German POW Meier Now Buried in Chattanooga National Cemetery

After my last blog entry about the German POW who was shot during a supposed escape attempt from Camp Sutton, I received an interesting response from blogger "Camp Sutton," a retired US Army Master Sergeant in North Carolina who grew up next door to the camp and has become interested in researching its history.

Camp Sutton offered the following interesting information:

--Werner Friedrich Meier was originally buried at Camp Butner, but when that camp closed, his grave was moved to the Chattanooga National Cemetery.

--His grave marker there, as shown above, reads "1Sgt. Air Force" on the first line. The second line reads "German," and the third line lists as date of death, July 11, 1944," which corresponds with the date in newspaper reports for the German POW's death. This grave is located in Section PostC, Site 40-3.

Blogger Camp Sutton also shared the contents of a newspaper article that appeared in The Monroe Enquirer on July 13, 1944:

GERMAN PRISONER SHOT WHILE TRYING TO ESCAPE:
Former Luftwaffe Sergeant Killed By Camp Sutton Guards

A former Luftwaffe sergeant from the prisoner fo war compound at Camp Sutton was shot and killed by guards Tuesday morning during an attempted escape near Van Wyck, S.C.
He was Warner (sic) Friedrich Meier, a member of a group of Germans who have been working regularly in local woodpulp mills on government contracts made in accordance with Geneva convention regulations.
Two guard-escort soldiers of the group detailed as custodians of the working war-prisoners intercepted him in his attempted break and called upon to halt. After hesitating briefly, he continued his flight and they opened fir killing him at once.

Carolina Newspaper Columnist Questions "Escape" Shooting of German POW

At left is a photo of Werner Meier, a sergeant (Feldwebel) in the Luftwaffe, who flew a Stuka Junkers 87 bomber in France and Russia before being sent to serve with German ground forces in North Africa. He was captured in early May 1943 and became one of the first 600 POWs sent to Camp Aliceville in Alabama. He spent almost a year in Aliceville and then was sent to Camp Sutton in North Carolina, where records show he was shot and killed on July 11, 1944, while trying to leave the camp. He was buried with military honors at Camp Buttner on July 13.

My friend and correspondent Gunther Wening, a relative of Meier's who lives in Holland, sent the above photo and other information while I was working on Guests Behind the Barbed Wire. This week Gunther sent me copies of two newspaper articles, written by Louise Pettus, that appeared in Carolina Gateway. Read together, the two articles add some puzzling details to the brief mention of Werner Meier in my book.

Pettus wrote that, during WWII, a man named Robert Vaughan drove a truck that was outfitted with benches and covered on top. It picked up POWs from Camp Sutton and took them to a farm near the village of Van Wyck that was owned by a Mr. Sachenmaer who owned a hosiery mill in Charlotte. One of his sons remembers the POWs tossing small bags of candy and gum to the local children. One POW gave Vaughan a handcarved replica of the ship that had brought him to America.

A man named David Alexander says a relative named Glenn Alexander, the farm manager at that time, told him it was prisoners who pointed out Werner Meier walking on the road--walking toward the work area, not away from it. Guards were patrolling the road in a Jeep. They fired twice, and Meier was killed. Mr. Alexander always believed Meier was trying to return to the camp, not run away from it.

A woman named Betty Broome, who was ten years old at that time, says she remembers being told that the prisoner had tried to escape, but she didn't think that made sense because he didn't know anyone in the area and didn't have any place to go.

Meier's relative, Gunther Wening, teaches German to students in Holland. He is thinking about writing short articles about World War II in his own region in Holland. He had this comment about the newspaper articles he sent:

"I am really astonished by the circumstances of Werner's death. Until now, everybody in the family had a picture in their mind of a fleeing and running away Werner Meier, who gets shot. I can hardly believe that somebody gets shot dead who walks on a street. I have been a soldier myself and can't understand why they shot immediately and there was something like a warning shot, but then again, I don't know the instructions the guards had and the exact situation."

If any of my readers would like copies of the two newspaper articles, please send me a comment with your e-mail or snail mail address, and I will send them along. If anyone has additional information about Werner Meier or about the circumstances of his death, please share that.

THICKET Magazine Features Aliceville POWs

The October/November issue of the new THICKET magazine has a story on page 75 entitled "Behind Enemy Lines." Based on my friend Stacey Torch's visit to the Spring 2007 reunion of former POWs, their guards, and members of the Aliceville community, the article includes interviews with Hermann Blumhardt, who was captured in North Africa in 1943, and Thomas Sweet, who served as a guard at Camp Aliceville during World War II.

Stacey quotes from letters written by POWs, thanking Aliceville residents for care packages sent to them and their families when they were desperate after the war. As Thomas Sweet told Stacey, his experience in Aliceville made him understand that "although other people may have a different nationality, they're the same as us. It never pays to judge people before you get to know them."

Looking back during the reunion, Sweet expressed what many people there were thinking and feeling when he said, "I've always said I have a soft spot in my heart for the people of Aliceville. You had to have been here to experience it to understand why."

If you'd like to read this article or others about "Alabama Redefined," as THICKET characterizes its theme, you can go to the magazine's website at http://www.thicketmag.com/.

Encyclopedia of Alabama Is Excellent Resource

At left is a photo of German prisoners of War arriving in Aliceville, Alabama in June 1943, after their capture in North Africa. The photo, which appears in the article titled "WWII POW Camps in Alabama," is from the collection of the Alabama Department of Archives and History.

I am so pleased that the newly launched online Encyclopedia of Alabama lists my book, Guests Behind the Barbed Wire, as one of the references for its excellent article on the four major camps and the many satellite labor camps that housed German POWs in Alabama during World War II. The article offers an interesting overview for anyone interested in this subject.

I was fortunate to attend the recent Alabama Humanities Foundation luncheon that signaled the launching of this wonderful online resource. Held at the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, it was attended by educators and humanities-oriented members of the community as well as Governor Bob Riley and Senator Richard Shelby. Alabama author and historian Wayne Flynt deserves tremendous credit for shepherding this project to completion. The effort was monumental, and so are the results.

Be sure to visit http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/ soon to explore the wide range of information about Alabama--its history, its culture, its industry, and many other facets. A good place to begin your exploration is with Wayne Flynt's excellent essay on the heritage of the state--especially if you don't know a great deal about Alabama. The site is colorful, easy to navigate, and loaded with useful information.

I've added the Encyclopedia of Alabama to my Linked list over to the right, so you can click to it any time you visit my blog.

Aliceville Museum Director Visits Former German POW in Florida

At left is a photo of Aliceville Museum Director Ann Kirksey visiting former German POW Hermann Blumhardt outside his apartment building in Umatilla, Florida. The story of Hermann's experience as a German soldier and then as a POW at Camp Aliceville (and later Camp Blanding in Florida) is told in great detail in my book, Guests Behind the Barbed Wire.

Ann wrote to say the following about Hermann's life today as an American citizen who retired after working in the printing industry for many years:

Hermann was bright and cheery. He is 87 years old and doing great. This was taken on the morning of September 2, 2008, at Hermann and Katie's apartment in Umatilla, Florida. It was so great to see him. He sends you all his love. He has a great view of a lake from his apt. He loves to walk around the lake on nice days. Hermann swims every day for an hour at a fitness facility close to his home. John Gaffey is one of his best friends and they are still performing for groups.

An Irony of Place

Those of you who have read GUESTS BEHIND THE BARBED WIRE will remember that Tom Parker had to close his dairy farm almost immediately after he got it up and running in 1942 because the United States government wanted his land for Camp Aliceville. You might also remember that Tom switched his career to cotton farming and moved to another location, where he farmed successfully for a long time.

Mr. Parker has now passed away, but the land where he farmed cotton will now become part of the new prison complex being built in Aliceville.

A Recent Visit to Aliceville

Back in May, when friends visited from California, they asked if we would take them down to visit Aliceville. Having read Guests Behind the Barbed Wire, they wanted to visit the museum and explore the town where the story took place.

Museum Director Ann Kirksey and museum volunteer Martha Horton (pictured at right) greeted us warmly, as always, and provided lots of information. The museum displays offer a truly vivid depiction of what Camp Aliceville life was like during World War II. The museum has expanded its collection well beyond just the Camp Aliceville displays, too. Other adjacent buildings offer even more glimpses of the lives of American service men and women and their families during that era.

The Plantation House restaurant was closed for renovations the day of our visit, so instead, we enjoyed a good lunch and visit at the local Mexican restaurant. Former Museum Director Mary Bess Paluzzi, who now works with the City of Aliceville, joined us. Because of her help and dedication to the story, Guests is dedicated to her.

Below is a picture of Barney and me with our friends, Sue and Dave Kjome, of Rancho Murieta, California, during our visit to Aliceville in May.