Prison Camp

In other emails, Howard N. Hartman writes,"The interrogation center in Frankfort on the Mein River had all 6 (of us). Somehow the Germans had all our names. They even had an article about me from my home town, Shelby Ohio, population 6000, newspaper and knew my father's name. Had a large photo-type book with big numbers on the cover - 456th bomb group. . . I was in Stalag Luft 1 north on the Baltic Sea. The Russians liberated our camp. Held 10,000 men. Your father (Frederick Abner) was in Stalag Luft III with all the enlisted crew. I forgot where Bonham was.”


Below is co-pilot Howard N. Hartman’s description of life as a POW in Stalag Luft I:
Howard N. Hartman

"When I arrived at Stalag Luft 1, they had recently openned North 1 Compound and our train load of new arrivals (arriving in box cars) were marched through the small town of Barth enroute to the camp about a mile away. The local women shouted at us and hit us with brooms. rakes etc as we marched past them. We were assigned 14 to a room, double bunks. The room had a small cast iron stove in one corner, an oak table that could seat six on two benches, one 40watt light bulb, and double windows which were covered at night by outside shutters. Above the window was an opening about eight inches wide which had a cardboard cover that could be slid open after we were shuttered-in and lights were out. Guards with dogs, patrolled the grounds. We had one sheet, one thin blanket and slept on straw filled mattresses. In the winter we slept in our clothes and an overcoat. It was the coldest winter in years for that area."

"Red cross parcels were issued once a week in the beginning. Several of the items were taken for the kitchen. We had a large building that could seat several hundred at a time. We had barley, with bugs, in the morning, a little food the Germans provided, and something from the red cross parcel like Spam. The mess hall burned down shortly after our arrival. Next to the mess hall was a dug out basin to catch water used to fight fires. It was not sufficient (to save the mess hall). After that we got food directly to each POW, but the parcels were giving out and distribution reduced until there was none in the spring of l945."

"We had a secret newspaper. The British in compound 1 had gotten radio parts from a guard in one of the towers who had fallen asleep, and they knocked on one of his legs to awaken him and told him he was going to be reported to German Headquarters. He offered a present if they did not report him. The British then had a radio and listened to the BBC once a day. Notes were taken on toilet paper and the Catholic priest carried them in a false watch from compound to compound. Lowell Bennett, an International News Service young reporter who had been shot down while riding with the British on a night raid, expanded the news and published the paper know as POW WOW - Prisoners of War Waiting on Winning."

"My bunk mate in the lower bunk, Phillip Melnick, was of Russian Jewish ancestry. He was taken, along with all other Jewish soldiers and put in a barracks by themselves. Story was they were to be executed, but with the end of the war not far away, the orders were not carried out."

"The Russian Army liberated us and held us for two weeks while they compiled information on all 10,000 prisoners. We were flown out of Barth airport by the 8th airforce. Then a train ride, with milkshakes three times a day to fatten us up, to Camp Lucky Strilke in France. There were over 50,000 liberated prisoners there. That is where Samuel Fischler jumped down from an open truck when he saw me. It was the first I knew that the crew had survived the war."


Roll call at Stalag Luft III
courtesy of USAF Academy Libraries

Fred Abner's German prisoner ID card
Fred's German Prisoner dog tags

My father and the other enlisted men were placed in Stalag Luft III. In an email, Edward L. Dement recalls, "I was in the same barracks with your dad for four weeks. In May 1944, your dad and Thompson were moved to the west compound. Fischler and I stayed in the center compound. I saw your dad and Thompson again in March 1945 in Stalag 7A. Fred worked in the kitchen as a cook. Stale bread, often with weevils and sawdust as filling, and weak soup where rationed to the prisoners by the Germans. The prisoners had to rely on food provided in Red Cross packages which were not always delivered on time, or at all, because of pilfering by the Germans.

Soup Vat at Stalag Luft III
courtesy of USAF Academy Libraries



Edward L. Dement

Below is gunner Edward L. Dement's description of Stalag Luft III from his book "Sergeant, for you the War is Over"

"There were five compounds at Stalag Luft III. The British were in the North and East compounds, the Americans were in the West, Center and South compounds. The camp, about ninety miles southwest of Berlin, was approximately one-half mile south of the town of Sagan, which boasted a population of about 25,000 people in the province of Silesia."

. . ."Apparently, the camp had not been located there by accident. The spot was well away from all combat zones and even further away from any friendly or neutral territory . . . Equally important, Sagan lay at the juncture of six rail lines. Bringing the prisoners to camp was therefore easier, but so were their escape attempts."

. . . "The routine of life in Stalag Luft III began the moment the prisoners passed through the main gate into the vorlager . . . First the prisoners were counted and thoroughly searched, finger-printed, and photographed . . . Finally, the men were issued their bedding; two blankets, one sheet, one mattress cover that held the wood shavings for the mattress and served as bottom sheet, one pillow case, one pillow filled with straw, and one small face towel. Our clothing consisted of one overcoat, three pairs of socks, pair of wool trousers, three shirts, three pairs of winter underwear, one sweater, one pair of high shoes, a scarp, a pair of gloves, one belt or suspenders, a cap and four handkerchiefs. Since the Red Cross clothes were considered only a loan rather than a gift, the prisoners had to be reminded continually not to modify them . . . In addition, they were given a two-quart heavy mixing bowl, a cup, a knife, a fork, and a spoon. These items would not be replaced if broken. The men were then sent into one of the compounds."

". . . Center compound of Stalag Luft III consisted of 20 barracks, cook house, theater, shower building, laundry building and a fire pool . . . Each barracks had a central hallway with rooms on both sides. In addition to 13 rooms accommodating 12 to 16 men each, was a washroom, a tiny kitchen, and a latrine. Each cooking group was assigned a scheduled period, usually rotating on the communal stove."

"Each night, German guards with their German Sheppard dogs would make the rounds at 10:00 pm, barricading the barracks doors with a wooden bar. No one was permitted out of the barracks at this time and another group of guards and dogs constantly patrolled the area to see that the rule was observed. Radios were not permitted in camp by the Germans, but BBC (British Broadcasting Company) news was carefully circulated amoung the men, attesting to the presence of concealed sets in the area. One set was being used and was concealed in a British cigarette carton, measuring four inches in length, three inches high and eleven-sixteenths of an inch in thickness . . . When available, the news was carried from barracks to barracks by a newsman whose arrival in a pre-arranged room was announced to the barracks by the call 'Soups On' ".

" . . .The prisoners seemed to have recognized various stages of barbed-wire psychosis in themselves and others. The mildest forms consisted of nothing more than increasing inability to concentrate. The worst cases were actual insanity . . . Most prisoners had little difficulty recognizing the symtoms in someone else . . . If the blues were becoming a problem, getting out to cheer someone else up frequently helped, then it was easy to laugh."

" . . . There were restrictions on the number of letters prisoners could receive from home. Many men waited six months to receive their first letter . . . I received my first letter on October 4, 1944."

Note: Edward L. Dement was captured on April 3, 1944


Follow this link for a history of Stalag Luft III.


As the end of the war neared, the Germans had to evacuate the camp due to the pressure from the advancing Russians. My father, Frederick G. Abner, Jr. and all other prisoners were forced to go on what has been called the “Death March” from Stalag Luft III to the prisoner camp in Moosburg, Stalag Luft VIIA. Because of the overcrowding at Moosburg, conditions in the camp were almost intolerable.

Below is a much abridged description by gunner Edward L. Dement's of The March from his book "Sergeant, for you the War is Over"




Edward L. Dement's POW picture and one of his dog tags,
(note the number is one number higher then
Frederick Abner's dog tags above.)




"At 1500 hours on January 17, 1945 the Germans' news broadcast announced unprecedented Russian advances toward the camp . . . On January 22, 1945 General Vanaman ordered every compound commander to prepare the camp for possible evacuation . . . On January 27, 1945 at 8:30 am, as many men as possible crowded into the auditorium to hear what General Vanaman had to report. He told the group that one of three things was going to happen. The German guards will either evacuate or surrender the camp to the Russians. The Commandant will be ordered by some high fanatical official in Berlin to put us to death, in which event we must fight for our lives in hopes that some of us will be saved. Or, we will be evacuated on a long march across Germany. In that event, we will suffer many casualties. The Russians were only 22 miles away from the camp."

" . . . On Saturday, January 28, 1945 in the early afternoon, the rumble of artillery could be heard approximately 15 to 20 miles away. At 9:30 pm, the order to evacuate the camp was announced. We were told to be ready to start marching in one hour . The Commandant had intended to surrender the camp but orders came from Berlin to evacuate Sagan immediatly and move the entire 10,000 prisoners in the direction of Berlin ."

" . . . In spite of our best efforts, the prisoners had to leave a great deal behind . . . Estimates suggest that between 25,000 and 55,000 Red Cross parcels were left . . . Center compound fell out at 11:30 pm on January 28, 1945. Everyone was warned that all guards were heavily armed and had been ordered to shoot any man who breaks rank or who deliberately disobeyed orders. For every 60 men, there was one guard and one dog on each side of the column. The dogs were more effective than the guards . . . Approximately 500 prisoners were too sick to be moved and a few medical personnel, clergymen, and healthy prisoners also remained to help care for them."

" . . . Snow had begun to fall several days before the march began and about six inches had accumulated by the time the men left the camp . . . many prisoners were able to build sleds upon which to carry their possessions . . . they proved to be a boon . . . The low temperatures were another matter. Estimates range from 10 degrees to 20 degrees below zero. Snow fell through the night and the wind created blizzard conditions at times. The harsh weather soon took its toll upon the weakened men and the columns began to stretch out as fatigued men fell farther and farther behind."

" . . . While some prisoners witnessed isolated shootings, there were apparently few such instances. I, myself, did witness a shooting from a guard of one of my friends. The sergeant was in front of me and bent down to tie his shoe, whereupon the guard pulled out his pistol and shot him in the back of the head. No one was allowed to touch him and the guard pulled his body out of the formation and threw him into a snowbank."

" . . . It was cold and snow was stacked two feet deep, and more snow continued to fall. German civilians cleared the center of the road as the formation passed by them through the town of Sagan. We watched in silence as soldiers of the German army and SS hurried the civilians into the endless line of marchers. German civilians who resisted were shot. The SS never argued. A rifle shot saved time and settled all arguemnts."

" . . . It soon became clear that the Germans had made little or no provision for their care on the journey. A few wagonloads of bread were sent along with several of the columns, but the prisoners ate mostly the food that they carried on their backs. They bartered for some food along the way. Water was obtained by digging in the snow and letting it melt in your mouth . . . Shortly after 8:00 am, the Germans ordered a 15 minute rest . . . Just past 4:00 pm we entered the small town of Wharton and stopped for a break. General Vanaman refused to go further without an overnight stop. He and the Commandant had a furous argument. Gerneral Vanaman stood firm and the commandant finally ordered an overnight stop."

" . . . we were assigned to a Roman Catholic church capable of seating 400 people. It took 1 hour and 40 minutes to pack 2,000 into the small church interior. The balance of the prisoners were left outside . . . there were no latrine facilities outside the small washroom. We had to use the cemetery by sitting on the tombstones. It must have been a terrible site after the snow melted in the spring . . ."

After nine more days of marching and sleeping in crowded churches and barns . . .

" . . .On Tuesday morning, February 7, 1945 . . . It was announced that several freight trains would take the prisoners from Spremberg to Stalag 7A and the trip would take three days and nights . . . Fifty men were marched to a boxcar for loading. Most of the cars had benn used for hauling cattle. The inside of the cattle cars were filthy. The smell was unbearable. There was no room for us to lie down, or even sit down . . . Four pasteboard boxes were placed in each of the four corners of the car to be used for toilets or sickness . . . We suffered most from thirst. Fnally, the toilet boxes overflowed."

Thursday morning the train pulled into Regensburg. The doors opened and we were unloaded . . . There was a pond just ahead of the engine . . . We broke ranks en masse. Guards fired in the air. Nonetheless, we moved to the water, men drank and filled cans and jars . . . Late Thursday afternoon we arrived in Munich . . . At no time were we given food while on the train . . . After dark, the train pulled out of Munich. The following morning, we were unloaded on the north side of the city of Moosburg (Stalag 7A)."

"It was Friday, February 10, 1945, 11:00 am. The march had come to an end We had travelled across a large part of Germany, a distance of 480 miles . . . Over 3,000 men were sick with infected stomachs, dysentery, colds, and pneumonia. We were all weak from malnutrition, mental and physical exhauston."



Route taken by prisoners on the march
courtesy of USAF Academy Libraries

Follow this link for more information of the Death March.