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WWII YMCA WARTIME LOG DIARY Infantry POW in STALAG LUFT 3


KASTAUFFER
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I thought today would be a good day to share another one of my POW Wartime Log diaries.

 

This one is very unusual. The owner of the Diary was captured at Faid Pass in North Africa on Feb 17th 1943. On this day one of the largest group of Americans every captured at one time occurred during this engagement. The POW served with the Cannon Company , 39th Infantry, 9th Division.

 

After he was captured he was initially placed in an Infantry EM camp,Stalag IIB. While in IIB he took up an offer to be an Officer's orderly in Stalag Luft III and was transferred there. Later in the war he was transferred again to Stalag IIIB at Luckenwalde which was another Infantry EM camp. While in the Infantry camps he was a member of a Kommando,which was a work sub camp where he labored on a farm. There are pics in the diary from the farm.

 

This diary is packed from one end to the other with writings about his experiences, poems, newspaper clippings from THE OK ( a German Propaganda POW paper ) and photos. There is too much writing in the diary to post it all so I am going to concentrate on the artwork, photos, and ephemera.

 

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Luftwaffe personnel at Stalag Luft III.

 

 

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Some of the photos were taken at the Kommando where he worked

 

 

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More photos of him working at the Kommando

 

 

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This form is a scarce " Vatican Message " that was sent by his family to him in camp. The Vatican used their status as a neutral country to ferry messages back and forth between POWs and their families. These forms are SCARCE,

 

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This POW was fortunate to survive the war and return to his family in 1945.

 

 

There is a lot more in the diary that I have not shown. I will add more in the future.

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Incredible Kurt!!!

In post #10, he wrote "Former American Soldier" under the "Luftwaffe NCO". Was he referring to the Luftwaffe NCO as a former American soldier?????

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Incredible Kurt!!!

 

In post #10, he wrote "Former American Soldier" under the "Luftwaffe NCO". Was he referring to the Luftwaffe NCO as a former American soldier?????

Yea he was! Id like to know who that person is

 

Kurt

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Got da Penny

Outstanding .... I have only seen one in person. A vet I interviewed years ago.

He was captured in Africa and served 3 yrs. as a pow.

 

What a personal treasure to own.

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  • 4 weeks later...

These books are amazing and really gives you a look at what these POW's were seeing, feeling and going thru.Question: Did the Germans ever confiscate these to get information about the POW's or their unit?

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Yes, the Germans did confiscate Log books. I believe the primary reason was to censor material unfriendly or disrespectful to the German war effort. I have one in my collection which was confiscated and the offending material removed and then the log was returned. The owner was pissed off about it to note the incident in an accusatory tone on the margin. There is a passage about confiscation in Art Beltone's WARTIME LOG book.

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