Gwyneth observed how Elinor could never fully accept segregation during their time at Camp Florence. Unlike Elinor, it didn’t bother her as much due to her familiarity with Jim Crow as a child. She never thought of complaining or resisting. “We didn’t feel that we should be protesting. It was if you do well, never get in trouble, and do the right thing that everything’s going to be all right. I never felt put down. But I knew and I was aware we were second-class people, but that’s the way it was.”5

It would never be that way for Elinor, however.

Frederick’s desire for her flew in the face of society’s belief, both German and American, that she was inferior. He could have subscribed to many Americans’ sense of white racial superiority, and to the hypocrisies, political and moral, that blacks had to live with. But Frederick made his own beliefs clear: he wanted her, unequivocally. It wasn’t long before she encouraged him in his pursuit.

Once their attraction for each other was openly established, Elinor and Frederick were discreet with their flirtation and showed their feelings to each other in harmless ways: frequent smiles in the officers’ mess, lingering stares, even a wink or a blown kiss for laughs. As their feelings intensified, they did their best to hide it. Elinor was an officer, and even though she had lost a great deal of respect for the military, she didn’t want to ruin her reputation and suffer draconian consequences for frolicking with a POW.

Frederick went to enormous efforts to make Elinor elaborate meals. If meatloaf were on the menu, he would prepare peas and gravy, mashed potatoes, and wiener schnitzel just for her. He also made her apple strudel. Elinor loved every minute of it.

None of the guards were suspicious. They rarely interacted with the black nurses, and the last thing they would have anticipated was a romance unfolding right in front of them between a German POW and a black officer.

Soon the brief flirtations and sightings of Elinor weren’t enough for Frederick. The deeper his desire became, the more creative he had to be in order to spend real time getting to know her. Like at other POW camps in the United States, recreational activities were permitted for the prisoners. Some formed orchestras and put on concerts; others played soccer. Frederick taught baking classes occasionally for anyone who wanted to attend or observe. It turned out to be a brilliant move, as he chose an activity that would appeal to the nurses.