Letter To The Editor

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Christmas day in 1944 fell on Monday. The American POWs who were in Stalag VIIA had the day off. Actually, since Christmas was on a Monday, they would have had two days off as the Germans allowed Sundays off. Other days, the GIs were loaded into boxcars, six days a week, and transported to Munich, some 25 miles to the south.

A Christmas approached it was interesting to note that many of the buildings in Munich were decorated with Christmas ornaments, much like would have been in the little town of Brady, Texas, where my family lived.

We lived mostly on watery types of soups derived from cabbage, rutabagas or barley. The soup, served in the evenings was hot but in short portions. The soup was accompanied by a slice of the German dark, heavy bread. Some said it was made from sawdust. In later years one source stated that the main ingredient was beets, that grew well, along with potatoes, in Southern Germany. There was never enough, and even though we received Red Cross parcels sometimes, all of the POWs slowly lost weight.

It was cold and even though each overcrowded barracks were equipped with a singe coal-burning heating stove, but there was only the fuel that we might be able to pick up in the railroad yards in Munich. We had no idea of the readings of a thermometer, but it was written that the winter of 1944-45 set a record.

The so-called Battle of the Bulge was going on at the time and the German guards were excited that the was was turning in their favor. We POWs had no information about what was happening, except from an English speaking German guard. Even so, we were not concerned about the outcome of the war.

The barracks (I was in #53A) were designed for about 25 soldiers. We were over crowded with about 150 in each building. The Germans assigned three British non-coms as control in each barrack housing American POWs. Not unlike the American Army system, the Germans gave the British Cadre a small room at the end of the barracks. The British non-coms were supposed to maintain order, but had no other authority and were mostly ignored by the American GIs. Most of we POWs were nineteen and were used to a different lifestyle than the British soldiers. To us, the British soldiers were what we called “uppity,” considering themselves superior to a regular American GI. I remember a heated argument that we had with the British non-coms one day, we GIs pointing out to them that they were wearing boots supplied by American factories. I am not proud of our attitudes about such as the British suffered grossly during those days.

Somehow, someone decided we should all chip in and give the British cadre a Christmas present of cigarettes.

Cigarettes were the POW’s system of exchange. Money did not have any value at the POW camps, only cigarettes. They were saved from the Red Cross parcels for trading by most of the American soldiers who had not smoked so long as to become additive. Twenty cigarettes, a pack, could buy perhaps two loaves of the heavy, dark German bread, purchased from a German housewife when the POWs were at work in Munich.

The idea of giving the three British Cadre a gift of cigarettes for a Christmas present gained momentum and was almost totally subscribed to. If each American GI gave one cigarette, then each British soldier would have about fifty, or over two packs.

I doubt that anyone shed any tears when we gave the Brits their gift, but it was a good time and I’m glad that someone came up with the idea. It helped improve relations and I hope the Brits came to understand the American GIs.

Bud Lindsey

Stanton