KASTAUFFER Posted December 17, 2008 Share #1 Posted December 17, 2008 It is getting close to Christmas and I thought it would be a good idea to honor the POW's who had to spend the holiday away from family in a German POW camp . The following are entries and ephemera from YMCA " A Wartime Log " diarys that are in my collection. Many POW's actually received the books at Christmas time ! These books and the Christmas entries , really give good insight into what was important to these men during the holiday. The # 1 theme was FOOD and how grateful they were to receive the special 1944 Christmas Red Cross boxes. This is the listing of the contents of a Red Cross parcel by a POW in Stalag Luft 1. The following entries were made by a Jewish American POW held in Stalag Luft 1 . He was very thankful for the parcel he received . A POW at Stalag Luft III notes his boxes contents with the hope he doesnt get one in December 1945 ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted December 17, 2008 Author Share #2 Posted December 17, 2008 As part of the Christmas Red Cross boxes , the Red Cross put photographs of scenes from home in them . Here is one a POW put in his log book . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted December 17, 2008 Author Share #3 Posted December 17, 2008 Many POW's dedicated a page to Christmas in their logs with thoughts of the holidays. Sometimes they wrote poems. Here are some examples : A poem from Stalag 17B Two pages from a POW is Stalag IIIC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted December 17, 2008 Author Share #4 Posted December 17, 2008 A Christmas card made in Stalag IIB . A girl in a Santa suit caught in the barbed wire! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted December 17, 2008 Author Share #5 Posted December 17, 2008 The last few pictures are original Christmas programs that were held in Stalag Luft III and Stalag 17B . Even locked away in a camp , the POW's knew how to celebrate the holidays! Program from Stalag Luft III. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted December 17, 2008 Author Share #6 Posted December 17, 2008 Program from Stalag 17B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted December 17, 2008 Author Share #7 Posted December 17, 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted December 17, 2008 Author Share #8 Posted December 17, 2008 I forgot to add a couple more items. This is the Christmas card printed in Oflag 64 on a postcard. This one was mailed home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted December 17, 2008 Author Share #9 Posted December 17, 2008 This is the christmas card the YMCA gave to the POW's in Stalag Luft III. The POW who received it wrote some of his thoughts about being a POW on the reverse . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted December 17, 2008 Share #10 Posted December 17, 2008 Excellent items Kurt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted December 18, 2008 Author Share #11 Posted December 18, 2008 Thanks Sofie! If anyone has anything else to add to the thread, please do. Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDK Posted December 18, 2008 Share #12 Posted December 18, 2008 Very neat post Kurt! I have a few POW groupings, but nothing related to Christmas in camp. Oddly enough, I have a good size grouping from a B-17 waist gunner that was also interned in Stalag 17B in Austria! J.D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluehawk Posted December 18, 2008 Share #13 Posted December 18, 2008 A Christmas card made in Stalag IIB . A girl in a Santa suit caught in the barbed wire! This looks to have been a wood block print! Nice... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disneydave Posted December 18, 2008 Share #14 Posted December 18, 2008 While not from a diary, this Christmas card was created at Luft III by my friend Emmet Cook. He drew himself in caricature. While he created the art, he never mailed the card home. He gave this original art to me several years ago. To read more about Emmet Cook, please visit this previous post: http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...?showtopic=6728 Notice the pathetic Christmas tree in the background, rooted in a Klim tin - milk spelled backwards. Klim was powdered milk that arrived in the Red Cross packages. The empty tins were used to construct a ventilation pipe system that brought fresh air to those digging the "Tom," "Dick," and "Harry" tunnels. Notice the Red Cross parcel under the bunk and notice how the sleeping bunkmate is sagging, due to the fact many of the bed slats were taken and used as shoring material in the tunnels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disneydave Posted December 18, 2008 Share #15 Posted December 18, 2008 Here is the inside of the card: The illustration found inside Emmet's card was based on a fellow POW's poem. The POW's surname was Dedmond and I recall his poem dealt with a fanciful, amazing, flying machine that was constructed in the camp. I have seen the poem published somewhere, but after browsing several of my Luft III POW published books and booklets from the late 1940s, I can't seem to find it right now. I'll look again tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted December 20, 2008 Author Share #16 Posted December 20, 2008 WOW! Nice Dave! Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disneydave Posted December 20, 2008 Share #17 Posted December 20, 2008 Thanks Kurt! I you come across Dedmond's poem in any of your literature, please post it here. I have a copy around the house somewhere, but I can't seem to locate the darn thing right now. And I can't find my big Luft III reference listing most of the former POWs and all their related details... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted December 29, 2008 Author Share #18 Posted December 29, 2008 Thanks Kurt! I you come across Dedmond's poem in any of your literature, please post it here. I have a copy around the house somewhere, but I can't seem to locate the darn thing right now. And I can't find my big Luft III reference listing most of the former POWs and all their related details... I will take a look. All the Wartime Logs I have include some poems. Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZPhil Posted December 19, 2016 Share #19 Posted December 19, 2016 Thanks for bumping this to the top. Merry Christmas!! Semper Fi Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VenitHora Posted December 25, 2016 Share #20 Posted December 25, 2016 Great thread! I wanted to add a small piece from a diary I found recently. It belonged to a POW who was in Stalag Luft III. I hope you enjoy it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted December 24, 2019 Author Share #21 Posted December 24, 2019 MERRY CHRISTMAS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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