2 10 19 https://cicmuseum.org/files/original/fae82ddf5af30fb56e44099c069b6eaa.jpg c50b8fb27d574c07fc14efef966d6596 https://cicmuseum.org/files/original/75fd8d836068e32107d7ef2ff0464a3e.jpg 0294dc2b475e2ef424bd3f74c7714515 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Document Grouping for WWII German POW Walter Schmitt Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Prisoner of War A.F. W3000 Transfer Slip for German POW Walter Schmitt Subject The topic of the resource A slip showing his transfer into British military custody after leaving the United States. Description An account of the resource This document gives some of the most detailed information on Walter Schmitt's military service. His identity disk identified him as a Panzer Jager (Pz. Jg.) anti-tank unit. He was part of the 334th Infantry Division's 755 Grenadier Regiment 3rd Battalion 10th Company. His place of capture is listed as Tebourba on May 9th, 1943. The 334th Infantry Division was set up on 25 November 1942 as "Kriemhilde" unit of the military districts XIII, XVII and XVIII at the Grafenwoehr training area. It was unusual that their three regiments (754, 755, 756) were drawn up from three different military districts (754/XIII – Nuremberg, 755/XVII – Vienna, 756/XVIII – Salzburg). It had two infantry regiments (754 and 755) and a mountain infantry regiment (756). The division was already destined for a deployment in Africa at this point in time. In January 1943 the division was transferred by ship from Naples to Africa and assigned to the 5th Panzer Army in Tunisia, in a time where the supply ports of the Axis, as well as its forces, where threatened to be encircled in the winter of 1942/43. Its lead elements of the 754. Infanterie-Regiment arrived in Bizerta in late December 1942 under the command of Oberst Friedrich Weber (promoted to Generalmajor on Jan.1,1943), with the rest of the Division arriving by 15 January 1943. Together with the 10th Panzer Division and the Division “von Manteuffel”, they successfully defended Tunis and northern Tunisia in the "Run for Tunis" in January 1943 as part of the "Company Eilbote" (Unternehmen Eilbote). Between February and March the division ("Kampfgruppe Krause") stayed in the northern Tunisian mountains and remained continually engaged, suffering heavy losses amid heavy fighting, in a series of fierce and costly engagements that cost the division dearly in casualties that it could not replace. The 334th was involved in the storming of Djebel Manson. In late April 1943, "Gruppe Audorff" of the division participated in an attack on the heights of Medjez el Bab. After a week of bloody fighting, the 756.Geb.Inf.Rgt. retired from the heights it had recently regained and moved back towards Tunis. The 334th Division was separated from the rest of the army with the volunteer organization “Phalange africaine” of the Vichy regime, which had been assigned to the Division's 754.Inf.Rgt.(mot.), and surrendered to the Allied troops in the Beja area on 8 May 1943, a few days before the fall of Tunis in the Bizerta bridgehead. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Earliest date on the form appears to be February 21st, 1946 and the latest date is February 13th 1947 https://cicmuseum.org/files/original/ce5cc694a5921fb9778b7bb1463f9ab9.jpg 917e035b98de51a0503698d0e548d767 https://cicmuseum.org/files/original/18322c0a8b5fc8cbb335c7c9b2460e30.jpg e65cf164ecf9e5d482e83f5dcca6cdb8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Document Grouping for WWII German POW Walter Schmitt Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Christmas Card for German POW Walter Schmitt Subject The topic of the resource A Christmas Card from 1946 Description An account of the resource It has 1946 written on the front along with "Newton nr. Preston/Lancs. England" It is unclear if this was the place where the card was received or where it was sent from. The card says "Merry Christmas" in German along with the image of a pine tree branch and a lit candle. Discoloration on the back could be the remains of extremely sun faded writing. Possibly the card was placed in a window frame at some point. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource December 1946 https://cicmuseum.org/files/original/de32d66dfe267349739ea980774c624a.jpg 163678758158976dc7e7e6a9fdce0b3f https://cicmuseum.org/files/original/121bfc0f694fa91e8f3e479586d0d9fb.jpg 0373b0621fcc57177db9084f87ed9293 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Document Grouping for WWII German POW Walter Schmitt Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Draft Notice for German POW Walter Schmitt Subject The topic of the resource This is a notice asking him to report to the local military authority so they can determine his status. Description An account of the resource Translation of German from the back of the card: "the mayor as the district police authority in Krefeld-Uerdingen a. Rh. (long distance call 28511) Summons In order to regulate your military status, you presented yourself in front of the military on October 23rd, 1940. in Krefeld at the municipal defense department Hansahaus, second floor, room 21e, to register for the military master roll. The reporting deadline must be strictly adhered to. Birth certificate, possibly family register, work book, pp. 2 passport photos g.F. Military passport and this summons must be brought with you" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource October 23rd, 1940 https://cicmuseum.org/files/original/7ae295dd95d3f116d20739d482af51bc.jpg 7d4b34a56981a253c4c2a631425e5e66 https://cicmuseum.org/files/original/5c8913345175f5e26dff800473c6cbf4.jpg e9ea4758e53475aab968330edb540707 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Document Grouping for WWII German POW Walter Schmitt Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letter Home from German POW Walter Schmitt https://cicmuseum.org/files/original/28e925dd9dc628aa6a352d783f0d457e.jpg a466c47a1b92c9f7d3b05eb11f2fb900 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Document Grouping for WWII German POW Walter Schmitt Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Unloading Slip for German POW Walter Schmitt https://cicmuseum.org/files/original/c00f0538133a2c1c4fbbeadf6484591a.jpg 7c49cf990cf7b68fc4b7e3d65d601282 https://cicmuseum.org/files/original/e37d7d8aca22956e8abd98e821b009d9.jpg a4e3c706e09121fc90977b22a2ce9d35 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Document Grouping for WWII German POW Walter Schmitt Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Basic Personel Record for German POW Walter Schmitt Subject The topic of the resource This record contains a description of his prison camps within the United States where he arrived about one month after his capture in Tunisia. He was initially sent to Trinidad, Colorado on June 18th 1943 before being moved to Scottsbluff, Nebraska on May 8, 1944. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Earliest date on the form appears to be June 18th, 1943 and the latest date is March 5th 1946 https://cicmuseum.org/files/original/2d286cb9d61028c5c104a8c9312e285c.jpg 28629bdac3c0cd9607af50cf3b133048 https://cicmuseum.org/files/original/085381a018a3e2804b0370102d41d3d5.jpg a2a2ed5eb5c54541cb228f131095ddf0 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Document Grouping for WWII German POW Walter Schmitt Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Newsletter to All Former Prisoners of War in the USA from German POW Walter Schmitt Grouping Subject The topic of the resource Letter from an organization advocating for compensation for those who had been POWs in the United States and used as laborers there. Interesting to see the organization cite the Geneva Convention and fair treatment and compensation for prisoners in light of the German treatment of prisoners and use of prison labor during the war. Description An account of the resource Full text translated from German below: "Community of Interests Former Prisoner of War in the USA - Headquarters in Cologne Cologne, November 1950. At Kumpchenshof 6 Long distance call 77177 Newsletter to all former prisoners of war in the USA. The response to the open words of our announcement in the daily press is clear evidence of the realization that the association of all former POWs to assert their claim for payment of back wages cannot be postponed any longer. The demands of the former prisoners of war - who worked in the USA - have not yet been disputed by anyone! According to the Geneva Convention, the prisoner of war is to be treated on an equal footing with the soldiers of his own reserve army in terms of accommodation and food, i.e. that the prisoner of war under no circumstances has to pay for his own maintenance. There can therefore be no doubt that the US government was not entitled to withhold the wages the prisoners of war deserved. 6 dollars per day must be taken into account for accommodation and food. - As well as the legal situation! The well-known dpa report from August 7th ds. Js. has drawn a lot of explanations from various places, none of which, however, should be viewed as denials. What is interesting in this context is the statement by the chairman of the Steuben-Schurz-Gesellscrafft, Mr. Mayor Braden/Geisenheim The chairman of the German Relief Committee in the USA, Mister Hauser, wanted to try to get an amount of 300 million dollars released from the American government to support the German housing program, and that this sum corresponded to the amount of wages withheld from the former German prisoners of war ....! The idea of using the back wages of former prisoners of war for housing construction is not bad in itself, but no one is entitled and authorized to dispose of these back wages than those who, through their work - sometimes under the most difficult conditions - have a right for the payment of a fair wage. The question of a satisfactory regulation of the cashing of the dollar checks, which were paid out in worthless Reichsmarks by setting a deadline, is also open; According to reports, the US government transferred a sum of 76 million dollars to the federal government for the cashing of the dollar checks. turn around! The paths we will take have been mapped out, and we will secure the support of well-known experts in international law. The prerequisite for achieving our goal as soon as possible is the unification of all former POWs in the USA and the provision of the necessary resources to align such a large organization with the common goal and to push through the legitimate demands. After carefully examining the resources to be spent, we have come to the decision to charge each member an expense contribution of 2 DM, which we ask to transfer using the enclosed payment card. Correct business management is guaranteed by the articles of association (see appendix). We will present you with the declaration of accession, which must be filled out carefully as it will be used as a document for your legal claim. Lastly, we ask them. to notify all former US prisoners of war known to you in order to register their claims or to provide us with their addresses. We keep you updated about our work. With comradely greetings! Interest group for former war prisoners in the USA - headquarters in Cologne Managing Director. Attachments: Declaration of membership Statutes Payment card and addressed envelope" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource November 1950 https://cicmuseum.org/files/original/348230bff4115620aed1d3dc495d773f.jpg 3e6933971e4eb04eef96884eccfd79e2 https://cicmuseum.org/files/original/c7d9a43b3537b746a761416055d08d9d.jpg dd8c8feeb6147440ff1c730856c853fb Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Document Grouping for WWII German POW Walter Schmitt Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Prisoner of War Index Card for German POW Walter Schmitt Subject The topic of the resource POW Index Card created by British authorities for his file. Description An account of the resource Born in Wesel Germany in 1922 he was a university student when he entered military service. His religion is listed as Catholic. His rank is listed as Obergefreiter. The red stamp reads something in German which is likely "Application for compensation under the KgfEG. Delivered on April 30, 1954 to (some center unreadable) in Krefeld" Krefeld appears to be his hometown as he has listed his father's address in Krefeld as next of kin. One of the two photos appears to be torn off from the file where it was glued. It was likely a front angle mugshot. Unclear as to why it was torn off the file. The back of the card has some of his movements recorded. Starting with Camp 180 in Trumpington Camp, Trumpington, Cambridgeshire the transferred on the 5th of March 1946 to Newton Camp, Newton-with-Scales, Kirkham, Lancashire. He was then transferred Warth Mills Camp 177 to Brookmill Camp 168 on the 15th of April 1947. Finally on May 1st, 1947 he was transferred from Camp 168 to Hull for repatriation. There is also an additional stamp under authority and some German writing the meaning of which is not immediately apparent. https://cicmuseum.org/files/original/72cb59f4d1a2fa3974c441665b18bf64.jpg dc9a23913ab3341e91afcdb763cf97ce https://cicmuseum.org/files/original/2d4def32c67d29879ef704ec8b07b669.jpg d104fc09625c929d843da564dafb5ee9 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Document Grouping for WWII German POW Walter Schmitt Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Clothing & Equipment Record for German POW Walter Schmitt Subject The topic of the resource Interesting to note how his few recorded possessions changed over the two years recorded on the form. There is a stamp visible from the Warth Mills POW camp in Bury, Lancashire. This camp was originally used as an internment camp for "enemy aliens" including many Jewish refugees before being converted into a POW camp in 1941. 168 P.W. Camp is also stamped on the form indicating Brookmill Camp, Woodlands, Kirkham, Preston, Lancashire. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Earliest date on the form appears to be August 25th, 1946 and the latest date is April 26th 1947