Reims France: Museum of the Surrender

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My second stop on the drive back to Paris was Reims France. Rheims was the city where Germany unconditionally surrendered on May 7, 1945, at 2:41am. However, the Soviets had not yet officially approved the text of the Instrument of Surrender signed in Reims. The Soviets insisted that the proper signing ceremony must not take place in France, but right in the fallen Reich’s heart, in Berlin. They also insisted on certain changes in the text of the Instrument of Surrender, insisting it state unambiguously that all German troops were required to give up their arms and hand themselves over to the Allies. Therefor on May 8, 1945, there was another, grander, more formal ceremony in Berlin Germany.

There were no immediate celebrations. The ceasefire was set for 11.01pm on 8 May, and the news correspondents present at the Rheims signing were sworn not to report the surrender until further notice. A few hours later, however, German radio did – and the news was out.

My Father 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken was serving occupation duty in the area of Hemer where Stalag VI-A was located as well as Iserlohn and Plettenburg Germany when Germany surrendered. He held on to the Stars and Strips newspaper announcing the surrender for the rest of his life. I now have that very yellow and fragile newspaper with the full-page headline NAZIS QUIT! Arthur must have been ecstatic that the European war was over. The 75th Infantry marching band celebrated by marching through the streets of Plettenberg Germany playing patriotic music.

Although Arthur Thorspecken wasn’t at the signing on May 8, 1945, he was reassigned to Camp Cleveland just 11 miles south east of Reims on June 1, 1945. Leaves to Rheims and Paris were common for the 75th Infantry soldiers who ran Camp Cleveland. I have no doubt that Arthur would have taken a leave to Rheims and come to the this site where the war in Germany had ended.

The newspaper announced that, German officers formally surrendered the German forces at a meeting in the big red schoolhouse which was General Eisenhauer’s headquarters. Grand Admiral Doenitz, successor to Adolph Hitler, ordered the surrender and the German High Command declared it effective. The signing of the surrender declaration took place in secret in the “map room” located in the technical college (now called Lycée Roosevelt)

The red schoolhouse in Rheims is now a museum memorializing the end of World War II. The museum has archives, uniforms, and artifacts which bring the period of May 1945 to life. Unfortunately, when I was there, the museum was under renovation. It is slated to re-open in March of 2026.

The text serving as the “Instrument of Surrender” had already been written by the Allies in mid-1944, after the D-Day Landings in Normandy France. Reworked sections of the text were also the subject of the Yalta Conference in early 1945. The main points were that the surrender had to be unconditional and must be signed by the German Military High Command. When Germany’s surrendered in WW1, only the civilian government signed. This later paved the way for the “Dolchstoß”, or ‘stab-in-the-back’, legend that militarily Germany had not actually been defeated on the battlefields, but that it was “betrayed” – by republicans, social democrats, and Jews. This propaganda fueled the hatred that allowed Hitler to be voted into office and begin a massive build up of armed forces.

Adolph Hitler’s suicide, in the Fuhrer bunker in Berlin on 30 April 1945, opened a real chance for surrender to come quickly. Yet it came in stages, drawn out over the course of more than a week, partly because of the chaos the German military was experiencing.

Today the museum looks quite nondescript, a simple red-brick complex. Only the four flagpoles flying the British, United States, French and Soviet flags hint at its significance.

March 28, 1945: Hessian State Theater, Wiesbaden Germany

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After sketching in Plettenburg Germany, I arranged to visit distant Thorspecken cousins in Wiesbaden Germany. Back in 1994 I visited all of the Thorspecken relatives I could find based on researching my family tree. One relative was a professional flute player for the state theater in Weisbaden. When I interviewed her back in 1994, she was nursing her newborn baby girl. That child was just married, and she helped me on this project by agreeing to allow me to ship the empty sketchbooks to her home in Koblinz Germany. When my first sketchbook was completely full, I drove to Koblinz to pick up the other 6 sketchbooks and was treated to a delicious traditional German breakfast in their home..

We all agreed to meet at Hessan State Theater in Wiesbaden. This is where my cousin performed fin the orchestra for so many years. She retired recently from performing in the theater, but she knows every nook and cranny of the place. One entrance of the theater was for the king and all his horses. She showed me the kings box seating which was of course the best seat in the house.

I loved when we explored the prop rooms and the huge scenic shop. Large scenic drops were on the floor being painted. Another theater had a rehearsal going on but my cousin marched in with confidence, and we watched for a while from the back rows. Another rehearsal was going on in a lobby which was super elegant with highly ornate gold trim. We watched that rehearsal which was in English from an upper balcony. The theater was a buzz with activity.

Wiesbaden is situated above natural hot springs. Steam can be seen rising from the ground in many spots. A fountain allowed people to sample the sulfur flavored water which is supposed to have healing properties.

My cousin used to live in Weisbaden but she just recently purchased a home out in the country. The home had a wood burning stove and a balcony that has a gorgeous view of the valley surrounded by large hills. I loved the way her home was decorated, it had an elegant old world feel. She practiced her English and I practiced my limited German. After a day of exploring Wiesbaden with my cousins, they insisted we go to a spot high on the mountain that overlooks the city to have a hot mulled wine. It was the perfect end cap to an amazing day.

Wiesbaden became a military base during WWII for the General Command of the XII Army Corps and the 3rd battalion of the 38th Infantry Regiment. It was also a target for Allied bombings because of its industrial support for the Nazi war machine. Allied bombing raids targeted Wehrmacht facilities, the Glyco-Metalworks production plant, the Dyckerhoff and sons cement works, Kalle chemical works, the Albert chemical plant among others. There were frequent attacks on both industrial and residential areas. By the end of the war, around 30% of Wiesbaden’s buildings had been destroyed.

The Hessian State Theater that we visited, had extensive damage to the north side during the Allied air raid of February 2 to 3, 1945. In that air raid, nearly 500 British aircraft dropped 1,251 tons of bombs, including several so-called blockbuster bombs, which could destroy entire city blocks. But the city was lucky — heavy cloud cover meant it was spared the destruction suffered by many German cities in the war.

Wiesbaden was liberated from Nazi control on March 28, 1945, by the U.S. 80th Infantry Division alongside elements of the 4th Armored Division during the drive to the Rhine. On that morning at 5:45 a.m., a white flag was raised on the bunker at the museum, marking a peaceful surrender despite the Nero decree which insisted on evacuation and destruction of all infrastructure. My father, 1st lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken would have been much further north, crossing the Dortmund-Ems Canal on the way to attacking Dorsten Germay. The 75th Infantry Division did not take part in the liberation of Wiesbaden.

After Wiesbaden was liberated, it became a major hub for American forces. The city served as a major U.S. Air Force base (crucial during the 1948–49 Berlin Airlift) and housed the “Central Collecting Point” for art recovered from the Nazi’s by the Monuments Men.

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.