AEF POW in German Captivity: Photographs

[world war I nerd]

During America's involvement in WW I only 4,120 American service men were held by Imperial Germany as prisoners of war (POW). Of that number, 147 died while in captivity.

 

Because so few American soldiers were captured during the Great War, I'm guessing that photographs, as well as other materials as they relate to American POWs must be scarce.

 

Please share any similar period materials in the form of photographs, documents, letter, etc. that you may have in this topic.

 

I've recently acquired a pair of WW I era photos that are alleged to be Doughboy POWs in German captivity.

 

In addition, I have in my files two uncontested photos of AEF POWs in German captivity that were either snapped using the same roll of film or they are stills borrowed from the same newsreel footage. All of the below photographs are in the typical "postcard" format. Based on the reverse of each postcard,they also all appear to have been printed in Germany. Real picture postcards of this nature are believed to have been circulated in Germany as propaganda to boost that nations flagging war morale.

 

Feel free to share your thoughts or other "period Materials".

 

Thanks for looking … World War I Nerd

 

Photo 01: When translated, the caption printed across this first image reads, "The first American prisoners". The organization to which these Doughboys belonged is not known. However, the absence of Overseas Caps and the fact that they are wearing the ankle length 1913 pattern Enlisted Men's Overcoat suggest that these men were early arrivals to the AEF.

 

(Photo courtesy of the John Adams-Graf collection)

 

 

 

 

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 02: This image, minus the caption, is obviously of the same men depicted in the above photograph, but at a different moment. The very unhappy looking Doughboys appear to be readying themselves for their debut as POWs.

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 03: This image is alleged to be of AEF officers in German captivity. Does anyone have an opinion on the veracity of these men being POWs?

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 04: This very poor quality image is of a group of dejected American POWs being led to the rear by a mounted lancer. There was recently a much better copy of this photo listed on eBay that I now wish I'd bid on.

[world war I nerd]

The next sequence of five images are of an eBay WW I American POW group on which I was outbid (the memory of which still stings). The group was an official RED Cross notification that their next of kin serving in the AEF was now a POW.

 

The group was comprised of:

 

• An envelope addressed to the family of Sergeant Hobart Kemp
• A two page form letter explaining what the family could or could not do for their recently captured family member (I've only posted the second side of this letter because the first side was completely illegible)
• An official Red Cross postcard naming the prisoner, his rank, his unit, and the date on which he was taken prisoner
• An official German POW camp postcard with a brief message to his family, filled out by Sergeant Kemp
• A photo of two Doughboys, one of whom must be Sergeant Hobart Kemp

Photo No. 05: The front of the Red Cross POW notification envelope.

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 06: The second side of the official Red Cross notification form letter (unfortunately, the seller's photo of the first side was too blurry to read).

[world war I nerd]

Photo No 07: The front side of the official Red Cross prisoner identification postcard.

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 08: The front side of the official Red Cross prisoner identification postcard.

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 09: The only posted side of the official German POW Camp "I am well" postcard as filled out by Prisoner No. 80064 (the content of the other side of this postcard was not posted by the eBay seller).

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 10: A photograph of two American Doughboys, one of whom is presumed to be Sergeant Hobart Kemp, Company C, 110th Infantry Regiment, 28th Division, AEF.

 

End of post. Please post any comments or other AEF POW material ...

[BEAST]

Great thread!

 

Here is a postcard sent February 14, 1918 that shows a slightly different view of the group in your first post.

 

[MAW]

The men in post 1 and 2 are members of the 16th infantry, 1st Division, who were captured during the very first Hun trench raid on the American lines.

[mccooper]

One of the German POW camps was located in Villingen, in SW Germany. The only US Navy line officer held captive in WWI was Lt. Edouard Isaacs, whose ship, the USS Lincoln, was torpedoed and sunk by the U-90 sub. He was transferred from Kiel to there, and later escaped along with Sgt. Harold Willis, a member of the Lafayette Escadrille. A great story to be found in Escape From Villingen, 1918 by Dwight R. Messimer. Isaacs was awarded the Medal of Honor. Here is a picture of them with the Brits in their mess at Villingen.

 

mccooper

 

[bobgee]

Excellent post! Thanks! Bobgee

[world war I nerd]

MAW & McCooper … Thanks for the additional posts. Very informative!

 

Bobgee, I'm glad that you found this post of interest. Hopefully, others will too.

 

Here's another POW related photo. One that I was too lazy to look for earlier today. It's a February, 1919, Red Cross press photo. According to the caption on the back, it's a "Complete American Red Cross soldier's outfit sent to prisoners in Germany."

 

Photo courtesy of the John Adams-Graff collection

The complete outfit includes:

 

2 Sets of underwear

3 pairs of sox

2 flannel shirts

1 pair of service breeches

1 waist belt

1 service coat

1 overcoat

1 service hat

1 pair of field shoes

1 pair of canvas leggings

1 pair of woolen puttees

1 pair of woolen gloves

1 pair of leather gloves

1 pair of pajamas

4 handkerchiefs

1 sewing kit with scissors & pocket knife

2 extra cards of sewing thread, plus extra buttons

1 'trench' cigarette lighter

1 comb

1 toothbrush

1 tube of toothpaste

1 pencil

1 shaving kit with leather strop & mirror

1 shaving brush

1 shaving soap

1 carry all for toiletries

1 hair brush

1 clothing brush

1 shoe brush

1 tin of shoe polish or dubbing

1 shoe polish brush (?)

1 clothing bag (sort of like a rucksack)

[Salvage Sailor]

Period materials eh? I'm slipping in MOH (Tiffany Cross) recipient LT Edouard Victor Isaacs, USN, USNA class of 1915, Gunnery Officer of the USS LINCOLN, sunk and captured on the high seas by the U-90. He was possibly the only US Naval officer who was captured and escaped during the Great War

 

Photos and info from the Naval Heritage and History Command https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/us-people/i/isaacs-edouar-v-m.html

 

Description: Halftone reproduction of a photograph, published as the frontispiece of his 1919 book Prisoner of the U-90. The view shows Lt. Isaacs at the Villingen, Germany, prisoner of war camp with other members of his mess, circa late July or early August 1918. He had sent the photograph to his home on 13 August. Also present are two British officers, Jeffrey and Hardesty, and sub-lieutenant Willis, an American who had been captured circa mid-1917, while serving with the French air force's Lafayette Escadrille. Willis and Isaacs escaped from Villingen in October 1918 and together made their way to Switzerland. Courtesy of the Navy Department Library, Washington, D.C. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

EDIT: While I was composing this, Mccooper already slipped it in!

[Salvage Sailor]

.....and

 

Description: (Seated, right, in dark uniform) With U.S. Army officers imprisoned at Karlsruhe, Germany, probably in early July 1918. Lt. Isaacs was captured on 31 May 1918 by the German submarine U-90 when USS President Lincoln was sunk. After three weeks at Karlsruhe he was sent to Villingen. On the way he jumped from a train going 40 miles an hour. He was recaptured and given two weeks in the solitary. On the night of October 6 he, with the help of other officers, short-circuited all lighting circuits and escaped under heavy rifle fire. He arrived in Washington, D.C., four weeks later. Fine screen halftone reproduction, printed in a World War I era publication. Lieutenant Isaacs was awarded the Medal of Honor for his exploits. Quoted passages are taken from the text printed with the original image. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

 

Anyone have ID's on the Aero Pilots? (PS - Issacs was transferred from Karlsruhe to Villigen as an 'incorrigible' due to his escape attempts at Karlsruhe)

[world war I nerd]

Great images and even better information on Lt. Issacs … Thanks Salvage sailor.

 

Who'd of thought it was possible to be awarded the Medal of Honor after being labeled an "incorrigible"?

[Proud Kraut]

I posted this picture before when asking for an ID of the far right soldier's patch. Caption reads: "Interrogation of captive Americans by an officer".

 

[mikie]

MAW & McCooper Thanks for the additional posts. Very informative!

 

Bobgee, I'm glad that you found this post of interest. Hopefully, others will too.

 

Here's another POW related photo. One that I was too lazy to look for earlier today. It's a February, 1919, Red Cross press photo. According to the caption on the back, it's a "Complete American Red Cross soldier's outfit sent to prisoners in Germany."

 

 

Photo courtesy of the John Adams-Graff collection

The complete outfit includes:

 

2 Sets of underwear

3 pairs of sox

2 flannel shirts

1 pair of service breeches

1 waist belt

1 service coat

1 overcoat

1 service hat

1 pair of field shoes

1 pair of canvas leggings

1 pair of woolen puttees

1 pair of woolen gloves

1 pair of leather gloves

1 pair of pajamas

4 handkerchiefs

1 sewing kit with scissors & pocket knife

2 extra cards of sewing thread, plus extra buttons

1 'trench' cigarette lighter

1 comb

1 toothbrush

1 tube of toothpaste

1 pencil

1 shaving kit with leather strop & mirror

1 shaving brush

1 shaving soap

1 carry all for toiletries

1 hair brush

1 clothing brush

1 shoe brush

1 tin of shoe polish or dubbing

1 shoe polish brush (?)

1 clothing bag (sort of like a rucksack)

It is very interesting that a campaign hat was included in the POW kit.

Mikie

[KASTAUFFER]

Great stuff! WWI POW material is super scarce including POW mail.

 

I collect POW items and have managed to get my hands on 2 YMCA " The Friendship Diary" books. They are similar in concept to the WWII " A Wartime Log" books printed by the YMCA, only much more scarce.

 

The 2 I have are mostly filled out with addresses and were presented at Rastatt POW camp towards the end of the war.

 

The one on the left was issued to a US Army doctor who was captured while serving with a British unit. The other to a soldier with the 307th Inf , 77th Division.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[KASTAUFFER]

 

 

[KASTAUFFER]

[everforward]

The equipment list and photo is just killer. Love this.

[Salvage Sailor]

Great images and even better information on Lt. Issacs … Thanks Salvage sailor.

 

Who'd of thought it was possible to be awarded the Medal of Honor after being labeled an "incorrigible"?

 

Thanks,

 

I've been waiting years for someone to make a movie of his experiences as a POW and escapee. If anyone is interested in reading the original "Prisoner of the U-90" written by Isaccs at the request of Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels to serve as the official report on his war service, an online version is here on the National Archives website https://archive.org/details/prisoneru01isaagoog/page/n8

 

Description: Halftone reproduction of a photograph, published in Medal of Honor, 1861-1945, The Navy, page 118. Lieutenant Isaacs was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroic conduct as a prisoner of war following the sinking of USS President Lincoln on 31 May 1918. He changed his family name from Isaacs to Isac in 1925. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

 

Tiffany Cross Medal of Honor

 

Description: Reverse of a Tiffany Cross pattern Medal of Honor awarded to Lieutenant Edouard V.M. Izaacs (Izac) for heroism following the sinking of USS President Lincoln on 31 May 1918. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

Related Content

Medal of Honor citation of Lieutenant Edouard Victor Michel Izac (Isaacs) (as printed in the official publication "Medal of Honor, 1861-1949, The Navy", page 118):

"When the U.S.S. President Lincoln was attacked and sunk by the German submarine U-90 on 21 May (sic -- actually 31 May) 1918, Lieutenant Izac (sic -- then: Issacs) was captured and held as a prisoner on board the U-90 until the return of the submarine to Germany, when he was confined in the prison camp. During his stay on the U-90 he obtained information on the movements of German submarines which was so important that he determined to escape, with a view to making this information available to the United States and Allied naval authorities. In attempting to carry out this plan, he jumped through the window of a rapidly moving train at the imminent risk of death, not only from the nature of the act itself but from the fire of the armed German soldiers who were guarding him. Having been recaptured and reconfined, Lieutenant Izac made a second and successful attempt to escape, breaking his way through barbed-wire fences and deliberately drawing the fire of the armed guards in the hope of permitting others to escape during the confusion. He made his way through the mountains of southwestern Germany, having only raw vegetables for food, and at the end, swam the River Rhine during the night in the immediate vicinity of German sentries."