Meckinghoven Germany: Henrichenburg Boat Lift

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Germany is just to the south of Datteln Germany. In Meckinhoven Germany I sketched the boat lift. This historic structure would lift barges to a higher level so they could adjust to the changing water levels in the canal. Here the Zweg Canal which runs North West meet up with the Dortmund-Ems Canal which runs east to west.

The historic Henrichenburg Boat Lift on the Dortmund-Ems Canal, is a marvel of engineering that lifted boats up a significant height, it is now a preserved museum piece. The original Henrichenburg lift, opened in 1899, and it used counterweighted troughs to move ships. The lift was operational during World War II, suffering from only minor damage form Allied Bombings. It allowed large cargo barges to navigate the significant height difference (46 feet) on the canal. The lift is now a static monument, while nearby lifts handle current traffic. 

The 75th Infantry Division was heading south west through Meckinghoven towards the large industrial city of Dortmund Germany. Dortmund was considered the Pittsburgh of Germany. If the 75th could push beyond to the Ruhr River, the city would be isolated. In many of the smaller villages in the Ruhr, Allied units made quick headway with little German resistance. Dortmund was different. Besides being a strategically important city because of it’s industry, the citizens were early supporters of Hitler and the Nazi party. As early as 1933, Hitler’s storm troopers marched through the streets of Dortmund, cheered on by crowds of local citizens. Later Hitler announced the end of many of the post WWI agreements at a rally in Dortmund. The population embraced many of his ideals.

In the late 19e0s, the Aplerbeck Hospital in Dortmund transferred mentally and or physically disabled patents, including children from the area to Hadar Mental Hospital. Patients were first killed by backing up a truch and having the carb0n monoxide fumes pumped into the air ducts of the patent rooms. These patients were murdered as part of the Nazi eugenics program implemented by Hitler before the Final Solution, the extermination of Europe’s Jews.

Forced Labor Barracks, Waltrop-Ickern Germany

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In Waltrop-Ickern Germany I sketched a former forced labor barracks. Today this long building is part of a quiet suburb. Fireplace smoke rose from the quiet home on a peaceful morning. During World War II, Krupp industry in nearby Essen Germany tilized POWs and forced labor for their war production, highlighting the reliance on slave labor in the region’s factories.

In August 1944, there were over 7.6 million Fremdarbeiter (foreign workers) officially registered in the “Greater German Reich,” which represented one-fifth of the total German labor force. Of those, 1.9 million were prisoners of war and 5.7 million were civilian forced laborers. Eastern Europeans made up the majority of civilian forced laborers, a term used to describe people who were involuntarily taken from their homes and deported to work in various places throughout the Third Reich during World War II. The labor policy regarding Eastern Europeans was directly related to Nazi racial ideology, which viewed Slavic peoples as Untermenschen, or subhuman.

In the Waltrop-Holthausen maternity confinement camp, specially established for female forced laborers, 1,273 babies were born during World War II. Most of the infants which were taken from the women, died of starvation or inadequate care within their first year of life. The babies were specifically starved to death by the Germans as a form of racial cleansing.

The camp was set up to manage pregnancies among non-German forced laborers (mostly Polish and Soviets) who had been deported to Westphalia to work in local industries and on farms. The system was intended to ensure these women could quickly return to work and to forcibly abort fetuses and guarantee the deaths of “racially undesirable” children within the German population.

The Polish girl Maria Wieclaw is one of the young women deported to Waltrop Germany for forced labor. At the age of twenty she met her future husband and became pregnant. She gave birth to her daughter Valentina in the Waltrop-Holthausen maternity confinement camp. Her baby was immediately taken from her. To this day, Maria Wieclaw still does not know what happened to her daughter.

Some women tried to break into the maternity confinement camp to recover their children, but if caught they would face certain death. Mothers who were deemed unable to return to work quickly after childbirth were often murdered along with their babies. After the war, many survivors were forcibly returned to Eastern Europe and were ostracized as “traitors of the fatherland” and faced continued hardship. 

On April 4, 1945 three American Infantry Divisions advanced south after crossing the Dortmund-Ems Canal. The 291st Infantry Division was on the left, the 289th Infantry Division was on the right and the 116th Infantry Division in the center. They rolled south to crush Waltrop Germany. The 289th pushed forward to seize Ickern Germany. Coal mines factories, and houses needed to be cleared. K-Company of the 289th Infantry Division killed a German platoon when they met them at an underpass of a superhighway.

The canal system was bridged and supplies rolled forward. Tanks moved forward for support and troops climbed aboard jeeps to keep pace with the fast moving column. Although there was some heavy resistance, the Volksstrom or peoples army, often threw ip their hands and dropped their weapons, begging to go home.

The large city of Dortmund Germany lay ahead and it was the task of the 75th Infantry Division to clear the approaches.

Restaurant in Datteln Germany

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On April 4, 1945 the stage was set for an assault crossing of the Dortmind-Ems Canal at Datteln Germany. This would be a tough crossing but important for the advance into the heart of the Ruhr Pocket. Having reached the Dortmund-Ema Canal, the first stage of the Ruhr campaign was complete. The second stage would have the 75th Infantry Division push south, thus dividing the encircled German troops in half.

The attack across the Dortmind-Ems Canal jumped off with the 75th Infantry Division scaling ladders to cross up and over the canal. Bulldozers followed to mound up dirt to create a path for the tanks and tank destroyers. Creating these paths using bulldozers was a slow process since the Vanal was so wide, and the troops had already advanced across the canal and they were without supplies. Cub planes of the division were flown in to the rescue. They landed necessary supples and evacuated the wounded.

The Germans had retreated, however, they left ground mines behind. Martin Freeman Ables and one other soldier were in a Jeep, returning from picking up two wounded men, to take for medical treatment. Leaving the road to go around a tank, they ran over a ground mine and all four men were killed. This happened on April 1, 1945.

Allied air attacks heavily destroyed Datteln’s residential area. The worst attack was on March 9, 1944 by 77 Royal Air Force Halifax Bombers. They destroyed the churches, including St. Amanduskirche, 3 schools, several buildings of the local mine and 12% of the houses. 64% of the remaining homes were gravely damaged. There were a number of dead civilians who were buried in a mass grave. All of the bridges were blown up by Allied troops.

Dortmund-Ems Canal

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On April 1, 1945, the  290th infantry Division which includes the 75th Infantry Division attacked with the 289th Infantry Division through the pinned down 8th Armored Group to reach Dortmund-Ems Canal near Datteln Germany. On the same day, the American 9th Army and American 1st Army met at Lippistadt Germany enclosing the Ruhr Pocket. About 350,000 German soldiers were surrounded.

On April 3 to 5, 1945 the canal was crossed as infantry scaled up and over ladders. Bulldozers worked slowly to bridge the canal. Thr 75th Infantry crossed 0n April 4, 1945.

I hiked along a section of the canal that was cut off and isolated from the main canal. That is where I found these Historical Barrier Gates.The barrier gates were needed during World War II because the Royal Air Force kept bombing critical German supply routes. These gates offered quick deployment as a safety measue to prevent catastrophic water loss and flooding from the damaged canal structures. These wartime gates, along with permanent lock gates, protected vital railway tunnels and controlled water flow, making them key tactical elements in canal defense and operation. They are no longer in use today.

This isolated section of the canal was about a quarter mile long. One of the hiking paths was completely covered with bright orange leaves which had dropped off the trees. This isolated section of canal might have been cut off  when the Americans used bulldozers to fill in to create a soil bridge for Infantry and tanks.

The 75th Infantry reinforced the 320th Regiment, and the 35th Infantry Division. Two  slave labor camps were liberated in the area with 3,000 inmates. An estimated 30,000 forced laborers were deployed in the city of Dortmund alone. Dealing with so many displaced persons became a logistical problem.

Cub planes flew supplies over to the far side of the canal and brought back wounded.

My father, 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken was in charge of C-Company. C-Company soldiers who were killed in action  at the Dortmund-Elms Canal…

Private Howard Hall. Died April 2, 1945. Age 20. From Lynchburg, Moore County Tennessee.

Private First Class Chester W. Novonski, Age 33, Died April 2, 1945. Toward Dortmund-Ems Canal.

Private  William R. Speaker. Toward Dortmund-Ems_ Canal.

Datteln Germany: War Graves

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On April 3, 1945 the 75th Infantry Division was in Datteln Germany.I decided to sketch in a cemetery where German soldiers from World War II were buried. At this location a German gentleman who was walking his dog stopped to chat. He spoke fluent English. He told me about how important coal mining was in the area although all the coal mines are now closed.

He also told me about the canal system which was used to transport coal and other goods. The canals are named with the city on one end of the canal and also the city at the other end of the canal. The history books I have been referring to only gave the canals one city name. I had just picked up a large paper map from a museum several days before. on this night I opened the map and spread it out on a table and used blue colored pencil to boldly indicate where each canal was that the 75th Infantry Division had to cross. Crossings would happen with assault craft of quickly assembled pontoon bridges. Each crossing was dangerous because a snipper on the opposite bank would have a clear shot at the troops struggling to cross. I am certain that my father 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken would have dreaded each crossing.

During WWII, Datteln, Germany, a crucial canal junction, suffered extensive damage from Allied bombing particularly in March of 1945, which crippled the vital waterway traffic on the Dortmund-Ems Canal system. The town experienced the destruction of historic buildings and significant loss of life. Datteln was captured by Allied forces on April 2, 1945, marking the end of the war in the area. 
Before the war, Datteln had 18 Jewish families, none of whom survived or returned after the war, though descendants are now involved in reconciliation efforts with the town. A few of the jewish children in town were rescued from the Nazis by the American based organization known as the German Jewish Children’s Aid. As boycotts of jewish businesses were beginning in the town, patents had to make the agonizing decision to give up custody of their children and send them to America where they entered the foster care system. About One Thousand Children were ultimately saves. while their parents faced deportation to the concentration camps.

April 2-3, 1945: Oer-Erckinswick Germany

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I decided to focus my attention on coal mines to get a sense of what the Ruhr might have been like back in 1945. The Bergau und Gesichts Museum located at Oer-Erckinswick Germany. This museum seemed to be run by ex-miners. I entered a room full of men who didn’t seem to understand my request  to see the museum. Perhaps it was because my German is so bad. Finally one of the men agreed to give me a tour but the tour wouldn’t start for an hour. I settled in and started to sketch until the tour began.

Museum staff  started to gain interest as they saw my sketch progress. Art is a universal language. Those who were not giving a tour went into back workshops probably to help refurbish displays. The tour did go to areas that were set up like the tunnels deep underground. I used Google translate to try and understand what was being said in German. I suspect the cell connection was lost underground since translating stopped working.

A manakin was dressed as a miner rescue worker. He wore a large solid backpack. The tour guide opened the backpack to reveal a mini bar of liquor bottles. Th guide laughed. The backpack was actually supposed to house oxygen and medical supplies for any injured miners. I vot my one pair of decent hiking pants dirty by kneeling in a mine tunnel. A small family joined the tour and I got to hear the introductions a a second time. One tunnel had a bicycle that was altered so it would ride on a rail. The little boy from the family was encouraged to ride down the tunnel on the bike.

This museum allowed me to experience what it would be like to work deep underground. Forced laborers were used to step up the mining of coal during world War II. Oer-Erkinswick experienced the war’s impact, since the mining town was important in supplying energy for the war effort. The area faced Allied bombing, like Operation Clarion, targeting infrastructure.

On April 2 and 3, 1945. Oer-Eckinswick was a command post for the 75th Infantry Division.  A main intersection in town was called Adolph Hitler Platz. After Hitler committed suicide the intersection was renamed Hunenplatz in late 1945.  After WWII all Nazi street names were abolished.

Generators at Umspanwerk, Recklinghausen Germany

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In Recklinghausen Germany there is a museum right near the Rhine-Herne Canal. After sketching the canal, I walked over a footbridge and decided to go into the Umspannwerk museum. The museum tracks the progress of technology and energy in Germany. I figured that understanding the progress of energy in Germany might help me understand how energy fueled the German war machine during World War II.

What I decided to sketch was a large Tesla designed generator. A photo of Tesla was on the wall behind the generator. The front desk curators were very kind about getting me set up to sketch. Rather than getting my compact art stool outI decided to use a stackable chair that was with several other unused chairs behind the generator. The stackable chairs were locked together and I couldn’t get then unstuck. The guy behind the desk helped me by laying the chairs sideways on the floor and the. stepping on the legs. They snapped apart effortlessly.

The Ruhr area of Germany has deep veins of coal. The coal is fairly close to the surface near the Ruhr river in the south and it gets deeper as it is mined further to the north. What made the Ruhr area so important to the war was this source of energy.

Hydro power was used for some industry. Huge generators like the one I sketched would convert energy of spinning turbines spun by water onto electrical energy. Hydro electricity was important for specific industries like the aluminum and chemicals industries.

Germany’s energy consumption during WWII was characterized by a massive escalating demand primarily for oil (especially aviation fuel) which was provided through a huge synthetic fuel industry which converted coal to oil. This system collapsed under allied bombing, crippling the military by 1944-1945, forcing reliance on coal for electricity, and ultimately leading to fuel-starved German forces relying on horses.

The Allies crippled Germany’s energy by launching devastating bombing campaigns against oil fields, refineries, and synthetic fuel plants (the Allied Oil Plan), which drastically cut petroleum, oil, and lubricants production by over 90% by late 1944, which grounded the Luftwaffe and immobilized Panzer divisions, grinding the German war machine to a halt and severely limiting mobility for all forces. By 1945, the Wehrmacht was so fuel-starved that army vehicles were sometimes pulled by oxen, effectively ending mechanized warfare.

April 2, 1945: Rhine-Herne Canal Germany

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During WWII, the Rhine–Herne Canal,a vital industrial waterway in the Ruhr area of Germany, was a strategic target, seeing heavy fighting as Allied forces broke into the region in April 1945; the Germans destroyed bridges to slow the advance, but American troops eventually crossed the canal, securing cities like Herne and Gelsenkirchen, capturing key crossings and disrupting German resistance as part of the final push into Germany’s industrial heartland. 

On April 1, 1945. (Easter Sunday) C-Company spearheaded a drive south, atop of tanks of the 701st Tank Battalion to Rhine-Herne Canal virtually unopposed. By April 2, 1945 C-Company was at the Rhine-Herne Canal the 75th Infantry Division replaced elements of the 134th Infantry Division to secure the area.

Crossing the canal would require assault boats and pontoon bridges to be built by engineers. Each canal that the 75th Infantry Division had to cross was a dangerous natural barrier to the advance into the heart of Germany.

Having sat at the West bank to sketch I can say that the crossing would involve bridging about 100 yards while possibly under enemy fire. I sketched a crane as unloading several barges. The company tower was for Rolland Mills West which mills flour for baked goods.

Herzogswall Recklinghausen Germany

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Recklinghausen Germany was known as the fortress city. It also had the nickname of the waffle because of the shape of the city walls as seen from the sky. Recklinghausen’s oil facilities made it a key target for Allied bombing, particularly by the Royal Air Force. The Allies launched a major bomb attack on the city on March 23, 1945 killing 173 people.

On April 1, 1945 (Easter Sunday) the 134th US Infantry Division American troops captured the city which was strongly fortified by Germans. The Germans knew that this fortified city was needed to stop Americans from crossing Rhine-Herne Canal. My father, 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken with his C-Company troops were moving south with the goal of cutting the trapped German troops in the Ruhr Pocket in half.

By the end of the day on April 2, 1945, the 134th Infantry Division had cleared Recklinghausen and was being relieved by elements of the 290th Infantry, 75th Infantry Division, and elements were heading to an assembly area in the vicinity of Westerholt Germany. Remaining elements of the 134th Infantry in positions along the Zweig Canal were relieved by the 290th Infantry. The 75th Infantry Division assumed responsibility for the sector.

The German flanks were  secured by Lippe Canal to the north and Rhine-Hern Canal to the south.  The final artillery battle was fought in the Recklinghausen Market square.

After Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945, an Interment camp was stablished in Recklinhausen for German civilians in a former forced labor camp in the Hillerheide district. This Civilian Interment Enclosure 91 held 20,000 prisoners. It was used by the Allies to question German prisoners about war crimes and mistreatment of forced laborers. The 44th Infantry Division was involved in  involved in investigating potential war crimes around May 3, 1945, where local people were forced to bury bodies from mass graves near Recklinghausen (Suttrop). The camp closed on April 15, 1948.

I decided to sketch a remnant of the medieval city wall. Only a few short sections remain of this wall.

Marl Germany: Augusta Victoria Colliery

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Since Marl Germany was a huge coal mining town in 1945, I set about trying to find the Zeche Augusta Victoria Colliery. I parked along the side of a small farming road and then hiked to where the Colliery used to be. There was a security gate with a chain link fence, and a security camera. I suspect that what remained of the old coal mine was in that secure area. I hiked around the fenced off area and finally decided to sketch this scene which I believe used to be the parking lot for the miners.

The mine was a major employer and producer in the Ruhr area, named after Germany’s last Empress. It became crucial for Germany’s war effort, making it a target for Allied air raids.  Coal could be converted into a cheap diesel fuel that could be used in the tanks.

On March 17, 1945, the Allies bombed the mine causing significant damage to the winding house. The winding house is a steele beam structure that rises above the ground and uses cable to raise and lower the elevator cage that gets miners deep below the earth to work in the coal tunnels.

The mine was to be blown up as part of Nero Decree (German: Nerobefehl), an order issued by Adolf Hitler on March 19, 1945, which commanded the systematic destruction of all German infrastructure to prevent its use by the advancing Allied forces. On the surface, the mine already suffered significant damage from the Allied bombing. To save the mine, a fake explosion was set off, sealing an entry tunnel with ribble. That saved Augusta Victoria from complete destruction. Nazi leadership, was convinced the mine was no longer operational. The Nazi’s were also in a rush to flee, so they did not take the time to check that the destruction was complete. Bridges around Marl were blown as well as overhead tram lines.

In Marl Germany 338 buildings were completely destroyed. 290 were severely destroyed, 1772 were slightly damaged and 57 farms were completely destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of slave laborers were freed. Slave laborers from POW and slave labor camps, were send down into the mine where they were overworked and starved to death. POWs were released and Volsstrom (People’s Army) were sent home. 

On March 29, 1945  Marl was cleared.