April 14, 1945: Wetter Germany

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By mid April, 1945, the Ruhr factories were silenced.  Thousands of German prisoners filled the Allies’ compounds.  Elements of the German army were retreating further east.  Concentration camps were discovered and liberated.  The indescribable conditions at these camps shocked the world.

After the American President, Franklin D. Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945, the final stages of the Ruhr battle were still under way.  Vice President Harry Truman was now Commander in Chief. Wetter Germany is on the Ruhr River. It is southeast of Witten. My father, 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken, was leading C-Company of the 75th Infantry Division when they captured Wetter on April 13, 1945. There was desperate German resistance since the German troops knew they were surrounded.

When the 75th came into one German town, they found a barbershop where some of the men decided to stop in to get a haircut and shave. One of the soldiers would stand watch over the others while they were getting a clean shave. The soldier, who was standing guard, left his post early when a chair became available, but before someone else could keep guard. The exposed soldiers felt a bit nervous that the German barbers might cut their throats with the straight edge razors and drag them out back with no one the wiser. Thankfully nothing of the sort occurred and the men tipped the barbers VERY well for the services provided.

Most cities seen by C-Company soldiers were completely demolished.  The Allies encountered pockets of German resistance in the drive to the Ruhr industrial complex.  Hundreds of German soldiers were captured daily. Many were teenagers.  Others were much older—in their sixties or more.  These young and old, made up the untrained German people’s army. Conscripted soldiers from occupied nations were glad to be captured. They were aware a prisoner of war of the Allies was assured of food and shelter—much better than being a weary and starving German soldier.

The truck driver of C-Company was busy transporting food and supplies to the liberated forced labor camps.  Those forced laborers were taken to rail stations to be returned to their homelands.  Most did not know if their homes and families survived the war years. Many would find they would be greeted at traitors when they got back to their home country.

As Allied troops, including the 75th Infantry Division, closed in the SS forced thousands of concentration camp prisoners on “evacuation” marches to prevent their liberation, resulting in mass deaths from hunger, exhaustion, and shooting. Despite the war being clearly lost, Nazi officials continued to demand high-speed production of war materials, with prisoners working in subterranean tunnels, factories, and on construction projects. The liberation of these camps was a slow, sometimes violent process. Many survivors were in critical condition, and thousands died even after liberation.

The 1st and 9th Armies split the Ruhr Industrial Pocket in half by April 14, 1945, specifically in the Hagen-Witten area, which is immediately west of Wetter on the Ruhr River. The organized resistance in this specific area collapsed around April 18, 1945, after the pocket was subdivided.

Witten Germany: Berger Memorial

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The Ruhr River was the final objective of the 75th Infantry Division. When the 75th reached this objective they had split the surrounded German troops in half and finally crushed the Industrial Ruhr Pocket. The Berger Memorial sits high on a hillside overlooking on a particularly beautiful section of the river Ruhr River between Wetter and Witten Germany. The memorial was built between 1902 and 1904 to honor Louis Constanz Berger, (1829-1891), an industrialist and community co-founder. Its construction occurred during a period of industrialization and modernization of the Ruhr region. I imagined that my father 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken and his C-Company might have come to this overlook to view their final objective. The memorial would have stood at this spot in April of 1945, having been built between 1902 and 1904,

The monument made of Ruhr sandstone commemorates one of the most important Witten entrepreneur and politician of the early industrialization: Louis Berger. In 1854 Berger father founded a cast steel factory in Witten, which, Louis, developed into one of the first large industrial companies in the Ruhr. The quality of Berger’s cast steel was the “basis” of the Prussian needle gun and Krupp’s gun barrels. The needle gun was ahead of its time allowing a trained soldier to fire 12 rounds a minute. Most countries were still using muzzle-loading flintlocks which only allowed a soldier to fire 3 to 4 rounds a minute. Krupp gun barrels, produced by the German industrial giant Friedrich Krupp AG, were known to be of high quality being made of durable steel.

During WWII, the Krupp steel works in Essen, led by Alfried Krupp from 1943, were the cornerstone of the Nazi war machine, producing artillery, tanks, and u-Boats.  Despite massive Allied bombing, the works managed to remain standing until 1945. The firm heavily utilized over 100,000 forced laborers, prisoners of war, and concentration camp inmates in over 80 plants. Alfried Krupp was convicted of crimes against humanity at Nuremberg Germany, sentenced to 12 years, and had his assets confiscated, but he was released in 1951 by the US, and his fortune was restored.

The Berger Memorial seemed like a monument to a corporate entrepreneur and civic minded politician. But the steel he manufactured became the cornerstone to building the German Military war machine in the first and second World Wars. In that sense it is a monument to the senselessness of war.

Witten-Annen Germany Forced Labor History Lost

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A satellite camp of Buchenwald was established is Annen–Witten. My late night research found a memorial which had some of the foundations of barracks visible and several plaques to memorialize what had happened on the site. By using Google Street View I actually was able to see the memorial right from where I might be able to park the rental car. It was rare for me to actually see my destination so I was excited.

When I got to the location I walked to the spot I had seen the memorial on Google street view. Everything was different. A new business was being erected and I think the foundation of that building covered the foundations of the old barracks. I decided to walk around the block and approach the memorial from another side road. I had no luck, the chaotic construction site blocked any chance of seeing the plaques if they still existed. I was resigned to the fact that they probably no longer were there. I sat on a mound of excavated dirt and started to draw in the direction where the memorial used to be.

Sketching at this site was hellish since huge trucks kept backing into the construction site. I would have to stop sketching and step up over the dirt mound to safety. I helped one driver by using hand signals to show the distance he had before he scrapped the side of his truck into another vehicle. He finally decided it was too tight a turn and he honked his horn until the other drive came out and moved his vehicle.

Millions of people, from concentration camp inmates to civilian workers from abroad and prisoners of war, were forced to work for Nazi Germany during the Second World War. In 1944, a satellite of the Buchenwald concentration camp was even created to accommodate the concentration camp inmates in the Annen Cast Steelworks. Most of the workforce in the town was made up of forced laborers, who were used mainly for the production of weapons. Between 230 and 250 forced labor camps of different sizes were established in the town by 1945. With this memorial bulldozed over, there remains no known traces off the former camps.

On September 17, 1944, the first train for the Annen Cast Steelworks containing 700 prisoners arrived from Buchenwald concentration camp. There is evidence that there were 71 Poles among those camp prisoners whose names are known. The camp was similar to many other satellites of concentration camps with regard to its structure, furnishings and living conditions. It consisted among other things of several barracks to house the prisoners and a muster ground and was surrounded by a double layer of barbed wire to prevent the prisoners from escaping. The furnishings were extremely sparse and were largely limited to two-story bunk beds. In addition, the washroom barracks had not been completed when the first inmates arrived, so that they had to wash in the open air. In Witten-Annen, as elsewhere, forced laborers were subject to violence and harassment from the functionary prisoners and the SS guards and suffered from hunger and disease due to malnutrition, the cold temperatures and inadequate hygiene.

The Annen Cast Steelworks was regarded as the most important industrial operation in Witten-Annen and was one of a total of six factories. It also played a big role in the production of arms during the Second World War. As well as cast steel parts for airplane construction, armor plates for warships and semi-finished products for weapons were produced there. Above all, a large number of low-skilled workers were needed for the armament production operation.

Of the verified fatalities among the forced laborers in Witten, 51 of the victims came from Poland. By the end of the war, approximately 5% of the total number of forced laborers in Witten had died. According to one forced laborer, “it was not the armament production work itself, but the hunger, cold and demeaning repression by overseers, SS men and some of the functionary prisoners that caused the most hardship”. Over 600 people died from their Nazi forced labor.

Locals in 1945 would have known about the forced laborers. “The locals were able to see the camp inmates, many of whom were colleagues, walk the around 600-metre route from the camp (…) to the main entrance of Annen Cast Steelworks. The factory lay in the center of the town district, close to the train station and the market square as well as the Evangelical and Catholic churches, the post office and the local school which were close by. The street where forced laborers were marched to work was lined with restaurants, shops and residential buildings”.

After the end of the Second World War were characterized by a refusal to talk about the Nazi history of the town. During that time, the history of the forced laborers in the town and the satellite concentration camp in Witten-Annen was ignored, and collective amnesia set in. In the 1980s that attitude started to change and the former memorial I was seeking resulted. With Forced Labor barracks foundations paved over, that history was quietly erased once again.

Witten-Düren Germany

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Düren is a quarter in Witten Germany just south of Dortmund. Rather than being a town, it is really just farm land. I parked on the side of a muddy farm road and hiked to a trail. That trail made its way along the edges of farm fields at the edge of the woods. A small stream separated the trail form the fields. I jumped the stream and set up to sketch at the edge of a farmers field. I worked quickly, but as I sketched it started to rain. The drops splattered on the page. A German woman was walking her dog on the trail She waved, but must have thought I was crazy to be sketching in the rain.

In April 1945, the 75th Infantry Division, 3rd Battalion followed the 2nd Battalion and then passed through them to attack and capture Düren Germany. With Düren secured they pressed forward and took Stockum Germany.

In the town of Witten, up to 25,000 people from different countries, including several hundred Poles, were forced to work for Nazi regime during the Second World War. The majority of the workforce in the town was made up of forced laborers, who were used mainly to produce weapons. In 1944, a satellite of the Buchenwald concentration camp was even created to accommodate the concentration camp inmates in the Annen Cast Steelworks.

During the WWII, there were a total of around 24,900 forced laborers from all the occupied territories in the area now covered by the town of Witten. On average, they worked for approximately 15 months in the town, and made up the majority of the workforce there. At the beginning of 1945, for example, the forced laborers constituted about 55 % of the total workforce in Witten. The different areas of work that they performed meant that large-scale forced labor camps were needed. As a result, it is thought that between 230 and 250 forced labor camps of different sizes were established in the town during that period.

“It was a beautiful afternoon the day we left Krakow. Our homeland, abused by the occupation, said goodbye to us with a sunny day. The monotonous clatter of the train wheels painfully reminded us that it was taking us away as slaves.”
– Maria Hosajowa, a former Polish forced laborer.

U.S. 75th Infantry Division liberated thousands of forced laborers and Prisoners of War (POWs) from Nazi camps, in the Ruhr Pocket region. Once liberated the infantry had to feed and house the displaced persons and find a way to get them back to their home countries. It was a task they were ill-prepared to carry out. Once liberated, forced laborers looted to began to find the basics for survival and decent clothing, Displaced persons consulted bulletin boards hoping to find out about transportation home. Hitch hiking wasn’t effective in war time. To survive you needed to carry all your belongings.

Witten Germany

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The 75th Infantry Division, 1st Battalion moved south with the other 2 Battalions against heavy last ditch German opposition on April 11th, 12th and 13th. My father, 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken lead C-Company as part of the 1st Battalion was part of this attack. They advanced towards Witten Germany and encountered stiff resistance as they neared the objective. They broke up a large scale counterattack with mortar and artillery fire. They then had to fight a fierce house to house battle through Witten to advance to the Ruhr River.

The 2nd Battalion followed the 1st Battalion for a short time and then it changed its angle of attack to the south, southeast, meeting heavy enemy resistance but reaching the town of Annen. Road blocks and large numbers of riflemen made taking Annen difficult. After entering the town just before it got dark, the Battalion held it’s ground and then continued the attack in the morning.

The 3rd Battalion met equally stiff resistance, with K-Company getting pinned down. Air support helped break up the situation and the Battalion continued it’s attack to the Ruhr River.

The remaining German forces were being backed up against the Ruhr River with no retreat route. Their freedom of movement was curtailed, and they were being pressed in from all sides. The hopelessly trapped units receiving artillery fire from all directions from the Americans and the infantry kept pressing in making their plight hopeless.

Witten, a Ruhr industrial town, was heavily damaged by Allied bombing, particularly in late 1944. Ruhr AG Steelworks was crucial for weapon production, leading to high demand for forced laborers, including a Buchenwald sub-camp. Up to 25,000 people from different countries, including several hundred Poles, were forced to work for the National Socialist regime during the Second World War.

At the beginning of 1945, for example, the forced laborers constituted about 55 % of the total workforce in Witten. The different areas of work that they did meant that a large-scale accommodation was needed. As a result, it is thought that between 230 and 250 forced labor camps of different sizes were established in the town during that period.

The steelworks were not the only place where forced laborers were made to work: they were also used on farms, in various different trades and in other factories producing armaments, or even in private households. The majority of the forced laborers were the so-called “workers from the east”, who made up around 50% of all the prisoners working in Witten. The forced laborers in Witten also included Soviet and Italian prisoners of war. A far smaller number of the forced laborers who were made to work came from Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Czechoslovakia.

The Buchenwald sub-camp in Witten-Annen was created in September 1944 to supply prisoner labor to the Ruhr AG Steelworks in support of increased German rearmament efforts in the last year of the war. Like other sub camps attached to the Buchenwald main camp and within the camp system more generally, the supply of prisoner labor to the steel factory, followed from an agreement between the SS-Business Administration and the administration of the factory. Inmates were hired out from the SS by the firm at a cost of 6 Reichsmark (RM) per skilled laborer and 4 RM per unskilled laborer per day.

Saint Reynold’s, Dortmund Germany

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I knew of several photos of the partially destroyed Saint Reynold’s Church in Dortmund Germany after the Allies had captured the city in April of 1945. I found the exact location where one of the 1945 photos was taken but I would have been run over if I sketched from that spot. I decided to sketch from the next street over which was more pedestrian.

As I finished my basic pen and ink line work, it started to rain. I only had a short time in Dortmund, so I had to finish the painting despite the rain. Rain drop splashes can be seen all over the sketch. I started scribbling with colored pencils to try and darken spots which were flooded with water making darker watercolor washes ineffective.

Saint Raymond’s is the oldest church in Dortmund. St. Reinold’s was built from 1250 to 1270, and is located in the center of the city, The church was heavily damaged in World War II.

In December 2016, nine neo-Nazis from various German cities who were associated with the Die Rechte right wing group occupied the church steeple and appeared to set off fireworks from it. The members were subsequently taken into custody by police. Neo-Nazi slogans shouted from the steeple through a megaphone were drowned out by the church bells, ordered to be rung by the vicar of St. Reinold’s.  The illegal occupation of the church’s tower was met with disbelief and anger from the church’s spokespersons and the vast majority of the public.

Dortmund was the most heavily bombed city in Germany by the end of WWII, resulting in over 6000 deaths. Dortmund was the largest industrial city captured at the end of the war by the Allies. With the City surrounded, the Ruhr ceased to exist as an industrial powerhouse. Hitler’ bread basket was empty. American troops captured flak trains, guns, ammunition and supplies.

In 2020 . about 14,000 German residents were ordered to leave their homes when several WWII undetonated bombs were discovered in western Dortmund. German disposal experts were brought in to detonate the bombs. The two devices — an American bomb and a British bomb — were successfully detonated on Sunday afternoon. Shipping containers stacked as walls blocked streets to absorb potential blast waves, and barriers warned that “entry is forbidden,” (verboten) as the operation got underway. Police helicopters scanned the streets from overhead to ensure residents had left as instructed.

The 290th Infantry Division which my father, 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken was in, kept to the west of Dortmund proceeding south. By April 10, 1945 they were getting close to Witten Germany. The 2nd Battalion advanced south and southeast through light enemy opposition to capture Ospel and Dorney Germany and then continued to the regimental objective. The 3rd Battalion followed the 2nd Battalion then passed through them to attack and capture Duren. With Duren captured the Battalion moved ahead and took Stockum Germany, reaching the regimental objective an hour before midnight.

Prisoners poured into the 75th Infantry Division cage. The battle raged on from one town to town.