Lone Star Stalag: German Prisoners of War at Camp Hearne PDF
Preview Lone Star Stalag: German Prisoners of War at Camp Hearne
LONE STAR STALAG LONE STAR STALAG GERMAN PRISONERS OF WAR AT CAMP HEARNE ichael aters M R. W with Mark Long, William Dickens, Sam Sweitz, Anna Lee Presley, Ian Buvit, Michelle Raisor, Bryan Mason, Hilary Standish, and Norbert Dannhaeuser Foreword by Willi Nellessen Texas A&M University Press College Station Copyright © by Michael R. Waters Manufactured in the United States of America All rights reserved First edition The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, Z.-. Binding materials have been chosen for durability. o Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Waters, Michael R. Lone Star Stalag :German prisoners of war at Camp Hearne / by Michael R. Waters with Mark Long ... [et al.].—st ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN ---(alk. paper) . Camp Hearne—History. . Camp Hearne—Management. . World War, –— Prisoners and prisons, American. . Prisoners of war—Germany . Prisoners of war—United States. I. Title. D..CW .'—dc Contents List of Tables vii Foreword, by Willi Nellessen ix Preface xi Chapter 1. The Prisoners Arrive at Camp Hearne Chapter 2. Life at Camp Hearne Chapter 3. Problems at the Camp Chapter 4. The Final Months:From V-E Day to the Camp’s Closing Chapter 5. Camp Hearne Artifacts Chapter 6. Fountains, Statues, and Buildings Chapter 7. Legacy Works Cited Index Tables Table 1. German POW Population at Camp Hearne Table 2. Courses Offered and Enrollments in Compound at Camp Hearne on October , Table 3. List of Items for Sale at the POW Canteen in July, ,and Their Prices Table 4. German POW Population at Branch Camps Administered by Camp Hearne Table 5. Volume of Mail Dispatched by the German Postal Unit Table 6. Japanese POW Population at Camp Hearne Table 7. Field Equipment and Hardware Found at Camp Hearne Table 8. Contents of Dumps at Camp Hearne Table 9. Coins Found at Camp Hearne Foreword WITHIN THE LAST DECADES I had the opportunity to talk with American tourists and visitors in Germany as well as American citizens when I visited the United States in , ,and .Some of these people were surprised when they heard that I had spent nearly three years as a prisoner of war (POW) in Texas. They did not know that nearly ,German prisoners of war lived in American POW camps at the end of the World War II. I thus think it was a very good idea that Michael R. Waters and his colleagues write a book about the history of Camp Hearne in order to preserve this part of American history for coming generations. I am grateful both to God and the Americans who stood guard at Camp Hearne during those terrible last two years of the war. I am especially glad to see this book published because of the information about the camp’s history it con- tains, including a number of things I did not know about before reading it. Lone Star Stalagis based on a thorough study of documents found in archives, newspapers, and interviews with still-living former POWs, guards, citizens of Hearne, and local farmers. The combination of facts with the memories ex- pressed by the many interviewed persons as well as the results of archeological excavations make the book exciting reading matter. The Geneva Convention states that captured officers and noncommissioned officers are not obliged to work. Our captors minded the rules as long as the war lasted and we were impressed by the tolerance shown by the American officers, guards, and farmers. It all was somewhat unusual for us. I took the opportunity to learn in the camp’s school instead of working somewhere. This was very important for me because just six months after my repatriation in I started studying in a bank academy. Partly owing to the training I received at Camp Hearne I was successful at the academy and thus ful- filled one of the requirements needed to attain important positions. For more than twenty years I have been a member of the board and for the last ten years the chairman of a bank. The educational activities at Camp Hearne were one of the foundation stones of my long and successful professional life. This is one of
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