World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American; World War, 1939-1945 -- Prisoners and prisons, German
I can't remember who was still with Bruce and I from our squadron in
England or the camp at Sagan. It is possible that Ullo and Barlow
were there with us, but it is only Bruce that I remember clearly. At
the corner of the camp by our location the guard was a red headed
German from Brooklyn who spoke with the Brooklyn accent. He was
brought up in Brooklyn and had been drafted into the German army
while visiting Germany. There was only one fence around this camp so
we could go over and talk to him, sometimes giving him one of our
chocolate bars as he had little to eat. One of the guys traded with
him for a camera and film which he used to take pictures. I signed up
for copies and received them several months after returning home.
Those pictures are included in this chapter.
Moosburg had been a center for Red Cross parcel distribution and
therefore food parcels were issued again one per week to each of us,
thus providing adequate food again. We had no provisions for cooking
so the art of making stoves from tin cans began In earnest. Some
were simple and others very elaborate with wheels that turned by a
handle to force air through the fire to increase the heat and help
when burning green or wet wood. Bruce and made a simple one with two
tin cans with the fire in the bottom one. It was a good enough setup
for the little we cooked. The open areas between the barracks were
filled with those little stoves at mealtimes. We were getting German
ersatz coffee which was bitter and resembled coffee only by its
color. We drank it because we needed something hot. There were also
all kinds of cigarettes in camp when American cigarettes were not
available. I tried some of the Turkish cigarettes and they were so
strong it would knock your socks off. British and Italian cigarettes
were also quite plentiful so I had plenty as I didn't smoke much.
We were only thirty miles from the concentration camp at Dachau, but
we knew nothing about it at this time. After we had been here two
weeks we began to hear the big guns to the west of us and knew that
the American front was-getting closer and that we would soon be free.
The rumors began again that we might be moved again to the east, but
the Germans must have realized that there were too many of us to move
and that the war would soon be over anyway. To the west of us was a
hill with trees on the top and open fields on the slopes facing us.
We began watching those fields waiting for the American troops to
come. On Sunday morning April 29 the guns were a lot closer and we
were very excited. The German guards had about all disappeared so we
knew it wouldn't be long.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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