Post by floydragsdale on Jun 22, 2010 19:51:53 GMT -5
Recently, I was searching, on the internet, for stories about German Prisoners of war in a PW Enclosure near Heideshiem, Germany.
I was shocked and outraged to read lie after lie about how barbarously the, American Soldiers treated German P.W.’s in that camp.
In April 1944, German Soldiers were surrendering by the thousands to American forces. The “word” among German troops was, “The Americans treat P.W.’s better than anyone else; surrender to them.
The 106th Division was assigned the task of processing and discharging 910,000 German Prisoners of War. We were pulled out of Renne, France and rushed to the Rheinland in Germany.
Thousands of German Soldiers were in an open field, near Heidesheim, Germany,. They were being brought there by U.S. Army trucks. There was no barbed wire enclosure there. Army Vehicles formed a circle around them and with motors running, headlights turned on, to help keep a sense of order at night.
All the German Soldiers had with them were the clothes on their backs when they arrived on the scene. The weather was warm and the sun was out in all its’ glory. However, before long it turned cold and wet.
This condition created a miserable situation for the German P.W.’s. Some of them had tents, yet many did not.
The peak population in that camp was 96,000 German P.W.’s. When a fence was erected, the camp was seven miles around. I know, because I walked it more than once.
Think of the logistical problem this created for those responsible for processing these prisoners and releasing them back to civilian life.
There was an acute shortage of food. We, the American Soldier, gave up one meal a day (the noon meal) so those men in the camp could have something to eat.
Indeed, it was an extenuating circumstance. The war wasn’t over yet; supply lines were stretched thin and, suddenly with little warning the responsibility for 96,000 ex-soldiers was on our hands.
To be sure, some of those German P.W.’s died in that camp because of exposure to the elements and also, disease that was caused by those living conditions.
This was a horrible situation brought on by war, where both sides pay a price.
The America Soldier didn’t, and wasn’t supposed to, carry an extra tent, or rations, just in case he took some prisoners.
According to Hitler, the German Soldiers were supposed to fight to the last man. All of a sudden, hundreds of thousands of them quit; surrendering to us, creating a huge logistical problem for our side.
According to some “Monday morning quarter backs” we should have anticipated all this and welcomed all with open arms, a tent and a bag of groceries.
It didn’t happen that way. Under the circumstances, we did the best we could, with what we had. I was a witness to, and played a part in processing the German P.W.'s for their release from that Camp.
Last but not least, thank God the war had been brought to a conclusion
Soon we could go home and resume civilian life once more.
One man, Adolph Hitler and those who supported him, through the war years, were responsible for killing millions of innocent people.
They left us one hell of a mess to clean up.
Floyd,
424th Regiment
Visit www.IndianaMilitary.org for more than 200 diaries and prisoner of war accounts from 106th Veterans. Contact the Board Moderator to include yours or your relations diary.
I was shocked and outraged to read lie after lie about how barbarously the, American Soldiers treated German P.W.’s in that camp.
In April 1944, German Soldiers were surrendering by the thousands to American forces. The “word” among German troops was, “The Americans treat P.W.’s better than anyone else; surrender to them.
The 106th Division was assigned the task of processing and discharging 910,000 German Prisoners of War. We were pulled out of Renne, France and rushed to the Rheinland in Germany.
Thousands of German Soldiers were in an open field, near Heidesheim, Germany,. They were being brought there by U.S. Army trucks. There was no barbed wire enclosure there. Army Vehicles formed a circle around them and with motors running, headlights turned on, to help keep a sense of order at night.
All the German Soldiers had with them were the clothes on their backs when they arrived on the scene. The weather was warm and the sun was out in all its’ glory. However, before long it turned cold and wet.
This condition created a miserable situation for the German P.W.’s. Some of them had tents, yet many did not.
The peak population in that camp was 96,000 German P.W.’s. When a fence was erected, the camp was seven miles around. I know, because I walked it more than once.
Think of the logistical problem this created for those responsible for processing these prisoners and releasing them back to civilian life.
There was an acute shortage of food. We, the American Soldier, gave up one meal a day (the noon meal) so those men in the camp could have something to eat.
Indeed, it was an extenuating circumstance. The war wasn’t over yet; supply lines were stretched thin and, suddenly with little warning the responsibility for 96,000 ex-soldiers was on our hands.
To be sure, some of those German P.W.’s died in that camp because of exposure to the elements and also, disease that was caused by those living conditions.
This was a horrible situation brought on by war, where both sides pay a price.
The America Soldier didn’t, and wasn’t supposed to, carry an extra tent, or rations, just in case he took some prisoners.
According to Hitler, the German Soldiers were supposed to fight to the last man. All of a sudden, hundreds of thousands of them quit; surrendering to us, creating a huge logistical problem for our side.
According to some “Monday morning quarter backs” we should have anticipated all this and welcomed all with open arms, a tent and a bag of groceries.
It didn’t happen that way. Under the circumstances, we did the best we could, with what we had. I was a witness to, and played a part in processing the German P.W.'s for their release from that Camp.
Last but not least, thank God the war had been brought to a conclusion
Soon we could go home and resume civilian life once more.
One man, Adolph Hitler and those who supported him, through the war years, were responsible for killing millions of innocent people.
They left us one hell of a mess to clean up.
Floyd,
424th Regiment
Visit www.IndianaMilitary.org for more than 200 diaries and prisoner of war accounts from 106th Veterans. Contact the Board Moderator to include yours or your relations diary.
