What German POWs Said When They First Saw an American Mess Hall
WW2 Silent Revealed
30,625 views
In May 1943, the elite of Afrika Korps surrendered in Tunisia and were shipped across the Atlantic to a country their leaders had called weak, starving, and near collapse. They braced for punishment from an enemy homeland. Instead, the trains that carried them inland had upholstered seats, and the country outside the windows refused to end. What waited for them in the camps would quietly take apart the story they'd been living inside.
SOURCES:
Books & memoirs
Arnold Krammer, Nazi Prisoners of War in America (Stein & Day, 1979)
Arnold Krammer, "German Prisoners of War in the United States," Military Affairs 40:2 (Apr 1976), pp. 68–73 — JSTOR 1987148
Reinhold Pabel, Enemies Are Human (John C. Winston, 1953)
Heino Erichsen, The Reluctant Warrior (Eakin, 2001)
Georg Gaertner & Arnold Krammer, Hitler's Last Soldier in America (1985)
Allen Kent Powell, Splinters of a Nation: German POWs in Utah (Univ. Utah Press, 1989)
David Fiedler, The Enemy Among Us: POWs in Missouri (2003)
George Lewis & John Mewha, History of Prisoner of War Utilization by the US Army 1776–1945, DA Pamphlet 20-213 (1955)
Articles
John C. Bonafilia, "'Hospitality Is the Best Form of Propaganda': German POWs in Western Massachusetts, 1944–1946," Historical Journal of Massachusetts 44:1 (Winter 2016), pp. 44–83
Calvin N. Jones, "Views of America and Views of Germany in German POW Newspapers of WWII," Yearbook of German-American Studies
Beverly Smith, "The Afrika Korps Comes to America," American Magazine (Aug 1943)
"Seek German Prisoners to Replace Farm Labor," New York Times (13 Feb 1945)
Bryan (Texas) Eagle (14 Oct 1973) — Sauerbrei interview
Aliceville arrival coverage (June 1943), via Aliceville Museum / Alabama Pioneers
National Archives (RG 389 = POW program)
RG 389, Entry 459A, Box 1628 — Annual Report of the Special Projects Program (26 Feb 1946)
RG 389, Entry 459A, Box 1629 — Canteen Restrictions & Special Projects Program (8 May 1945)
RG 389, Entry 459A, Box 2675 — Camp Westover inspection reports
RG 389, Entry 459A, Box 1637 — VE-Day Program for German POWs (25 Apr 1945)
RG 389, Entry 429A, Box 36 — Historical Monograph, POW Operations Division
RG 111 — Signal Corps photographs (Farrand Collection)
Visuals: archival photographs from the U.S. National Archives, animated maps, and original illustrations.
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What German POWs Said When They First Saw an American Mess Hall
WW2 Silent Revealed
30,625 views
In May 1943, the elite of Afrika Korps surrendered in Tunisia and were shipped across the Atlantic to a country their leaders had called weak, starving, and near collapse. They braced for punishment from an enemy homeland. Instead, the trains that carried them inland had upholstered seats, and the country outside the windows refused to end. What waited for them in the camps would quietly take apart the story they'd been living inside.
SOURCES:
Books & memoirs
Arnold Krammer, Nazi Prisoners of War in America (Stein & Day, 1979)
Arnold Krammer, "German Prisoners of War in the United States," Military Affairs 40:2 (Apr 1976), pp. 68–73 — JSTOR 1987148
Reinhold Pabel, Enemies Are Human (John C. Winston, 1953)
Heino Erichsen, The Reluctant Warrior (Eakin, 2001)
Georg Gaertner & Arnold Krammer, Hitler's Last Soldier in America (1985)
Allen Kent Powell, Splinters of a Nation: German POWs in Utah (Univ. Utah Press, 1989)
David Fiedler, The Enemy Among Us: POWs in Missouri (2003)
George Lewis & John Mewha, History of Prisoner of War Utilization by the US Army 1776–1945, DA Pamphlet 20-213 (1955)
Articles
John C. Bonafilia, "'Hospitality Is the Best Form of Propaganda': German POWs in Western Massachusetts, 1944–1946," Historical Journal of Massachusetts 44:1 (Winter 2016), pp. 44–83
Calvin N. Jones, "Views of America and Views of Germany in German POW Newspapers of WWII," Yearbook of German-American Studies
Beverly Smith, "The Afrika Korps Comes to America," American Magazine (Aug 1943)
"Seek German Prisoners to Replace Farm Labor," New York Times (13 Feb 1945)
Bryan (Texas) Eagle (14 Oct 1973) — Sauerbrei interview
Aliceville arrival coverage (June 1943), via Aliceville Museum / Alabama Pioneers
National Archives (RG 389 = POW program)
RG 389, Entry 459A, Box 1628 — Annual Report of the Special Projects Program (26 Feb 1946)
RG 389, Entry 459A, Box 1629 — Canteen Restrictions & Special Projects Program (8 May 1945)
RG 389, Entry 459A, Box 2675 — Camp Westover inspection reports
RG 389, Entry 459A, Box 1637 — VE-Day Program for German POWs (25 Apr 1945)
RG 389, Entry 429A, Box 36 — Historical Monograph, POW Operations Division
RG 111 — Signal Corps photographs (Farrand Collection)
Visuals: archival photographs from the U.S. National Archives, animated maps, and original illustrations.