KASTAUFFER Posted February 13, 2008 Share #1 Posted February 13, 2008 On April 3, 1945 , the POW's of Stalag Luft I in Barth Germany received a surprise visitor . It was Max Schmeling , the famous boxer who knocked out Joe Louis in 1936 and was himself defeated in a re-match with Joe Louis in 1938 . In April 1945 Max was on a " good will tour " of various POW camps , and his presense in the Stalag Luft I was summed up by one POW who said " Good Will?!!?, We thought he was dead" . Max was very much alive after having served in the Luftwaffe as a Fallschirmjager. Max lived a very long life , passing away at the age of 99 in 2005 . The following is a postcard from Stalag Luft I , signed by Max and kept as a souvenir by an American POW . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted February 13, 2008 Share #2 Posted February 13, 2008 Taking a clue from this, the Pentagon might considering sending Mike Tyson to Gitmo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunbarrel Posted February 13, 2008 Share #3 Posted February 13, 2008 Taking a clue from this, the Pentagon might considering sending Mike Tyson to Gitmo. Properly muzzled, of course Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory Posted February 13, 2008 Share #4 Posted February 13, 2008 In April 1945 Max was on a "good will tour" of various POW camps... Black humor. What a pity he had no "good will" in 1939-1944 period to travel from camp to camp and check "good conditions" there. He had "good will" hearing Allied knock, knock to nazi door. This was a part of Fallschirmjäger PR. Up to this time it is created sometimes that Fallschirmjäger is something much better than the rest of nazi troops, mainly Waffen-SS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manchu Warrior Posted February 13, 2008 Share #5 Posted February 13, 2008 Max may have been a German paratrooper but he was not and never was a Nazi, he even hid Jews from the Nazi's and had them smuggled out of Germany. As far as Mike Tyson at Gitmo. Mike is a member of the Nation of Islam and therefore he would not be welcomed at Gitmo because Muslims do not recognize the Nation of Islam as true Muslims. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brig Posted February 13, 2008 Share #6 Posted February 13, 2008 Tyson would just bite some appendages, and then we'd have another torture case Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrei Posted February 13, 2008 Share #7 Posted February 13, 2008 Some pics of Max as a fallschirmjager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KurtA Posted February 14, 2008 Share #8 Posted February 14, 2008 Really cool item, Kurt. I wonder if any photos exist of such a visit? (And I mean German PR photos, as the only POW camp I'm aware of where prisoners had cameras was "Stalag 13") Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disneydave Posted February 14, 2008 Share #9 Posted February 14, 2008 The POWs at Luft III also had a camera. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted February 15, 2008 Author Share #10 Posted February 15, 2008 Really cool item, Kurt. I wonder if any photos exist of such a visit? (And I mean German PR photos, as the only POW camp I'm aware of where prisoners had cameras was "Stalag 13")Kurt I have seen a photo of the occasion in Luft 1 , but I could find it on the web, I know it exists. A POW in Stalag IIIB had a camera and a book just came out with a collection of the photos he took. He hid the camera and processed the film once he got back to the USA. Even POWs in some Japanese camps had cameras, some home made. Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KurtA Posted February 15, 2008 Share #11 Posted February 15, 2008 The POWs at Luft III also had a camera. The guys from "The Great Escape"??? (one of the best movies of all time) Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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