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“For You the War is
Over!”
Museum Exhibit Spotlights American POWs of Nazi
Germany
NEW ORLEANS: The National
World War II Museum in New Orleans will present a
month-long exhibit and special programs on the
experiences of Americans captured by the forces of the
Third Reich. On the battlefronts of the European and
African theaters of World War II, German captors took
Allied soldiers prisoner with the derisive shout Fuer
Dich ist der Krieg vorbei! (“For you the war is over!").
The Nazis called them Kriegsgefangene, German for
“prisoners of war;” the Americans called themselves “Kriegies.”
The exhibition will open on September 15, in conjunction
with a reunion at the Museum of former prisoners from
OFLAG 64, a Nazi prisoner of war camp in Szubin, Poland.
OFLAG 64 was Germany’s only prison camp for American
ground force officers. On Saturday, September 16, many
of these former prisoners of war, or POWs, will be at
The National WWII Museum to share their extraordinary
experiences with Museum visitors. The public is invited
to meet with them between 10:30 am and 2:00 pm in the
Louisiana Memorial Pavilion. A moderated panel
discussion will be held from noon to 1:00 pm.
POWs, lived at the mercy of armed prison camp guards and
could be forced into hard labor. For American prisoners
in European camps, daily routine and treatment could
vary greatly, often dictated by the prisoner’s military
status or Germany’s changing military fortunes.
Regardless, the overriding memories of most survivors
are of hunger, boredom, shame and thoughts of escape.
Between June,1943 and January, 1945, the population at
OFLAG 64 grew to more than 1500, including many captured
during the D-Day invasion of Normandy. One of the POWs
was Lt. Col. John Waters, son-in-law of General George
S. Patton. The exhibition includes personal artifacts of
the POWs, rare photos and period documents, war
journals, and even boots belonging to Patton himself.
Among those attending the reunion will be Abe Baum, a
Captain of the 4th Armored Division who was awarded two
Silver Stars, two Bronze Stars, four Purple Hearts, and
the Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest U.S.
military decoration. Stories of Baum’s valor leading
raids of light armor through enemy lines in the Battle
of the Bulge reached General George S. Patton who
personally selected him for a secret mission. Prisoners
of OFLAG 64, including Lt. Col. Waters, had been
force-marched from Poland to prison camp OFLAG 13B in
Hammelburg, Germany.
In March of 1945, Patton ordered “Task Force Baum” to
carry out the infamous rescue which came to be known as
the Hammelburg Raid. Baum took a small strike force 80
km behind enemy lines with no air or ground support,
breaking out the Aschaffenburg bridgehead to reach OFLAG
13-B. More than 1000 POWs were liberated, but only
briefly, as the mission met with disaster. Every Task
Force vehicle was captured or destroyed. Of 293
soldiers, 32 were wounded, 9 were killed and 16 were
listed as missing in action. Most of the remaining Task
Force members and POWs were forced to return to the
prison camp, including Captain Baum. In subsequent
weeks, however, American forces were able to reach and
liberate the camp. Baum co-authored a book, “Raid,”
about this controversial chapter in WWII history.
The men attending the reunion also will present as a
gift to the Museum a collection of items from the
service of Maj. Newton B. Cole, a former prisoner at
Oflag 64. Maj. Cole was a Division Chemical Officer with
the 29th Infantry Division, wounded and captured near
St.Lo, France, on June 19, 1944, thirteen days after
D-Day. The collection, which will be part of the
exhibit, includes Maj. Cole's original service documents
and detailed war log with drawings and photographs,
memorabilia from camp activities, a uniform jacket,
medals, insignia, German-censored correspondence and
more.
Also on September 16, the Living History Corps of
military re-enactors will portray members of the 4th
Armored Division from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm, displaying
authentic equipment including a Sherman Tank, Halftrack,
Willys Jeep and a Weapons Carrier in front of the
Museum. Throughout the day, the Museum also will show
excerpts from the documentary film, OFLAG 64, a POW
Odyssey, produced by Robert Galloway,
OFLAG 64 programs and reunion activities have been
underwritten by Smith Barney, a division of Citigroup
Global Markets Inc., member SIPC. The exhibition will
remain on view through October 30, 2006.
The Museum opened in 2000 as The National D-Day Museum
and has been designated by Congress as the country’s
official National World War II Museum. It illuminates
the American experience during the WWII years and honors
the courage, teamwork, optimism and sacrifice of the men
and women who won the war and changed the world. The
Museum recently completed the first phase of a
visionary, $300 million expansion that, when complete,
will create a six-acre campus of Museum exhibition
pavilions and experiences, advanced format theater, USO
venue and an education and research center in downtown
New Orleans
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