Despite the overwhelming contributions made by the Armenians to the Allied war effort, it is widely unknown that at least 18,000 served under the Third Reich. After the war, these so-called collaborators were chastised and indiscriminately labeled as traitors by those unable to grasp the complexity of their circumstances. Largely based on archival research, Summer of '42 attempts to separate fact from fallacy by examining the complex motives, treatment, and history of these Armenians.

Levon Thomassian was born in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1994, Levon graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, with an undergraduate degree in History. He later pursued his graduate studies at the California State University, Northridge, writing his Master's thesis on German-Armenian relations during the Second World War. He currently resides with his family in Los Angeles, California.