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Camp Forrest during World War II |
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Sent:
6/22/2009 3:57 PM |
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My father was a Supply
Officer at Camp Forrest
during World War 2 and my
Mother and I lived off base
with him. During that time
you had German Prisoner at
Camp Forrest, he was an
artist that painted my
portrait from a Olen Mills
picture of me at two years
old, which I still have.
The paint during that period
was the best my Father could
find (not great) but it is
still a wonderful portrait.
I remember that my parents
hung that portrait in their
bedroom and I was afraid of
it because the girl in the
picture eyes moved and I
thought she was watching me.
He also made the frame and a
small heart shaped frame for
the Olen Mills picture of
me, it is matted with a
newspaper from Tullahoma
Tennessee.
Several years ago I followed
Antique Road Show procedure
and sent pictures of my
portrait trying to locate
the German POW Artist who
had signed it as J FINK,
they were not able to help
me but they did give me a
certificate of authenticity.
I would love to locate J
Fink, or his family, find
out anything that I can
about him.
If you could please help, it
has been so difficult due
the length of time and
information available.
Thank you,
Linda Bode
936.228.0786 Work
281.630.0426 Cell
lbode@csdinc.org
j.lbode@suddenlink.net |
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Email from
Connie Sachs to Linda |
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Sent: Fri 7/31/2009 12:10 PM |
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Linda-
Your family's experience with the German
POWs was not uncommon. Many other families
around the United States had similar
experiences - the POWs enjoyed the American
children because they reminded them of their
own children or nieces and nephews back in
Germany, the POWs painted, sculpted or
crafted something for the family, etc. As
in most wars, the opposing sides think very
little of one another almost to the point of
hatred. It was amazing to the US citizens
who came in contact with the POWs that they
were "just like us".
The majority of the German POWs did
not return to Germany immediately after they
left the United States. Some were held up
to an additional three years in POW camps in
France and Russia before they were allowed
to return home. The POW had
to return to his country. He could not
apply for asylum in the United States before
being "shipped out". Some former POWs did
return and became American citizens. Some
merely returned on vacation to visit the
places and families they so fondly
remembered.
The German POWs represent a fascinating
chapter in our country's history. The US
Army had no precedent from which to operate
in the POW situation, so they basically
rolled up their sleeves, grabbed a copy of
Geneva Convention Accords and played it by
ear! They did some things wrong, but they
also did some things right.
A friend of mine wrote a book on the German
POW camps in Arizona. The way he got in
touch with former POWs was to put an ad in a
German newspaper. However, that was close
to 15 years ago. Many of the former POWs
are no longer living, but I know their
families would be good sources of
information.
The War Department would most likely not
have any records of what happened to
the hundreds of thousands of POWs once they
left our shores. Many of
the Army officers involved in the German POW
situation were glad to see it come to an
end. As the final boatload of German POWs
sailed from Camp Shanks, NJ to Europe, camp
commander Col. Harry Mass stated, "Thank
God, that is over."
There is a story about a gentleman who lived
in a town in Wisconsin where there is a high
German population. The man's town was home
to a POW branch camp. One day, he heard a
knock on the door and opened it to find his
brother standing there. The brother was a
POW at the camp. Of course, the man
couldn't do anything about it.
Would you and/or your sister be able to
write down some of your experiences for me?
I'd love to incorporate some first hand
knowledge of the POWs into my thesis.
Keep in touch!
Connie Sachs |
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Sent:
Tue 8/4/2009 9:14 AM |
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Hello,
Charles,
Linda and Steve:
In continuing my research, I came across
several notes of interest. These do not
reference Camp Forrest, but are of general
interest regarding the German POW camps in
the United States.
Due to the US Army's lack of knowledge in
caring for POWs, Army commanders thought it
would be best for the prisoners to run their
own camps. This was due in part to the lack
of interpreters and personnel. From August
of 1942, when the initial load of prisoners
arrived, to Feb, of 1943, Nazi POWs
basically ran many of the camps. This was a
detriment to the anti-Nazi, democratic
prisoners, who were beaten, "forced" to
commit suicide and killed for not sharing
the ideals of the fanatic Nazis they were
interned with. This led to a written
directive in Feb, 1943, which ordered the
separation of Nazis from anti-Nazis.
Fanatical Nazis were sent to Alva, OK while
the anti-Nazis were sent to Camp Campbell,
TN/KY, Camp Devins, MA and Camp McCain, MS.
Some of the servicemen who served at the
camps were not very happy with their
assignment. They would much rather have
been in the "guts and glory" of the front
lines. Because the Army had no precident
for the POW camps, the camp commanders had
no precident either. Standardization of the
different processes regarding the POWs was
often haphazard because the POW camps were
not the Army's first priority - fighting a
dual-front war was the top priority. Camp
commanders and personnel often found
themselves frustrated as they sought answers
to many of the POW problems. One of the
problems was souvenier seekers. The POWs
were subjected to frequent searches of their
belongings and their persons in order to
obtain any personal affects they had that
would prove they were here. The personal
effects were then confiscated as war
"trophies" by those assigned to their care.
Many times, a POW's "papers" were
confiscated. This lead to a great deal of
confusion as to who the prisoner was and
what his background was (service record,
special training, etc.).
Arnold Krammer's, "Nazi Prisoners of War in
America" is a good resource to find out more
about the POW camps.
One subject that keeps popping up in my
research is the role of the arts in the
camps. Many camps had a chorus, an
orchestra and/or dance band, a theater
troupe, a woodworking shop and art supplies
were furnished for the prisoners. The
prisoners were also able to participate in a
"distance learning" program of sorts.
College level classes were offered to the
POWs through area colleges. Many POWs
actually got college credit for their
classes and went on the continue their
college education at a later date. The
camps also had libraries and record
collections. These camps were by no means
comparable to the concentration camps of
Nazi Germany. In fact, the US Army had been
accused of "coddling" the prisoners - giving
them resort-type ammenities (food, etc.)
when the average US citizen was subject to
rationing.
I continue to find this subject quite
fascinating!
Sincerely-
Connie Sachs |
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