brooks said it was almost impossible to dig a foxhole. Brooks' division arrived in time for the Battle of the Bulge. After taking the German town of Hatten, he was in a forward foxhole when "all hell broke loose." There was firing through the night, and in the morning it was apparent from the tracer bullets that the Germans were not only in front, but also getting behind his group. It was "one hell of a battle," with artillery coming in and a breakdown in communications. Brooks volunteered to follow a broken telephone line and was repairing cable until he reached and entered a pillbox [Annotator's Note: a concrete shelter for machine guns] at the southern edge of the Maginot line. There, he encountered two more American soldiers, and as they were trying to decide what course to take, one of them shot a German soldier who was approaching their position. Soon afterward, a German Tiger tank came up the road, and they noticed also that they were in the line of a German machine gun nest. The three had to surrender or die. After they gave up, Brooks was interrogated, but found the Germans had more information on his unit than he did. Brooks gave his name, rank and serial number, and to this day is amazed that he wasn't killed. But he became a prisoner of war.

Surrendering was not something Morton Brooks wanted to do, but after he was captured, he was held in a barn with other prisoners, then loaded into boxcars and transported to Stalag IX-B in Bad Orb, Germany. The train ride was miserable, according to Brooks, with more than 75 men packed into each car and transported over a four or five day period without food. After arriving at Stalag IX-B, the prisoners were put in barracks, and within a couple of days, the 80 or so Jewish prisoners were moved to separate quarters. Each prisoner was issued a German dog tag, and was known only by a number. The daily routine began with roll call, then the men went back to barracks, were sparsely fed, and sat around all day. They often talked about their favorite meals back home, made friends and passed the time. Brooks remembers the winter of 1944 was extremely cold, and the prisoners wore what they had on when captured. Luckily, Brooks had just been issued snow boots, and he had a field jacket, so he could just about manage the frigid temperatures. Brooks, like other prisoners, occasionally traded cigarettes that he had hidden, along with 20 dollars occupation money, in the lining of his jacket. It amazed Brooks that some guys would do anything for a cigarette, and it was then that Brooks stopped smoking. The prisoners had no thought that things would get worse; the Americans had won the Battle of the Bulge, and the war would have to end soon.

Morton Brooks didn't have interaction with the guards at Stalag IX-B, but others that Brooks referred to as "better business people" traded watches and other goods with them. He thought the officer who gave the camp commandant directions, might have been SS. They had control of the camp, and when they needed labor at Berga, 350 were sent, and the first to go were the men from the Jewish barracks. Brooks said they were told that the camp was overcrowded, and thinks the guards knew the truth, but were shrewd, and didn't want to create a disturbance by telling the prisoners where they were really going. Traveling once again by overcrowded train for four days with little to eat, it was very difficult to sleep or perform bodily functions. When the train pulled into a station marked Berga, the prisoners were marched past the Buchenwald complex where they saw political prisoners, and knew something was different there. Conditions at this new camp were worse, and every day the prisoners were marched down to the mines to dig into a mountain where the Germans were building an underground factory. They used pneumatic drills to bore holes into the rock walls, and a German munitions man would blast the caves with dynamite. The prisoners loaded the debris by hand onto carts and dumped it into the Elster River. They repeated this cycle for ten hours every day. The area Brooks worked was run by a civilian, a "mean son of a bitch," and there were military officers with dogs acting as overseers while the prisoners labored. Brooks thought the preparations were for something important, because the Germans wanted it done as quickly as possible. Attempts to slow down the process were met with punishment, and Brooks acknowledged he was beaten. The prisoners were encouraged by the Air Force planes flying overhead, and when they could hear cannons nearby, they knew the war was coming to a close. The prisoners were moved out of Berga on 2 April [Annotator's Note: 2 April 1945].

When he arrived at Berga, Morton Brooks was shocked to find that it wasn't a POW [Annotator's Note: prisoner of war] camp; there were German civilians and people from other countries there, and were so weakened that they had to be replaced. Brooks said no kindness was ever shown. He learned about hate, and what the Germans were like. Generally, Brooks observed, the Germans supported Hitler. A very few members of the public would sometimes try to give the shabby prisoners food as they were marched past. Brooks was appalled at how some of the fellows behaved under the harsh conditions. The natural mortality rate was increased by the cruelty of the guards. Brooks said they were burying guys all the time. Brooks was at about half his enlisted weight when he was liberated. At one point Brooks and a buddy escaped into the woods, but they were recaptured and returned to the camp. Next, Brooks participated when the prisoners staged a strike, refusing to rise one morning. Before the guards could do anything about it, the 11th Armored Division arrived and took over the installation. Brooks said that was a moment that's hard to describe. [Annotator's Note: Brooks begins to cry.] Initially, the Americans didn't believe who the prisoners were, but they were great, and took them back to their base for medical care. Brooks was flown to a hospital in England where he was treated for severe starvation and other maladies. For a while Brooks had dreams about what he would do to the commandant and his assistant if he could go back and wreak his revenge, but he got over that in time. He has never learned what became of his tormentors.

Morton Brooks was hospitalized and debriefed in England, and was in the U.K. when victory in Europe was declared. He then returned to the United States in June 1945 on the RMS Queen Mary and remembers his ship was greeted by cheers and a band playing "Don't Fence Me In." Brooks thought it was wonderful to see his family again, and that he made it back alive. He spent time recuperating at the Biltmore Hotel in North Carolina, but complications put him back into medical care, and he remained hospitalized in New York until his discharge. He somehow knew he would survive the ordeal at Berga, but has some lasting health problems that can be traced back to the damage he suffered while being held captive. Brooks took his discharge in December 1945 from Upton Medical Center on Long Island, New York, at the rank of corporal. He took advantage of the G.I. Bill, for which he is grateful, and continued his education at the University of Buffalo. He sought psychiatric care, but gave it up and concentrated on recovering his health on his own. With some higher education, he became a psychologist.

Morton Brooks had veteran buddies that shared experiences, although not many had anything similar to what he endured. He remembers the cruelty, and never agrees that what went on in Germany was all Hitler. He thinks the American forces were great, and waged a "hell of a battle." He served in World War 2 because everyone his age were participating to make the country secure. Everybody was involved, everybody was affected, and people were really great in terms of supporting each other. Brooks is proud of having done his part in defeating the Germans. He thinks America shows that democracy is desirable, and continues as an example to the world. Brooks speaks to students, trying to give them the experience from someone who participated. He congratulated the interviewer and The National WWII Museum on helping to preserve history.