KASTAUFFER Posted August 22, 2014 Share #1 Posted August 22, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted August 22, 2014 Author Share #2 Posted August 22, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted August 22, 2014 Author Share #3 Posted August 22, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted August 22, 2014 Author Share #4 Posted August 22, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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KASTAUFFER Posted August 22, 2014 Author Share #6 Posted August 22, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted August 22, 2014 Author Share #7 Posted August 22, 2014 This photo came in the Christmas 1944 Red Cross parcel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted August 22, 2014 Author Share #8 Posted August 22, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted August 22, 2014 Author Share #9 Posted August 22, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted August 22, 2014 Author Share #10 Posted August 22, 2014 Luftwaffe personnel at Stalag Luft III. Some of the photos were taken at the Kommando where he worked Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted August 22, 2014 Author Share #11 Posted August 22, 2014 The agreement he signed to be an Orderly at Stalag Luft III Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted August 22, 2014 Author Share #12 Posted August 22, 2014 More photos of him working at the Kommando 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, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted August 22, 2014 Author Share #13 Posted August 22, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted August 22, 2014 Author Share #14 Posted August 22, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted August 22, 2014 Author Share #15 Posted August 22, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted August 22, 2014 Author Share #16 Posted August 22, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramram Posted August 22, 2014 Share #17 Posted August 22, 2014 Great stuff! Rob M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted August 22, 2014 Share #18 Posted August 22, 2014 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????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted August 22, 2014 Author Share #19 Posted August 22, 2014 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Got da Penny Posted August 22, 2014 Share #20 Posted August 22, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDK Posted August 23, 2014 Share #21 Posted August 23, 2014 Another nice one! You've got a great selection of these. It's great to see them! JD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobgee Posted August 23, 2014 Share #22 Posted August 23, 2014 Kurt. Yep! Another great Log for the collection. Congrats!!!!! Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teufelhunde.ret Posted August 27, 2014 Share #23 Posted August 27, 2014 This is indeed one of the best POW docs I've seen here! Thx for posting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefighter Posted September 21, 2014 Share #24 Posted September 21, 2014 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
121eagles Posted September 23, 2014 Share #25 Posted September 23, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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