C-Company runs Camp Cleveland

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On June 1, 1945 my father. 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken and the men of C-Company of the 1st Battalion of the 75th Infantry Division was posted to Camp Cleveland between Rhemes and Morormelon Le Grand France. The camp was a U.S. Army personnel redeployment or “staging” area for troops who were about to head back to the United States after their service in Europe. It was part of the massive logistics effort by the U.S. military to manage troop movements in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) in the final stages of the war in 1945. Some would go to the states while others might go to the pacific to fight the Japanese.

The camps near Le Havre France were named after popular brands of American Cigarettes the camps closer to Rhemes were names after American cities like Cleveland, New York City, and Boston. The camps varied widely in size, from around 2,000 in capacity to nearly 60,000 at the largest of the “Big Three”, Camps Philip Morris, Old Gold, and Lucky Strike.

Camps were referring to the camps without indication of their geographical location went a long way to ensuring that the enemy would not know precisely where they were. Anybody eavesdropping or listening to radio traffic would think that cigarettes were being discussed or the camp was stateside, especially regarding the city camps. Secondly, there was a subtle psychological reason, the premise being that troops heading into battle wouldn’t mind staying at a place where cigarettes must be plentiful and troops about to depart for combat would be somehow comforted in places with familiar names of cities back home (Camp Atlanta, Camp Baltimore, Camp New York, and Camp Pittsburgh, among others)

C-Company took care of administrative details at camp Cleveland, like pay status and they made sure every soldier had a complete uniform. Many uniforms were rags after years of battles. The administrative work was low key, and the weather was beautiful. There were frequent passes available to Rhemes and Paris. The camp had an enlisted men’s club, a Non-Com’s Club and an Officer’s Club. C-Company had a softball, volleyball and tennis team.

Many of the soldiers had enough points to go back to the states, other soldiers didn’t have enough points so they would likely be redeployed to the pacific to fight the Japanese. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers were waiting in these camps at the end of the European Theater of Operations. The soldiers would have been deployed to take part in a huge amphibious assault on Japan called Operation Downfall. When the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima many of these soldiers felt relief that the war was over.

Plettenberg Germany, Böhler Cemetery

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Cross shaped headstones for German soldiers were right behind me as I sketched the Böhler Church in Plettenberg Germany. It seems any time I sketch in a cemetery there is a small army of lawn mowers buzzing between the headstones or it is raining. The lawn care guy mowing near me got closer and closer. I shouted out, “Do you need me to move!” in German. He shouted back “Nein!” After he was done, he looked over my shoulder, probably to see how long I had drawn the grass. After I sketched the church, I considered leaving since it was rather cold, but I could not resist and I turned around and sketched the headstones.

In Plettenberg, the first Allied artillery shell landed just beyond the Böhler Cemetery. Between 10 and 11 a.m. that Friday, the American troops advanced again in skirmish formation, coming down Grafweg, into the Plettenberg town center.

Manfred Rettig recounted: “…My father, Walter Rettig, owned the Wilhelm Schade factory canteen during the war. In 1945, my father had to provide the mess hall for a Wehrmacht unit. Some soldiers from this unit had entrenched themselves above the former collection pond at the Schade company. There was a tank barrier in the valley. As far as I know, these soldiers were killed by the Americans. We children, (about 10 years old) could still see the blood in the ditch for a long time afterward. A few days after the war ended, a friend of mine was killed by a rifle grenade that was found…”

There are over 50 soldiers’ graves in the Böhler cemetery, including 9 graves of Hitler Youth who died during clean-up work in Dortmund Germany. According to a census from January 1951, there are 159 war graves in Plettenberg; a total of 40 foreigners (30 Russians, 2 Poles, 8 Italians) who were prisoners of war, or forced laborers in Plettenberg were buried here; during World War II, 111 German soldiers were buried in Plettenberg. The total number of victims of the Second World War can only be estimated. Estimates range up to 80 million war dead.

After the war in 1949, demolition experts were clearing ammunition near Plettenberg, when an anti aircraft shell exploded. Police Sargent Bruno, was killed and a bomb disposal expert was seriously injured. A 17 hear old farm hand who was showing them the duds, miraculously was not injured. The bomb disposal expert was quickly rushed to the hospital, and doctors tried to keep him alive.

On April 15, 1945, the 75th Infantry Division located possible camp sites for Displaced Persons, and checked road and bridge conditions in the area south of Dortmund Germany. On April 22, 1945 the 75th was given the task of placing road guides on the approach to Plettenberg. The troops then assembled in Plettenberg at 11:30am. On April 23, 1945 the first platoon including my father 1st lieutenant Arthur Thorsecken’s C-Company, set up an Observation Post (OP) on the main North West road into Plettenberg. An OP is a position used by soldiers to monitor enemy movements, warn of approach, or direct fire. On the 24th they were relived of OP duty and assigned the mission of reconnoitering in the area South of Plettenberg, Germany in the Division area to look for road blocks, road and bridge conditions, and ammunition dumps. On April 26, 1945, the 3rd and 1st platoons continued reconnaissance of area South of Plettenberg, Germany in the Division area. The 2nd platoon set up OP at the Division Headquarters in Plettenberg, Germany. The 1st platoon was alerted. On April 27th to 30th, the Division set up Ops at the Plettenberg Hospital and Radio Station.

After the German surrender on May 8, 1945, the 75th Division was tasked with securing the Westphalia region, including Iserlohn and Plettenberg. The division’s duties included managing displaced persons, securing the area, and caring for Allied prisoners of war.

Plettenberg Germany: Böhler Chapel

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The Böhler Chapel in Plettenberg Germany is a historic religious site, serving as a significant Lutheran preaching spot from 1723 to the mid-18th century, particularly when the main town church was unavailable. It was a center for early morning services and is adjacent to a quiet, historic graveyard that reflects local history. A stone in the wall of the church has the date July 19, 1907. A sign in the cemetery notes that the cemetery was founded in 1906.

The wall surrounding the church has a World War I and World War II memorial. A Column with a metal dish on top that looks like an eternal flame has a plaque that says WE REMEMBER. Another plaque with a relief sculpture of a man in a trench coat with his hands outstretched says REMEMBER THE PRISONERS. At his feet are Prisoner barracks with four sentry towers. This is probably referring to the thousands of Russian Soldiers who were starved to death at Stalag VI-A.

On April 11, the Americans advanced as far as Meinerzhagen and Herscheid (West of Plettenberg) and arrived in the outskirts of Plettenberg around 1 p.m. on April 12. The German troops that had been stationed in and around Plettenberg in the preceding days had already withdrawn or gone into hiding. Nevertheless, there were instances where, despite the obvious futility of further resistance, the desperate orders of the higher command were followed verbatim. This was the case not only with the demolition of the road bridge at Kaley, but also with the railway bridge at Siesel. When the first American tanks entered Plettenberg, a German soldier attempted to destroy a tank with a Panzerfaust on Grafweg, next to the Rempel company, and was killed in the process.

During the course of April 12th, the Americans advanced on the center of Plettenberg. Artillery pieces were positioned near Sonneborn Germany. The town center around Christ Church came under fire.

According to eyewitnesses, the very first shell hit the church tower. On the morning of April 13th, the townspeople were startled early by renewed artillery fire. Bernhard Schulte wrote: “ On April 13th, 1945, Artillery shelling of Plettenberg. In the afternoon, American tanks advanced from the direction of Leinschede into our village. Houses along the main road, behind which German soldiers fled, were shelled. The Catholic church would also have fallen victim to the shelling if Father Busch, the parish priest, hadn’t left the air-raid shelter to go out to meet the Americans.”

Leinscheide is a 9 minute drive to the northeast on the opposite bank of the Lenne River. The American tanks would have needed a bridge to cross the river. It is possible they could have crossed at the Fish Belly Bridge.

When the Americans had actually occupied Plettenberg on April 13 and a truce had been declared, the terrified population still dared not believe that the horrors of war were over. That evening, most of the Americans retreated to their quarters and left Plettenberg by car, heading towards Herscheid Germany (the town West of Plettenberg). A rumor quickly spread through the town that Plettenberg was to be carpet-bombed, and some of the residents, along with their families, boxes, and suitcases, fled to the surrounding hills. Some of the more cautious didn’t return home until the following morning.

Schulte continued: There was Fierce resistance during fighting. “Albert’s house and farmer Otminghaus’s house received direct hits from the tank fire. No livestock was killed. The first tank then turned towards Grabenstraße. A truck was parked in front of the first house on the left. A German soldier fled behind it. The tank set the truck on fire. This caused the old house to catch fire and burn fiercely. The soldier was seriously wounded. At Siepmann’s bowling alley…” Seventy-year-old Mrs. Stutzke was hit by a bullet. She died soon after. At 6:05 p.m., the first Americans arrived in our cellar. I immediately looked at my watch to capture the moment. The German soldiers were captured and taken away. The fighting was over for our town,”

The 75th Inantry Division Command Post wasn’t set up in Plettenberg until April 22, 1945.

Plettenberg Germany: Fish belly arch bridge

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I I decided to spend several days in Plettenberg Germany which was the command post for the 75th Infantry Division at the end of WWII. I drove to the Lenne River where I parked at the AquaMagis water park and then walked to this steel beam Fish Belly Bridge built which was built in 1914. Since it was cold, the water park was quiet. It was a crisp fall afternoon and the walk along the river was gorgeous.

The Fish Belly Bridge was once used for a railroad line. It was closed in 1969 and has been designated a historic site. The  Bridge survived World War II. A walking platform was added to the former railroad bridge. From on top of the walkway, you would have a wonderful view of the Lenne Valley. I climbed up onto the bridge platform. The bridge leading to the west stopped abruptly after a few yards. A metal gate kept people from walking on this dangerous section of the bridge. The other direction over the river is still operational.

As I was sketching, a grandmother and daughter stopped to talk to me for a while in German. I know enough German for short conversations but I only understood maybe half of what the grandmother told me. She was old enough to have been alive in 1945. She wished me safe travels. The daughter knew some English since she lived in the United States for some time. Talking to them made me realize I was hungry for conversation. I had been drawing for 3 months straight every day and people often stopped and spoke to me in French, Dutch, and German. My usual response was “Thank you” in each respective language. Distractions were limited when the people vying for my attention could not be understood. I missed talking to a friend back in the states who is a consummate conversationalist.

The 75th Infantry Division occupied Plettenberg in April of 1945, and stayed for some time while doing governmental work, building up the hospitals, railroads, bridges and water pipes. As always, immediately upon arriving in Plettenberg , the Division’s units set up their Command Posts and a series of signs throughout the town indicated their locations. Each Division in the European Theater of Operations, (ETO) had a different letter with which their individual outfits’ code name began. And so the indicator for 75th Headquarters was D for Diamond.

Water points were established to supply fresh filtered water for the troops. Not only was the job of purifying water in combat important, but it was equally vital when the Division settled in towns like Plettenberg where it was necessary not only to purify water to increase the supply for the troops, but also to test the civilian supply already in operation. With men living so close to one another, the dangers involved in contracting  germs carried by water could result in catastrophe. The men of the water points were diligent, knowledgeable , and tireless.

May 8, 1945: Plettenberg Germany

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Plettenberg, Germany was the last 75th Infantry Division command post in 1945 at the end of World War II. My father, 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken was leading C-Company of the 75th Infantry Division. The 75th was tasked with occupation duty in a large area around Plettenberg Germany, known as Westphalia.

On May 8, 1945 Nazi Germany signed an unconditional surrender of its armed forces to the Allied forces. The Stars and Stripes newspaper headline declared, NAZIS QUIT! Donitz Gives Order. Grand Admiral Donitz, Adolphthe successor to Adolph Hitler. Ordered the surrender. Celebrations broke out in New York City and London immediately. The 75th Infantry band marched through Plettenberg to celebrate the good news.

Relief was felt by every soldier, but the world war was still far from over. The 75th Infantry Division was engaged in routine duties of occupation in the Westphalia region of Germany. This was no easy task since they had to feed and care for 90,000 displaced persons many of them forced laborers and Prisoners of War.

Though victory in Europe was being celebrated, every soldier worried that they might be shipped off to the pacific where the war was still raging against Japan. Occupation duty meant that the soldiers were no longer being pushed from one battle front to another. The pace had slowed down and with peace in Europe men began to hope that they might get to go back home.

The military had a points system for discharging soldiers at the end of hostilities. Each soldier was granted one point for each month of service. They received 2 points for each month overseas. They would be given 5 points for each ribbon, and 5 points for each star. Soldiers with children under the age of 18 received 12 points for each child. Soldiers with 85 points qualified for immediate discharge. The demobilization system began on May 10, 1945.

So in May of 1945, Arthur Thorspecken would have built up the following points…
1 point per month in service… Arthur Thorspecken entered the service on February 4, 1943. On May 8, 1945 he would have served 2 years and 3 months. This amounted to 27 Points.
2 points for each month overseas. Arthur was overseas for 16 months. This amounted to 32 points.
5 points for each ribbon and 5 for each star. Arthur Thorspecken was awarded an American Campaign Medal, an African-Middle Eastern Campaign medal with 2 battle stars, a World War II Victory Medal, and a Combat Infantry Badge. Each medal equals a ribbon, so that amounts to 20 Points and 2 stars adds 10 points for 30 points total.

12 points for each child. Arthur Thorspecken married Elvira Corr while he was in Camp Davis in North Carolina. Elvira had her first child while he was still in infantry school. Elvira’s baby girl was born while Elvira was in Massachusetts. Arthur  did see pictures of his baby girl before being shipped overseas. That amounts to 12 points.

That would be a total of 101 points which would qualify him for immediate discharge. Arthur still served on Occupation Duty in Europe for 3 more months until his discharge could take effect.

In August of 1945, the 75th Infantry Division strength was 20,785. Of these 11,147 had less than 65 points. 7,183 had scores of 85 and higher. Arthur Thorspecken likely departed Europe on about July 29, 1945 when he would have taken the week long boat ride back to America. He was officially separated from the military on August 4, 1945 at Fort Dix, New Jersey, which was just 2 days before the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima Japan. The idea of a world at war took a seismic shift towards peace.

April 20, 1945: Hemer Germany, War Memorial

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When driving out of Hemer towards Plettenberg Germany, I noticed this World War I and II memorial dedicated to the solders from Hemer who died in the wars. I usually planned my sketch opportunities in advance by researching the night before, but in this case, I just stumbled across this memorial as I was driving. I pulled off the main road and turned around to sketch.

On April 20, 1945, 300,000 German soldiers surrendered in the Ruhr Pocket. April 21, 1945, was the end of the Ruhr offensive. After seeing Stalag VI-A in Hemer, I started to drive to Plettenberg Germany where the 75th Infantry command post was in operation at the time.

On April 25, 1945, American and Soviet forces met at the Elbe River near Torgau, Germany, a defining, symbolic moment in World War II known as “Elbe Day”. This link-up cut the German army in two, signaling the collapse of the Nazi regime and marking the effective end of the war in Europe. By April 30, 1945, Adolph Hitler had committed suicide in Berlin. The World War in Europe would officially end on May 8, 1945 when Germany surrendered. 1st Lieutenant Joe Colcord of the 75th Infantry Division wrote, “VE Day was quite a celebration as it meant that we were not going to the East to join up with the Russians at the Elba.”

After Germany’s surrender, the 75th Infantry Division became the civil-military government in Westphalia Germany, caring for 175,000 Allied prisoners of war and displaced persons which formed a central part of their duties. On VE Day the 75th Infantry Band marked through the streets.

Lieutenant Paul Cunninham of the 75th Infantry Division, wrote about his experience at a German camp for Russian POWs… “men to sick to work were sent there to recover. In reality they were sent there to starve to die, starved to death. If someone did get well, he was immediately sent to work in the mines. 25,000 men were kept where only 9,000 could be accommodated.”

My Father 1st Lieutenant Arthur Harold Thorspecken was in charge of C-Company in the 1st Battalion of the 75th Infantry Division which was part of the 290th Infantry Division. 290th Infantry Division.

A dedication was sent to all the soldiers after Germany surrendered… “ Today we have achieved final and conclusive victory over Germany. The monster that was Nazism lies crushed and broken. The road to victory has been long and bitter for everyone. It has been built by the unfaltering courage and the steadfast devotion of every man serving under the flags of the Allied nations. The darkest hours have been illuminated by the flames in the hearts of free men fighting indomitably onward to the final victory.

As we are gathered here to celebrate the great day, we must certainly be joined by the spirits of those of our comrades who have sacrificed their lives in order that we might accomplish this victory. To those men whose unselfish devotion to duty shall live forever asa torch of freedom, we most humbly dedicate this day. May God grant men the wisdom needed to carry on ideals for which they have died.

While VE Day is an occasion for thanksgiving and celebration, it comes to us with the realization that long dark months of trails and tribulations lie before us. Not only great dangers, but many more misfortunes, many shortcomings, many mistakes many disappointments will surely be our lot. Death and sorrow will be the companions of our journey, hardship our garment, and valor our shield. We must be united, we must be undaunted, we must be unyielding. Our qualities and deeds must burn and glow through the gloom of the world until they become the veritable beacon of it’s salvation.

Today concludes the first phase of our titanic struggle. A struggle which will ultimately end with our crushing defeat of the last barrier to world peace.”

After Stalag VI-A in Hemer Germany was captured by the Americans, it was renamed Camp Roosevelt. It was a long road to liberate all the POWs in the camp. Hundreds of Soviet POWs kept dying every week from the many months of starvation. Soviet prisoners sent back to Russia would be seen as traitors, so after all the horrors of capture and forced labor they would go back home to be treated with suspicion. Camp Roosevelt  was then used as a camp for detaining Nazi prisoners.

Hemer Germany: Diloh Russian Cemetery

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Diloh Cemetery in Hemer Germany, is further away from the Stalag that the Hochlingerweg Cemetery which had been filled quickly with mass graves from all the Russian solders being starved and worked to death. The Diloh cemetery is a more difficult drive which I can attest to since I drove up there from the Stalag VI-A site. Right next to the cemetery was a military shooting range and the wall where the targets were placed was across from the entrance to the Diloh Cemetery. This military shooting range was surrounded by a high fence and there were always military guards at the site. Locals seldom went there.

This cemetery was also a site for mass burials in open trenches. The bodies were dressed and wrapped in oil paper and then tied up with rope. When no paper was available, in the last weeks of the war, the bodies were thrown naked onto the horse drawn wagon. Locals in the upper floors of the homes along the route had a view of the grisly procession as the horse cart made its way up the hill to the Diloh Cemetery.

POWs in Stalag VI-A were blackmailed with schnapps and special rations to conduct the sad and horrific task of collecting the dead at the Stalag every day. The would load the dead in a horse drawn cart to bring the dead to the Diloh Cemetery. The back of the cart would be opened and the cart tipped to allow the emaciated bodies to roll out into the trench. The inmate could wear protective gloves but there were no masks to hide the stanch of death. Bodies would be stacked, one on top of the other four deep. Once the bodies were stacked, then dirt could be shoveled in to cover the faces of the dead.

Each cart load could bring 25 to 28 bodies up the hill to the cemetery. The process would have to be repeated several times a day. An inmate work crew had to work every day to prepare the long trenches about 10 feet wide and 8 feet deep.
After the liberation of Stalag VI-A on April 14, 1945, the mortality rate remained at about 100 deaths a day. The Americans improved the living conditions by supplying food and drugs, but many of the POWs were already too far gone. Conditions slowly improved. After liberation on April 14, 1945 to April 28, 1945 deaths in the Stalag were kept to 790.

After the end of the war, the Soviet Military mission gave the order to erect a monument which was designed by Russian architect Lieutenant Lewikij. It was erected on October 9, 1945 in the presence of British and Soviet officers as well as the mayor of Hemer Germany. Engraved on the monument is the following… You have suffered all the torments and pains, and tortures. Those who have tortured you to death in the foreign country have not escaped the punishment that has caught up with them. Those who have been swept away today with powerful force have themselves fallen into the grave. Sleep well. From home, beautiful light flows on you in a wide river. The vigilant warriors of the Red Army protect your peace.

The cemetery was remodeled in 1949. Raised ground form the mass grave trenches were leveled and the whole area was sown with grass, to allow for easy mowing and maintenance. The small metal plates which had marked the grave rows were removed. The opinion at the time was that Soviet victims of the war did not need to be buried in a comprehensible manner. And the names of the deceased could no longer be determined.

In 1966 there was a push to erect a new monument which did not have the Soviet star. That project never happened due to a lack of funds. In 1987 plaques were added which translated the Russian engravings and a second panel indicated that the victims were buried after the inhumane treatment of their captors. Those plagues were destroyed and the vandals were never prosecuted. Police had to start patrolling the cemetery to prevent further vandalism.

Stalag VI-A Model

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My father 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken would have been in and around the area of Stalag VI-A in Hemer Germany, helping liberate the prisoners from April 19, 1945 to June 1, 1945, a total of 43 days.

1st Lieutenant Joe Colcord in the 75th Infantry Division wrote… “We captured several unnamed cities in the Ruhr Pocket and liberated a displaced person’s camp, the poor souls were wandering around weakly, near death since the German guards had left. Some lay in stacked beds too weak to walk. All were in effect skeletons. They almost seemed non-human. I suspect this was a work camp.” Joe continued… “There were many Displaced Persons, that by treaty were to be shipped home by the easiest rail line. These people did not want to go East. We had to nail the doors shut on the 40-8’s to keep them on board. At least until they left the marshaling yard. For many there was no home to go to, and this act may have been a death sentence. I can still see the sad faces as they were boxed up to go “home’.” There were literally hundreds of these work camps, so I can not verify if Joe is talking about Stalag VI-A or another work camp.

Dr. Nikolai Gubarew was a Soviet soldier captured and sent to Stalag VI-A as a 20 year old prisoner in 1942. He remained in the camp until it was liberated in April of 1945. In time he became an assistant to the StalagVI-A Captain Edmund Weller and thus he gained insight into the inner workings of the camp. The camp had a reputation among Soviets as the place Prisoners of War (POWs) went to die. Bread was the only hope to survive. For breakfast there might be a sip of liquid which was a replacement for coffee, lunch might consist of a thin soup with some turnips with unpeeled potatoes, sometimes with a bit of margarine. The best possible bread ration was 8 ounces which allowed for slow starvation. Soviet prisoners were always given the worst rations of food since the Germans considered then sub-human. Soviets would get 1 bowl of broth while other nationalizes got 2 bowls.

Clothing consisted of old uniforms marked with white phosphorus so a prisoner could be identified at night. Instead of shoes, prisoners were given old woolen pants which sometimes covered the feet. Clothing was regularly untied to fight the lice. If clothing got wet with outdoor work, then pneumonia was often the result. Prisoners slept in 3 story bunk beds. Being in the stone buildings was better than being in the wooden barracks since the wooden barracks were very drafty.

The death rates soured for prisoners who had tuberculosis and pneumonia. There were no drugs to treat the patients. Due to the risk of infection, these barracks were never entered by German camp staff. The door to the medial barracks was secured with a padlock and only Soviet medical personnel held the key. The dead would lie with the living in the bunks for a time, this allowed bread rations to be collected from the dead and distributed to the living. When bodies began to bloat, they had to be removed by medical staff with a horse drawn cart.

At 6am each day there was a roll call. If the numbers were not right then prisoners might have to stand for hours until the numbers were correct. Forced Laborers who were worked outside the camp would be marched away. During the night, illumination was provided solely by the beams of guard tower searchlights as they swept across the perimeter fences. Some guards were very brutal. They beat prisoners with truncheons.

POW camp staff enriched themselves by taking prisoner bread and other food. The food would disappear before getting to the camp warehouse. Staff would lift goods from the delivery train at the Hemer station to private trucks. Any meat, fat and bread would often be taken directly from the Stalag kitchen. Moldy bread is what usually would arrive at the Stalag with no replacement shipments. Bombing raids guaranteed late shipments. Potato and turnip supplies did run out. When serving food there was often chaos among the starved inmates.

Russian POW Dimitry Alexandrovich was a talented photographer. While in the Stalag, he was entrusted to work taking the pictures of incoming prisoners which were added to the inmate information card files. He also had to work on the mass burial detail, and at the risk of his own life, he photographed the grisly scenes of emaciated bodied being dumped into mass graves. Thanks to his access to the dark room, he was able to develop and print these scenes of horror.

On April 30, 1945, Adolph Hitler committed suicide in his Berlin bunker.

Russians celebrate May Day on May 1st, which is a celebration of spring and renewal. The 75th Infantry hosted a May Day celebration at the camp where Generals gathered at a podium to speak. POWs lined up in tight military formations. American enlisted men and officers gave up their white bread rations for 3 days, so that the Soviets and other POWs could have more to eat at the ceremony. There was music, marching and the 75th Infantry Division General Ray E. Porter had a banquet set up for the delegates assembled.

May 8, 1945, was Victory in Europe day (VE Day), when Germany officially surrendered.

On June 1, 1945, the 75th Infantry Division was relieved by the British infantry since Stalag VI-A in Hemer Germany was in the British occupation zone.

Russian Memorial Hocklingerweg Hemer, Germany

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In the final months of World War II, the area around Islerohn Germany saw the surrender of German forces to the American troops. My father, 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken with his C-Company in the 75th Infantry Division, moved into Hemer to help liberate Stalag VI-A, one of Germany’s largest POW camps.

The Americans of the 75th Infantry Division distributed U.S. Military rations to the starving prisoners. Approximately 22,000 men were found at the camp with 9000 of those in the camp “hospital”. Patients suffered from Tuberculosis, Dysentery, Malnutrition, and Typhus fever. Inmates were from the Soviet Union, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, Italy, Yugoslavia, Romania, Great Britain, Canada and America. American War photographer Joseph D. Karr was on the scene documenting the struggle to keep men alive. Despite being offered food rations, many men were just too far gone. Over 100 men (mostly Soviets) kept dying every day. Soviets were given half or less of the rations that other nationalities were given and over the week before liberation there was no food distributed in the camp since the cooks and guards had retreated East away from the advancing American troops.

Two cemeteries were established for the mass graves for all the men who were dying. The exact number of men who died is hard to calculate. Some researchers think 24,000 men lie in the two cemeteries. Others think that number is too high, while others think that number may be far higher, based on the rising numbers of inmates who died at the end of the war. The goal of commemorating is to never forget. Future generations need to know what man is willing to do in the name of an ideology and how quickly a society is willing to throw away basic moral principles.

Early in the war, the first men who died were buried in a forest near the Stalag. The dead were buried in simple wooden coffins. Most of these men were French (166) and Polish (42). By 1945 there were 335 graves. War graves agreements after the war, insisted that the bodies be returned to home countries. The remaining graves were then moved to the two cemeteries dedicated to the Stalag dead in Hemer.

The numbers of Soviet dead kept growing exponentially. They had been through the hell of war, capture, forced stays in the front-line Stalags followed by excruciatingly long cold train rides into the Reich where they were immediately put into forced labor details. Additional land had to be acquired from a Protestant parish for the hundreds of men who were dying each week. The bodies were carried on a horse drawn carriage on the shortest route up the hills and winding roads to the cemetery. Long excavated trenches had been dug, and the bodies were unceremoniously thrown into the pit. People walking down the street, or passing by train could see the grisly scene. There was no secrecy to the mass murder taking place.

By the end of 1943 all the rows had been filled with bodies. The capacity of the cemetery was exhausted. More than 3,500 Soviet prisoners were buried in 16 mass graves in about 15 months. Since men were buried with bodies stacked on top of one another, about 3 men deep, it became impossible to figure out who was buried where. At first there were distinct rows with metal plates to delineate the rows, but over time the landscape was flattened and a featureless lawn with a few birch trees remains. The metal plates had been discarded or lost.

A small concrete monument had been built by Soviet inmates after the liberation of the camp, but it was replaced by a memorial stone designed by Menden Germany sculptor, Walter Voss. It was dedicated on the Sunday of the Dead, in 1967. The stone says: Rest. Soviet Citizens who died in the years 1941-1945 far from home. The number of deceased, at 3000, was the credible number at the time when the stone was carved. As of 2021, 3,513 of the Soviet prisoners could be named. The exact number may never be known.

April 23, 1945: Hemer Germany, Stalag VI-A

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On April 23, 1945, the 290th Infantry Division relieved the 5th Infantry Division, assuming the duties and responsibilities of occupying, administering and policing the large area in and around Iserlohn Germany. The care, feeding and expeditious evacuation of 90,000 Displaced Persons, coming from every one of the countries Germany had conquered, presented difficult problem. The 75th Infantry had limited personnel and transportation facilities.

Hemer Germany was captured on April 14, 1945. While the German commander of the 512th Heavy Panzerjager Battalion was negotiating a surrender, the American Major Thomas Daily learned about the deteriorating conditions in Hemer’s Stalag VI-A, just to the east of Islerohn. He learned that Russian prisoners had escaped and were looting the city. Most of the camp guards had already been disarmed. Daily quickly realized that the starving prisoners could cause chaos. The prisoners had cut their way through the barbed wire fence and were slipping out in small groups. An order was issued to shoot any armed civilians to restore order. American tanks were deployed to surround the POW camp. The prisoners who escaped were forcibly returned to the camp.

The living conditions I the camp were horrific. There were 9000 patients in the camp “hospital”. Typhoid, pneumonia, fever,  tuberculosis and dysentery raged uncontrolled through the camp.  The clothes of the prisoners were only rags. Body lice was everywhere. The sanitary facilities were dirty and completely inadequate. Even after being liberated, there was an average of 100 to 150 deaths a day. Hundreds of bodies lay on the ground. They needed to be loaded onto army trucks and buried in a mass grave site.

The four days before the Americans arrived, there had been noting to eat in the camp at all. Before that, the prisoners had only been given a thin barley soup, with one bowl a day for each Russian and two bowls a day for the other nationalities along with a single loaf of bread between 10 men. Guards had retreated, knowing hat the Americas were coming. All the Russians suffered from malnutrition. The 99 American prisoners had only recently been captured and they were in comparatively good condition.
At 7p.m. an American Kitchen was set up and all available food was distributed. At first warning shots had to be fired with hand guns and light tank guns over the heads of the prisoners to dissolve a riot among the prisoners. None of the Americans knew how to speak Russian. An armored loudspeaker vehicle was found and it was used to calm the excited crowd with translated announcements.

Prior to the war, Hemer had petitioned to become a military location. The mayor felt that this would boost the city’s economy. The city took the financial risk to build modern brick military barracks. The hope was that the construction would catch the eye of the Nazi Party. War broke out before work was finished on the buildings. With Poland invaded, the unfinished barracks immediately became a Prisoner of War Camp. Hemer became the first prisoner of war camp near Dortmund Germany. Large tents had to be brought in since the buildings were still uninhabitable. At first prisoners had to sleep on the bare concrete floor until the rooms could be equipped with 3 tiered crude bunk beds. Barbed write was quickly unrolled around the complex.

Train loads of prisoners kept arriving which lead to constant overcrowding with insufficient sanitation. Vermin spread disease. Once the buildings were completed, the prisoners in the brick buildings, were better off than other Stalag’s which were quickly constructed with Forced Labor out of wood, mud and hate. But with malnutrition, all prisoners were equal.

POWs were used as forced labor. Those who could not work would be returned to the Stalag where they would languish and die. Treatment by the guards was brutal, hitting prisoners with shovels and sticks. In one instance, a sickly prisoners tried to grab a second serving of soup and run away. A guard hit the prisoner in the head with a thick club, which he nicknamed “Bull Penis”, which he kept ready for just such an occasion. The Russian fell to the ground, blood flowed from his mouth, nose and ears. Military camp personnel did not shy away from torment and isolated murders of the prisoners.