On June 19, 2020 we received
this email :
Dear Sir,
because I recognized my grandfather on photos stored on the website
at http://hollow.one.free.fr/
. I would like to share
this information with you.
Family information shows that
my grandfather sang in a choir and organized operettas while
in the oflag. My grandfather is in a choir group, which is documented
by murnau122.jpg - murnau125.jpg
My grandfather was a lieutenant
Stanislaw Czarzasty (prisoner's number 15204). He was held in
block G. I collected more information about him in a biography
on Polish-language Wikipedia:
https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanis%C5%82aw_Czarzasty
Yours faithfully
Piotr ‘VaGla’ Waglowski
Hello Alain,
I am researching my family's
history and I was fortunate to come across your wonderful website.
My father, Kasper Kisielewicz, served in the 40th Regiment of
the Polish Army as a private and was taken prisoner near Okecie,
Poland in September of 1939. He was first interned at Murnau
after his capture. He remained in Murnau until April of 1941
when he was transferred to Stalag VIIa, Moosburg.
From January, 1942 until the
war's end I believe he was in an Arbeitskommando in Bad Reichenhall.
The only information I have regarding this is a single line on
a piece of paper that states, "Von Januar 1942 bis April
1945 in Bayrisch-Gmain bei Bad R-hall." This is the exact
quotation. If someone can help me decipher this I would be very
grateful.
My father returned to Moosburg
at war's end and met a German girl from Moosburg. They married
in 1951 and I came along in 1954. We emigrated to the United
States in 1957.
My father spoke very little
about the war years and I will be forever sorry that I did not
find out more from him about that time. I have attached a document
from the ICRC that was provided to my father so that he could
apply for entry into to US.
Sincerely,
Robert Kisielewicz
May 19, 2020
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
From november 27, 2010 we received these emails (with our answers)
:
Alain
The wonders of Google!
I came across these photos
and am going to sent the link to by 94 year old father who was
a 2nd Lieutenant at the camp, He was captured in 1939 and spent
all his war years at Murnau. I am fairly sure that he has not
seen these photos before but will know may of the people and
places and circumstances.
Thanks you so much for recording
this vital history.
Have you had any feedback
from any other ex POWs?
Best regards
Stefan Jarkowski
______________________________
Dear Stefan,
I'm happy to read your
message. If your father can give us any information, people names,
places, way of live, about the camp, we could post this on the
web site, to communicate with families. To answer to your question,
all the feedbacks are on the web site, on the information page,
and only with the families of prisoners.
I thank you beforehand.
Best regards.
Alain Rempfer
______________________________
On december 3, 2010 :
Thanks
I am going to see him in the
next 2 weeks and so will go through each of the photos. It is
likely that the collection belonged to the person who took the
photographs, who in turn managed to get the camera and film from
a friendly guard. My father remembers the incident with the shooting
of the SS guards although he did not witness it.
Your website indicated that
many other negatives existed in poor quality which you did not
manage to scan or put onto your website. Are these already scanned
and able to be reviewed and recovered in say Adobe Photoshop?
I am happy to examine them
and try and recover them if you like?.
Best regards
______________________________
Dear Stefan,
About the others films,
unfortunately all of them are not recoverable by any means; they
are completely white or black, absolutely not readable. I scanned
all those who could be usable, even the scratched or blured ones
and put them on the website.
Waiting some more information
from your father.
Best regards.
Alain Rempfer
______________________________
On july 14, 2014 :
Hi
Further to our correspondence,
I have found a black and white photo of a very large group of
POWs including my father. If I scanned this would you be able
to add it to your web site?
Regards
Stefan Jarkowski
______________________________
Hello Stefan,
There is no problem to
post the photo on the website. Thank you to share this document
with the community.
Best regards.
Alain Rempfer
Photograph of my father
(sitting centre) with some of his troop in Italy in 1946. The
next one has been taken at Murnau camp.
Photo taken in 2006
after having received the Polonia Restituta - Comandor Class.
POW identity card
issued to my father by the Allies on the 26th May 1945
Mieczyslaw Stefan Jarkowski
biography
My father, Mieczyslaw Stefan
Jarkowski was born in Huszlew Poland in August 1916 and was brought
up in Mordi, where his father was the local Rail Stationmaster.
My father was educated firstly
at the Walerian Lukasinski primary school in Mordi, and then
at the Hetman Zolkiewski Grammer school in Sieldce.
In 1935 he joined the Cadet Officer's College Reserve, Artillery
based at Wlodzimierz Wolynski, before then attending the Army
Cadet Officers College in Torun between 1936 and 1938.
He consequently received his commission as a Second-Lieutenant
(Podporucznik), in the 7th Light Field Artillery Regiment (Signals
battery) based in Czestochowa.
Between August and September 1939 my father acted as a Reconnaissance
Officer in the 1st Division, 7th Artillery Regiment, 7th Infantry
Division, and at the outbreak of war in October 1939, was forced
to retreat to the South East where he and any others attempted
to join Polish Forces in France. Unfortunately, he was captured
at the Hungarian border, and was imprisoned by the Gestapo in
Sanok. He was then transferred by the Wermacht to Oflag V11-A
at Murnau.
As prisoner number 16792, he was located in various parts of
the prison:
" Block BI (1940),
" Block B3, Room 28 (1940-41) - shared with up to 10 other
junior officers
" Block E , Room 15 & 16 (1941 onwards)
My Fathers time in Murnau:
Like so many others, my father was reticent to discuss his time
in Murnau other than to say it was a time of hunger, boredom
and anxiety. He occupied himself by working in the post-room
and by learning over 5 x languages.
I recently came across a pen
friend of my father who was a young scout living in Silesia,
and who now lives in USA. She had corresponded with him for several
years during 1940-43 and had also kept his letters! These letters
show that there was a regular need for food parcels as well as
clothing for my father and his colleagues.
I quote from her recent letter
to me:
"..The German government forbade the German Red Cross Organisation
from sending food parcels destined for Prisoners of War at the
end of 1940. The Poles living in the General Gubernia, (the Polish
territory administered wholly by Germans), were also not allowed
to send parcels. The German authority turned to us - a scouting
organisation, acting in the region of Silesia which had been
incorporated into Germany, and who also had the right to send
parcels abroad.
We were supplied with lists of POW's names and addresses. My
group received a list with your fathers name, and that is how
I began to correspond with him.
The German government agreed, at last, in 1943 that the Red Cross
could send food parcels for POW's. Also, at the same time the
German government decided that POW's were only allowed to correspond
with the closest family members. Thus, my contact with your father
came to an end……".
After the camp was relieved
by the American Army in April 29th1945, he was then eventually
relocated to Italy to serve with the 4th light Artillery Regiment,
2nd Polish Corps under General Anders.
In September 1946, his regiment was transferred to England where
he served as Signals Officer with the 504 Basic Unit PRC at the
Daglingworth Camp near Gloucester.
Before demobilisation he met my mother, who was a serving English
WAAF at a nearby army camp. They married in 1947.
My father then trained as a textile engineer and worked in the
textile industry for nearly 30 years, firstly at Stroud near
Gloucester, and then in Worcester, until his eventual retirement
in 1978. They moved to Kettering, Northamptonshire in 1988.
My father had already been
actively involved in the affairs of the Polish Combatants Association
in Worcester for many years. Following his retirement, he then
continued this passion for the next 35 years until he died.
His many achievements included:
" Member of the Committee, Secretary General then Vice-Chairman
of the Council of World Federation of the Polish Combatants Association
" Delegate to the ceremony in Warsaw, transferring the Insignia
of the Polish Government in Exile to the newly elected President
of Poland, Lech Wa??sa
" Awarded the Golden Cross of Merit and Polonia Restituta
by the Polish Government in Exile
" In 2005 in Wielum, Poland, awarded the Polonia Restituta
- 4th Class (Krzy? Oficerski), presented by the President of
Poland, Aleksander Kwasniewski
" In 2006, at the Polish Embassy in London, England awarded
the Polonia Restituta - Comandor Class (Krzy? Komandorski), presented
by the President of Poland, Lech Kaczynski
" Also, in 2006, promoted to the rank of Lt. Colonel (Podpolkovnik)
" In 2009 awarded the Cross of Merit of SPK - Brasil.
In 2010 my father and mother
both retired to the Polish Ex-Servicemen's home in Penrhos in
North Wales. He passed away on May 29th 2013, at the grand age
of 96. My mother my sister and I survive him (as of July 2014).
Stefan Jarkowski
Bonsoir Alain!
I am afraid that is the sum
total of French that I am going to use without embarrassing myself
!
I ran across your excellent
website on Murnau several years ago as my mother’s two older
brothers [Stefan Marie Dabrowski (1910-1955) and Jan Henryk Dabrowski
(1916-1987) were both imprisoned in Murnau from 1939 to 1945.
I simply downloaded some of the photos that you posted, put them
in an appropriate folder, filed the folder, and that was that,
UNTIL ...
Two days ago I reopened the
folder and followed the link “information”. The very
first entry that I saw was the one from Rick Hyman of Toledo
Ohio, showing the two watercolour sketches by a certain “M.
Poznanski”. I was absolutely stunned. The style of the painting
was almost identical to a watercolour sketch of my uncle Stefan
Marie Dabrowski, done in Murnau in 1944. I had sent the sketch
out to be reframed and just picked it up today. Please check
the first attachment (Dzidek, Murnau, 1944). “Dzidek”
was my uncle’s nickname ... but more importantly the sketch
(which is an excellent rendering of my late uncle) was by the
same artist that produced Mr. Hyman’s landscape sketches!!
This sketch is 4.5 x 2.5 inches. The initial appears to be “H”
instead of “M”, but the style of Mr. Poznanski’s
sketch of my uncle is exactly that of Mr. Hyman’s two pieces.
AMAZING. Really, such a small world !
It would be worthwhile trying
to run-down who the very talented Mr. Poznanski was. There must
still be lists of the Polish inmates of Murnau. At least one
could ascertain what his rank was and what regiment he was from.
You may certainly post this
information!! And contact Mr. Hyman about it as well. I am sure
that he would be interested. In the next e-mail I will send a
few biographical details on my two uncles as well as some period
photos, which I would also like to see posted !
Yours Sincerely
Adam S. Hedinger
Sunday, October 13, 2013.
Calgary, Canada
"Dzidek",
Murnau. 1944. (Stefan Marie Dabrowski)
Bonsoir Alain !
Ici e-mail No. Deux ...
My mother’s two brothers
[Dr. Stefan Marie Dabrowski (1910-1955) and Jan Henryk Dabrowski
(1916-1979)] were both Polish P.O.W.’s at Murnau from 1939-1945.
They were the sons of the eminent Prof. Stefan Tytus Dabrowski
of the University of Poznan (Rektor in 1939; 1945-1947). The
older brother (Stefan) was a doctor and surgeon and one of three
(Polish) doctors who staffed the Medical Clinic at Murnau. He
employed his younger brother Jan Henryk (who was an economist)
as his assistant.
All three photos (down)
were taken in 1942 in Murnau. The first shows the two brothers
in white “doctor’s” attire; the other two in military
uniforms. Both brothers were members of the 1rst Armoured Battalion
at the outbreak of hostilities.
After liberation (1945) both
brothers initially stayed in Munich, attached to the Polish Red
Cross. Jan was summoned to see his father (Prof. Dabrowski) in
Poznan – a dangerous undertaking because the newly installed
Communist government might label him an “Allied Spy”.
He crossed the frontier with false documents, visited his father,
but was stopped by the Czechs at the border crossing, who managed
to find his real papers sewn in the lining of his jacket. He
was thrown in jail in Czechoslovakia and later deported to Poland,
where he remained for the rest of his life. The older brother
(Stefan) stayed in Munich, emigrated to Canada in 1951 and obtained
permission to practise as a doctor in that country. Transferred
to a regional hospital in north central Alberta (province) he
was tragically killed in a single car accident in 1955.
You may post as much of this
information as you see fit.
Yours sincerely,
Adam S. Hedinger,
Sunday, October 13, 2013.
Calgary, Canada
Stefan and Jan
|
Stefan |
Jan |
On Friday october 4th,
2013 we received this mail from our friend Jaroslaw Baczyk, in
Poland :
Dear Alain,
The full name of the Polish
painter from Murnau is MARIAN POZNANSKI, his rank – Second
Lieutenant. I read there was the exhibition of Poznanski's painting
in the oflag. See – the photo of this exhibition from the
book (memoirs) of Wojciech Rawski (“Wspomnienia z wojny
wrzesniowej 1939 i obozu oficerskiego w Murnau”, Tarnobrzeg
1998, p.149). I suppose, there is Marian Poznanski, maybe in
the middle of a picture?
Yours sincerely,
Jaroslaw Baczyk
On september 10th,
2013, we received this mail from Ohio :
I have two watercolor pictures
done by a POW in Murnau. His last name is POZNANSKI. One is dated
1944 and the other 1945. I was given these 20 years ago by a
fellow POW whose name I have forgotten, but could find with a
little research. ANY INFO ON THE ARTIST WOULD BE APPRECIATED.
I was told the POW was given paper and watercolors to use. The
guards gave most of the pictures to their wives and girlfriends.
He was either allowed to keep some or hide some. The man who
gave these watercolors to me was a teacher in Poland before the
war. After release he came to Toledo, Ohio and was a Janitor
/ Cleaner at the University. He used to shop at my father's used
furniture store where we would talk about art. He never married
and gave these to me. I forgot about them until I was cleaning
out a closet. With the help of Internet I found you. If I can
find his name I will pass it on.
Thanks.
Ric Hyman, Toledo, Ohio. USA
Watercolor #1, signed M. POZNANSKI.
1944
Watercolor #2, signed M. POZNANSKI,
MURNAU 1945
One of the photographers identified
!
According to what we understand,
there were several photographers at Murnau camp. All of them
unknown. But at the time being, one of them can be identified.
On july 2013, we received a letter from Jaroslaw Baczyk of the
Museum of the Wielkopolska Uprising (Odwach) - Poznan, Poland.
He worked on the exhibition about Murnau camp who lasted from
may to august 2013. He told us that after visiting the exhibition
of Murnau's photos a man, Andrzej Budzynski, gave him information about his father
...
German documentary on Murnau
photos story, by Bayerischer Rundfunk TV. April 2013
Exhibition about Murnau in
the Museum of the Wielkopolska Uprising (Odwach) - Poznan, Poland.
From May 8th, 2013 to the end of August.
http://www.muzeumniepodleglosci.poznan.pl/
A newspaper article about
Murnau photos in the SPIEGEL online
http://einestages.spiegel.de/s/tb/26823/offizierslager-in-hitler-deutschland-bilderfund-aus-dem-oflag-murnau.html
January 16, 2013
Bonjour Alain,
Bonjour Olivier,
Hier, je suis tombé
au website de notre journal régional sur l`histoire de
vos photos de Murnau.
Je m´excuse pour continuer
à écrire en anglais, mais c´est beaucoup
plus facile pour moi. These pictures are really amazing: I hope
you get more information about their origin, and they might help
to bring at least some remaining family members more clearing
about the fate of their fathers or grandfathers.
I live 20 kilometers away
from Murnau, but I did not know about this part of history which
happened almoust 68 years ago in my neigbourhood. I know the
location of the former prison camp, as one of the companies of
the batallion where I spent my military service had been based
there, and the barracks are still used by the german mountain
infantery. Perhaps I can illuminate the mystery concerning the
SS men who had been killed during the liberation of the camp
on 29.04.1945, this topic had been discussed on the bulletin
board of your website. There are the names of 3 persons plus
the driver/adjudant: I think they ALL lost their lives at the
shooting this day, as you can see at least 3 different cars who
had been attacked by the americans.
Picture 179 with the kfz 11
vehicle and 2 victims is taken right in front of the entrance
gate. You can see the trottoir in front, the same scene is shown
from the other direction on the photo of the american photographer
Lt. Edward C. Newell as well.
Picture 239 is a look from
the entrance gate to the south, from where the SS came: In the
foreground you see the pliable roof of the kfz 11 and behind
a loaded car which had been hit by bullets. There might be seen
a presumable victim lying on the ground, but this is not evident.
Picture 174 is particular:
It shows a destroyed, loaded german car, but it can not be the
one from picture 239. This is a scenery north of the entrance
gate, as the surrendered german guard crew who left the camp
(by the main gate) is moving north towards the american tanks.
This must be a third car, who had passed by the camp`s gate and
run into the american troops. So it is very supposable, that
there are more german victims than the 2 dead bodies who can
be seen.
On the website of the Volksbund
Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge (german military cemetery
comission) all german victims of the world war(s), who are buried
on a military cemetery are listed. I found the following people
who died that day:
family name: Fick
first name: Ernst Otto
rank: Generalmajor
date of birth: 05.02.1898
killed/missing in action: 29.04.1945
family name: Teichmann
first name: Max
rank: Hauptsturmführer (a special SS-rank, similar to a
captain)
date of birth: 31.12.1902
killed/missing in action: 29.04.1945
family name: Wittmann
first name: Erwin
rank: unknown
date of birth: 19.10.1927
killed/missing in action: 29.04.1945
With Erwin Wittmann I am not
sure at all, as he was too young to be already an officer of
the SS. But he is buried in Munich, so he lost his life in that
area, and he could have been the driver of Max Teichmann.
Perhaps this information helps
a little bit to clarify the facts about this day. I wish you
all the best for your further research, and a lot of feedback
to identify more of the former residents of the camp.
Best regards/cordialement
Manuel
from Weilheim, Bavaria. January 11, 2013
A newspaper article about
Murnau photos in the MERKUR-online.de
January 10, 2013
A WAR MOVIE ABOUT MURNAU
ON YOUTUBE
A war movie taken by American
troops during the liberation of Murnau camp can be seen on Youtube.
It's like if some photos of those pages become alive suddenly
...
WW2: Murnau, Germany (April 29, 1945)
January, 2013
This new book (only Polish
edition) is available in Wielkopolskie Muzeum Walk Niepodleglosciowych
in Poznan.
Contact: bzura@muzeumniepodleglosci.poznan.pl
Web Site: www.muzeumniepodleglosci.poznan.pl
January 11, 2013
This photo probably taken
by an American officer, maybe Lt. Edward C. Newell of the
US Army Signals Corp, is in relation with those taken by
the "unknown photographer" from the camp on the same
topic (down). Thanks to Ronnie Bell who posted it on his Flickr
gallery : http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=16118167@N04&q=murnau
Photo # 184 ...
http://hollow.one.free.fr/murnau/
Few seconds before the first
photo, when the German vehicle has been shooted by American troops.
According to informations given by Ronnie Bell and Reinhard Frank
the dead is Ernst Otto FICK , Generalmajor der Waffen SS,. born
5.2.1898 and his driver : April 29, 1945, the German staff
vehicle hit a convoy of 12 armoured vehicles of the 1st tank
Division of the United States, The leading tank hit the car with
machine gun fire killing SS Ernst Fick and his driver on the
right opposite the entrance to Murnau. Taken : 29.04.1945
But according to Tom Wodzinsky
the two German were Colonel Teichmann and Captain Widmann
( in a letter posted down this page ) :
At around 15:00, and as
the American army approached the town of Murnau from the north,
a small group of cars with SS-men approached the camp from the
direction of the town. The Americans were approaching from the
opposite direction. When they met just outside the front gate
of the camp, gunfire erupted, upon which most of the SS cars
turned around and fled back to town. The lead car opened fire
whereupon they came under more concentrated fire from the Americans.
2 SS men died (Colonel Teichmann and Captain Widmann). Prisoners
climbed on to the front fence and watched proceedings cheering
the Americans on. 2nd Ltnt Alfons Mazurek was also killed by
a stray bullet during the exchange of fire.
Photo # 109 (in the
whole collection)
Seehausen am Staffelsee, Kirche
St Michael, "Am Graswegerer"- street. Behind us is
the ex Gebirgspanzerjäger Kaserne ( then OFLAG) in the Weilheimerstrasse
60. Murnau
Postcard printed in
1958.
( Informations
and postcard sent by Reinhard Frank, historian. November 13, 2012 )
Drogi Olivier i Alain
Dziekuje za www poswiecone oficerom z Murnau. Mój dziadek
porucznik lub podporucznik Stanislaw Tomczak spedzil w tym obozie
caly okres wojny. W 1939r wpadl do niewoli sowieckiej i zbiegl.
Niestety wpadl do niewoli niemieckiej i wyladowal w Murnau Block
H. Po wyzwoleniu w 1945r nigdy nie wrócil do Polski. Ostatnie
listy od niego pochodza z Augsburga z lat 50-tych. Poszukuje
innych zdjec mojego przodka, jego mogily i potomków. Przesylam
zdjecia i list z obozu (mam wiecej). Prosze o pomoc jesli to
mozliwe.
Pozdrawiam
Adam Debicki
Chelm Poland. August 25, 2012
Dear Olivier and Alain,
Thank you so much for the
photos about Murnau (“forgotten photos”). It is unbelievable
journey in the past, especially for me. I am the curator in the
Museum of “Poznan” Army in Poznan, Poland. My main
interests are the September campaign 1939 and the struggles of
“Poznan” Army. The commander of the “Poznan”
Army was Lt Gen Tadeusz Kutrzeba (in the Polish Army: “general
of division”). You can see him on the photos:
No. 117, 118, 120, 121 - Kutrzeba
and Lt Gen Wladyslaw Anders – the commander-in-chief of
the Polish Armed Forces (in the West),
No. 201, 202, 203 - Kutrzeba
and Maj Gen Kazimierz Schally (in the Polish Army: “general
of brigade”) – the commander of the Polish Military
Mission by SHAEF.
After liberation of the Murnau
POW camp Kutrzeba was the commandant of the Polish Prisoners
of War Camp Oflag VIIA (May 10, 1945 – July 1945). He died
in London on 8 January, 1947. In this year it is the 65th anniversary
of his death. Therefore we intend to publish the biographical
book to commemorate Kutrzeba. I would be very happy if you could
agree to publish 2 or 3 photos from your website in our book…
Please correct me – you
recovered the negatives in a dustbin in PARIS (?). It is interesting
because the group of the Polish generals from Murnau was transported
to Paris in May/June 1945. It was “the Polish route”
to London.
Yours sincerely
Jaroslaw Baczyk. April 17,
2012
Lt Gen Tadeusz Kutrzeba
Dear Olivier and Alain,
Thank-you so much for all your work on this historically important
web site.
My Father Bronislaw Czekierda was one of the few regular enlisted
men who was interned at Oflag VII-A Murnau. He would carry out
regular duties to maintain the camp and assist the Officers.
Like many war veterans he spoke little of the war. However, back
in 1989 I persistently managed to record 2 hours of conversations
of those war years. He passed away in 2003 and you might imagine
my recorded conversations with him are priceless to me.
At the beginning of the war Dad was in a Communications Unit.
Just before the war began he strung telephone lines through the
fields from large spools on a truck. As his unit moved they were
supposed to rewind those telephone cables back onto the spools.
This is how the Polish Command would communicate with the soldiers
on the front line. The Germans had wireless radios. Not every
Polish soldier had a gun. Dad however was issued a single shot
rifle and 35 bullets. That’s all they could spare. He wasn't
captured right away despite being very close to the front line
at the beginning of the war. In a matter of a few weeks the Polish
troops were pushed back further and further until he was finally
captured near Warsaw. Bronislaw was taken to Berlin by train
and detained in a make shift open field detention centre. From
there he was taken to Oflag VII-A Murnau.
During his imprisonment he was given one bowl of soup per day,
consisting mostly of flour and water. The occasional vegetable
was tossed in (sometimes a piece of turnip) along with a half
loaf of bread to last the week. There was also some coffee made
available. Essentially that is what he lived on for the next
5½ years, to the end of the war.
While on work detail in the camp garden, Dad scaled a block wall
when a guard turned away. This was an escape of opportunity,
not a planned escape. He had nothing with him to help him along.
No food, his pockets were empty. The Germans with their dogs
were actively looking for him in the region of the camp. However
Dad covered a lot of ground, making a quick getaway as he headed
toward the Swiss Border. He walked along side of the road, hiding
in the fields of grain and tall grass, hiding whenever he heard
a vehicle. He would eat whatever he could find like apples and
pears. There wasn’t much to feast on. A few days later he
was recaptured near Constance, Germany close to the Swiss border.
He was then returned back to Oflag VII-A Murnau where he remained
for the rest of the war.
Although it wasn’t clearly
known at that time, the end of the war was only six months away.
Perhaps that’s why Dad’s life was spared. The Germans
had to have known that this War was all but lost.
There is far more detail to
these stories but I have reduced 2 hours of conversation to a
few lines. I can't tell you how much the pictures on your web
site mean to me. I have studied all the photos in great detail.
From the sea of people pictured in all the photographs, I cannot
see my father. However, I know he's there!
Sincerely yours,
Waldemar Czekierda. March 3, 2011
London, Ontario, Canada
Bronislaw Czekierda
(back row no cap)
Dear Alain
I saw your website and looked through every photograph. My grandfather
was Lt. Col Edward Jan Pach and he was held at Murnau for the
duration of the war. From what my late father told me he was
deputy commander and quartermaster of the 82nd Infantry Regiment
headquarters at Brest-Litewski. I believe he may have been transfered
to the 35th Infantry Division reserve as he left Brest-Litewski
on 7 September 1939 to join the fighting against the Germans.
He was one of the lucky ones as the officers of the 82nd were
murdered at Katyn or Kharkov. No one knows what happened to my
grandfather as all contact was lost in 1946. We know that he
spent some time as a displaced person at Warburg Dossell. He
was a very close friend of Major Henryk Sucharski Defender of
Westerplatte.
From your photographs he might be on photograph 213 middle row
first on the left or photograph 14 the officer standing between
the two second and front on the first row. If anyone has any
information about Edward Pach I would be delighted to correspond.
Richard Pach (r945003@hotmail.co.uk)
October 25, 2010
Dear Alain
My father ZYMUNT SZCZEPANSKI was taken to Murnau after the Warsaw
Uprising and stayed there until liberation. He was born in 1925
so was still a young man in 1945. I have attached some pictures.
The first 2 are inscribed in Polish "MURNAU ALPS after liberation
10 May 1945" "Murnau Alps after liberation 10 August
1945". I know that after liberation he was taken to SULMONA
in Italy but know very little about what happened there except
that he made his way to England. I have attached photo taken
in SULMONA 7th Mrch 1946. I hope you can put the pictures on
your site for others to recognise. My father died in 2007 and
told us little about his experiences.
Regards
Janet Gardner, April 9, 2009.
England
Hello Alain and Olivier:
Hi: Thanks so much for your work on the Murnau website. My dad,
George W. Gaumond (Lt.Col.USAF ret.) was a young 2nd Lt. with
the 116th recon group, part of the 101st cavalry which according
to the archives I've examined took part in the liberation of
the Kaufering concentration camps and the Murnau POW camp. He
will be 90 on May 1st.
He has never spoken of his wartime experiences, but I believe
he was there in the middle of it all. You can visit the unit's
website at www.wingfoot101.us He is the last officer of the 101st's
WWII contingent left. There are about 2 dozen surviving enlisted
men and non-coms from his unit. (At their largest, the unit comprised
some 1600 men). They hold annual reunions in N.C. (Fort Bragg)
and Fla. My parents used to attend regularly but my mother's
health is failing (she will be 87 next month) so they no longer
are able to go.
We should never forget the sacrifice of this Greatest Generation
who saved the planet from fascist world domination and made the
lives of so many of us living today possible.
Keep up the good work.
I have corresponded recently with Ms. Melanie Moisan. She is
the daughter of a 101st cavalryman (who passed away in 1971).
She told me that the surviving unit members held their last reunion
in 2006. The youngest members are in their late 80's now.
She wrote an excellent book about the 101st titled "Wingfoot,
The 101st Cavalry in WWII". She maintains the 101st website.
Please refer to the "Stories" section on the site.
The letter by Father Maurice Powers is well worth reading, it
is one of the most poignant accounts of combat I have ever read.
He was the Catholic Priest (also a scholar and historian) who
was the unit's chaplain. He accompanied the unit on their deployment
and was witness to the entirety of Operation Wingfoot, the 91
days of continuous combat which began with their breakthrough
of the Seigfreid Line (on the Western boundary of Germany) and
ended on the last day of the war (at the border of Austria).
Among other accomplishments the unit captured 26,000 German soldiers
a number 13 times their own strength. Father Powers was awarded
the Bronze Star for his heroism under fire. The Bronze Star is
our military's highest decoration (second only to the Congressional
Medal of Honor in importance). I had never before heard of a
clergyman receiving it.
There is also an excellent website www.kaufering.com still under construction, which details
the horrors and liberation of the Kaufering (sub camps) of Dachau.
Many of the slave laborers were forced to work on the ME262,
the Nazi's jet fighter plane. During the 101st's campaign they
captured 300 of these deadly weapons being assembled in the woods
outside of Munich. Allied bombing had destroyed all the factory
sites in the city.
I can remember as a child assembling a toy model of this plane.
My dad remarked that his unit had been strafed by them. Most
of the experienced German aces were dead by then, and the young
pilot's were largely ineffective in their shooting. (They overshot
their marks because they were unable to compensate for the high
speed of the aircraft (400 mph)). Thank God for that.
Thanks again for your good work, we must never forget.
Jeff Gaumond
Dewey, Az.
USA. February 11, 2009
Dear Alain,
My Father, lieutenent Wiktor Socewicz (nr 15564 - blok G) has
spent almost all the WWII war in the Murnau. He was a bandmaster
(musican military). After wards, he was liberated, he joined
to the Polish II Corps in Italy and in England. After his return
to Poland in 1948, for many years he has been discriminated by
the communist government (has been degradet). He worked in music
education.
Your website brinks back memories and enables me to share some
family history with my doughters.
You have my permision to use photos, if you want.
There is polish book about
POW in Murnau:
Stefan Majchrowski, Za drutami Murnau, Warszawa 1970.
Thank you for the the your WONDERFUL website one more time.
I send new photos.
Best regards
Wiktor Daniel Socewicz. January
31, 2009
Dear Olivier and Alain,
Thank you for recovering the
photos. My father, Stanislaw, was a POW in Murnau Oflag VIIA.
He is the sitting down in the first from the left on the bottom
row of the attached photograph. He told of his time in the camp
and that there was a well developed theatre. The camp was liberated
by the Americans in from what I remember around April 21-28,
1945. After he was liberated, he joined the Polish II Corps in
Italy and later immigrated to Canada from the UK in 1948. For
your information, many of the officers in the photographs never
returned home because the communist government in Poland would
have imprisoned them for 8 years more. Unfortunately, My Father
passed away in 1988 before the fall of communism in 1989. I am
presently gathering as much information about my Dad (Tata in
Polish) and writing down the story of his life for my family
and our children, so that they may appreciate what sacrifices
my father made.
Thank you once again, hopefully
I will be able to pick my father out in the pictures.
Kind regards,
Tad Koscielak, January 15,
2009
Dear Alain & Olivier
Among the pictures from Murnau
presented on your web site I have found the one attached below,
in which is my grandfather’s brother lieutenant Marian Kalita
( with beret and pipe in his mouth
He has spent almost all the
2nd war in the Murnau since 1940 till 1945, before 1940 he was
in other ofllag VIIC in Laufen. I’ve got few his portraits
painted by his companion in Murnau. Scan of one I have attached
below.
You could also see his portrait
taken in Poland 1939 after mobilisation, few days ( 2?) before
the 2nd War
Best regards and thank you
for the site.
Krzysztof Kalita, December
02, 2008
Dear Alain,
In my previous e-mail I had mentioned that I had seen that shot
up German staff car pushed off the road in front of the main
gate at the Murnau camp. Well, more careful perusal of your picture
018 shows the car there in the grass in the right side of the
picture close to where the truck is passing. I guess my memory
from when I was 6 1/2 years old is pretty good. Just wanted you
to know this, and let you feel how important these pictures are
to some of us.
Sincerely yours, and thank you again,
Jacek Wrzyszczynski. November 3, 2008
Dear Alain,
Yes, you are more than welcome to use my letter and our family
name. One of the pictures that you had added to your website
as a result of other readers inputs has my father in it. I am
attaching the subject picture so you know which I'm talking about.
He is the third POW from the left (with the cigarette in his
mouth). I am also attaching a picture that I took in 1991 of
Marians grave marker plaque which also includes another mans
grave (Roman Gebski) You are welcome to use this picture in your
website.
Sincerely yours,
Jacek Wrzyszczynski. October 24, 2008
Dear Alain and Olivier,
First let me thank you for putting up the web site with all the
photos from Murnau.
My name is Jacek Wrzyszczynski and my father, Stanislaw Wrzyszczynski,
and his two brothers, Bogdan and Marian, spent 5 1/2 years in
OFLAG VII A at Murnau so these pictures have great meaning to
me. My uncle Marian did not survive, as he was shot on 1 March
1945, just 8 weeks before liberation, by a German guard who used
Marians' head for target practice.
Let me tell you our story of Murnau as told to me by my father
and experienced by myself:
My father and his two brothers, Marian was the older and Bogdan
the younger, all were officers (I think they were all Lieutenants)
in different units of the Polish army when the war began in Sep.
1939. My father was captured with the surrender of Modlin, a
Polish fort near Warsaw. I don't know where the others were captured.
At any rate, they all ended up spending the rest of the war in
the same POW camp, in the same building and the same room. Probably
a result of German efficiency.
On 1 March 1945, the prisoners were ordered confined to quarters
because of an American air raid. Bombers, probably on their way
to or from Munich only 40-50 miles away. My father, his two brothers,
and another man were in their room talking, with Marian at the
window, with his back to the window, conversing with those inside.
A bullet came through the window and hit Marian in the back of
his head, killing him. The guard that shot him claimed that Marian
was signaling to the American bombers (which were probably flying
at about 30000 feet) and was given a 200 Mark reward and two
weeks leave.
On your pictures 172 and 173 there are several roofs of large
buildings showing on the ridge line. That was the SS camp/barracks
from where the SS car that was shot up came from.
My father told me that the German POW camp commander was preparing
to surrender the camp to the Americans who were expected at any
moment. The German commander and the ranking Polish officer were
standing at the front gate with the German holding the white
flag. The SS car pulled up and one of the occupants shot the
commander in the jaw with his pistol. At that moment the first
American armored vehicle showed up and fired on the SS men killing
them. My father always believed that the Germans from the SS
camp came with the intentions of elimination all the POWs. Other
than the above addition, the story as told in the narration on
the website www.wingfoot101.us/murnau matches my fathers account of the
event completely.
After liberation my father returned to Poland under an assumed
name and with false papers since he was afraid that the communists
would arrest and deport him to Siberia if they could get him.
(Another story I won't go into now) He got my mother, myself
and Bogdans wife and smuggled us all out of Poland and back to
Murnau where we became DPs (Displaced Person). I, myself, remember
seeing that German car which, by then, had been shoved onto the
side of the road at the front gate of the camp. I also remember
seeing the bullet hole in the window glass made by the bullet
that killed Marian. As best I can remember this was the summer
of 1945 and there were still rogue elements of the German army
hiding in the Bavarian mountains. We lived for a short time in
the old POW camp and then were moved to that former SS camp which
was turned into a DP/refugee camp. We lived there for more than
a year. In 1949 we came to the US and started a new life. My
father died in 1968 and I am now retired in Phoenix, Arizona.
Many Years ago I found pictures of the liberation event in a
book titled "A Pictorial History of the SS, 1923-1945"
by Andrew Mollo and published by Bonanza Books. The pictures
are on page 171.
Thank you again for posting these pictures. They bring back memories
and enable me to share some family history with my children and
grandchildren.
Sincerely and with love,
Jacek Wrzyszczynski. October 17, 2008
Here is a drawing
by Marcin Borcz's grandfather
Murnau art, done by
prisoners during WWII, will be on the Polonus web site about
june 2008.
Dear Olivier and Alain Rempfer,
On the internet I discovered your website on the Murnau camp
- it was amazing to see that it really existed! The familyhistory
of my fathers site has always been a bit of a mystery that I
was desperately wanting to find out. He was born in 'a camp in
Murnau' on April 9 1945, but the exact whereabouts noone in my
family could or would tell me.
His mother was Dutch, his father was an Italian prisoner - my
fathers passport says he was born in Murnau, Germany. That is
the only thing I know. I suspect that my grandmother worked there,
but I am not sure. Her possible dubious role could be the reason
of the silence around the birth of my father.
I am so curious if anyone knows the names of my grandmother and
grandfather Jacoba Leydsman (originally from Groningen, Netherlands)
and Severo Fadel (Torino, Italy), so that I can finally discover
the whole story of my father, grandfather and grandmother. The
war has been of great influence in all these lives.
Thank you very much for your information, the website and the
efford you take with the website. Reading the stories and the
comments reminds me of how important it is to keep this period
alive. Even for a 35-year old like I am.
You can also place this mail on the website. Maybe someone else
has known my grandparents.
Kind regards,
Alina Nubé,
The Netherlands, February 14, 2008.
alinanubeAThotmail.com
Liberation of the camp by
the 101st Cavalry :, www.trackingthe101st.com website created by Melaney Welch
Moisan, from Salem, Oregon.
Dear Olivier Rempfer,
Olivier, thank you so much
for your site. I have an uncle who is no longer living, Franciszek
Buczek, who was a POW in Oflag VII Murnau.
I am attaching a jpeg image
of an envelope sent from there which has a letter to his brother
Alexander Buczek, who had immigrated to the United States in
1909. The letter is dated May 19, 1941. I am also attaching a
picture of him in 1934.
You have my permission to
use these if you so wish.
Again, thank you for the wonderful
site.
John Buczek, October 9, 2007
By accident I came across
an information about your webpage "Forgotten Photos"
in the polish monthly paper "Wiedza i Zycie" (Science
and Life) and was immediately struck by the mention of POW Camp
Murnau. I visited your site and recognized some of the pictures
- or buildings on them anyway! My grandfather - Stanislaw Barcz
- a polish soldier form the town of Piaski by Lublin, was a prisoner
in Murnau from 1939 until the liberation. He even participated
as an amateur actor in most of the plays at the camp theater!
After the liberation he came to Italy and joined the polish forces
stationed there, later studied veterinary science in Bolonia
(and obtained his doctorial diploma there) and after the war
came to Great Britain from where he decided to return to communist
ruled Poland (a decision he later came to regret sometimes) and
from then on worked as a veterinary doctor in Pulawy and Lublin
until his retirement and death in the early 1990s.
Anyway, the main part of the war he spent in Murnau. I havent
recognized him on any picture but even so, I was VERY moved to
see after all these decades the photos, which for me are no longer
"forgotten". I send you a couple of the pictures from
Murnau that I myself possess.
Thank you very much for publishing the "forgotten photos"!
Yours,
Marcin Barcz , June 17, 2007
Hi from Australia.
Stan Majcherkiewicz has passed
on your email and the web address for the photos. Thank you for
finding the photos and posting them on the web. They are a wonderful
collection and record of the Murnau POW camp.
My father-in-law was interned
in 1944 until liberation. He then travelled over the Alps to
join other Poles in Italy before immigrating to Australia.
Unfortunately, we have little
knowledge of the camp and details of his time during the war,
but your photos provide a significant view of life in the camp
and liberation.
I would like to view the whole
collection. Perhaps one day you may be able to include more on
the web.
Please keep in touch and let
me know if I can be of assistance in any manner.
Kind and sincere regards
William Blunt, May 6, 2005
THANK YOU !!!!
These are incredible photos !!!!
Incredible web site !
Stan Majcherkiewicz, Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Greetings from a very summery
Australia !
I am looking for any information
on the Polish Officers POW camp located near Murnau, Bavaria,
during WW2. It was Oflag VIIA.
An assistance in tracking
down information would be appreciated.
Regards
Tom Wodzinski
tomwodz@pcug.org.au
Canberra, AUSTRALIA
From : http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/POLAND-ROOTS/1998-02/0887458351
Posted by John Krubski on
November 22, 2004 at 15:06:42:
My father was a Polish
POW held at OFLAG VIIA in Murnau at the end of the war. It is
my understanding that the 12th Armored Division liberated the
camp in April after a skirmish with German troops. I am trying
to find more information about this specific event. Thanks.
And thanks to the 12th!
krubski@krubski.com
I am trying to find anyone
who may have been at Auschwitz (Oscwiecim) during the years 1942
- 1945. Both my father's parents died there. We do have the notification
from the Gestapo of their deaths, however we would like to hear
from anyone who could tell us about them there. My father was
an officer in the Polish Army, he was captured during the first
days of the war and sent to Murnau in Germany, where he was held prisoner till
the end of the war when he was finally released and joined the
Allied Occupation Forces in Germany.
My father was one of thousands
of young Polish Officers to stay at Oflag VIIA in Murnau. He
did not speak much about his time there so I don't have many
stories to impart, but I would be interested to hear from any
survivors if there still are any. My father recently died at
age 93. Izabella C. Mrozik.
Izabella Mrozik
imrozik@pacbell.net
imrozik@sonic.net
Sebastopol, California, USA
From : http://www.holocaustforgotten.com/search.htm
Polish book : Kisielewicz,
Danuta, 1991. Oflag
VII A Murnau. Opole. Pages: 214 + illustrations
Prisoner of War
: The web site of Mark Hickman about the experiences of Prisoners
of War, of any nationality, during World War 2.
Un vétéran américain
Benjamin Bernard Barenbrugge raconte son arrivée
dans la région de Murnau. Il appartenait aux 10th
Armored Tigers.
"The Germans had blown
the road off the side of the mountain, so we had to stop. We
pulled back to Murnau,
Germany. It was May 1945, and thank God the War was over! (...)
We liberated a concentration camp holding several thousand Polish
soldiers. We gave them all of the extra candy and cigarettes
we had. Boy, were they happy! We never saw any American soldiers
in camps in our area. Most of the homeowners had migrated ahead
of our columns, deeper into Germany, out of harm’s way.
When we reached Murnau, we received some well-deserved
rest and relaxation. We stayed in some big, fancy houses that
we had taken over on the shores of Lake Staffelsee. It was a
beautiful lake in the Alps, with a nice swimming beach."
Benjamin Bernard Barenbrugge
From : http://www.tankbooks.com/stories/vetbulge.htm
Mail trouvé sur le
site : http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~buczekfamily/officers2.htm
"Murnau was liberated
by the Americans. The version I've heard, is that the Germans
were aware of the coming liberation, and wired the camp for detonation.
The prisoners also knew what was going on, and when allied planes
were heard overhead, overpowered the German guards and opened
the gates for the Americans. My father, and many other Polish
officers, eventually served in Italy under British command. The
British may have record of Franciszek if he followed a similar
path."
Anna
Date: Thursday, December 28,
2000 4:42 PM"
Si le camp a été
miné par les Allemands la photo n°11 où l'on
voit un officier allemand annonçant quelque chose aux
prisonniers avant de s'enfuir, prend une signification toute
particulière. A l'extérieur, derrière la
grille toujours fermée du camp, un soldat attend l'officier
et son interprète (l'homme qui porte l'aigle nazi sur
la poitrine) et une certaine animation semble régner,
comme si le départ était hâtif ...
..........
(left photo : les
films du Losange)
En 2002 le cinéaste
polonais Andrzej Wajda a tourné un film sur le massacre
de Katyn où, en 1940, 22.000 officiers polonais ont été
exécutés d'une balle dans la tête par les
agents du NKVD, la police politique soviétique, sur ordre
personnel de Staline. Les 5.000 officiers épargnés
par ce massacre ont été déportés
au camp de Murnau. Le personnage principal de ce film,
s'inspirant d'une histoire vraie, est un officier polonais, activiste
des Jeunesses Communistes. Pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale,
celui-ci se retrouve interné à Murnau, tandis
que son frère a été exécuté
à Katyn. Après la découverte des charniers
d'avril 1943, il est chargé de mener une enquête
officielle sur cette tragédie. Sa vie est bouleversée
et ses convictions socialo-communistes ébranlées
lorsqu'il apprend que ce sont les Soviétiques, et non
les Allemands, qui sont responsables de ces massacres. Le propre
père d’Andrzej Wajda était militaire de carrière
et a été fusillé à Katyn en 1940.
Le cinéaste écrit :
"My father, Jakub
Wajda, lived only to the age of 40. He was captain in the 72nd
Infantry Regiment and died at Katyn. But until 1989 we were not
allowed to make an inscription on the family tomb, saying where
he was killed. The censorship was so strict and the ban on all
information on this subject so rigorous that when I recently
tried to find a copy of the newspaper, published by Germans during
the war, with the list of Katyn victims, my father's name among
them, it turned out that the paper simply did not exist. Some
mysterious hand removed the relevant copies from the library
collection, so the experience of living through perhaps the most
shocking moment of my life, when I could find out from a German
paper that my father had been murdered, was denied to me."
Andrzej Wajda
Sur cette photo (de date inconnue)
on peut voir au premier plan les baraquements du camp Murnau,
plus loin la ville de Murnau, le lac Staffelsee au bord duquel
patrouillent probablement les soldats américains de la
photo n°19, puis en fond les sommets enneigés des
Alpes. La route qui se trouve à droite du camp est vraisemblabement
celle sur laquelle on peut voir les chars américains des
photos n° 13, 14, 15, 17, 18.
(A letter from Tom Wodzinsky, April 29th 2005) :
To all of you with whom
I have corresponded over the years about Oflag VIIA (Murnau),
today (April 29) is a special anniversary – the 60th anniversary
of the liberation of the POW camp by the American army. I hope
that you can spare a few moments to remember those who suffered
while in the camp, thank those who liberated them, and appreciate
what a lot of the camp survivors did with their lives afterwards.
For many of us, we have a lot to thank them for – who we
are and where we live.
Here is a brief description
of the day:
On Sunday the 29th of April
1945 the POWs awoke to the sound of gunfire from the direction
of Munich (to the north of the camp). An American plane circled
overhead and dropped its wings a number of times in acknowledgment
of the POWs in the camp.
In the early afternoon,
on the orders of (German) Captain Pohl, the 40 or so camp guards
relinquished control of the watch towers and handed in their
weapons.
At around 15:00, and as
the American army approached the town of Murnau from the north,
a small group of cars with SS-men approached the camp from the
direction of the town. The Americans were approaching from the
opposite direction. When they met just outside the front gate
of the camp, gunfire erupted, upon which most of the SS cars
turned around and fled back to town. The lead car opened fire
whereupon they came under more concentrated fire from the Americans.
2 SS men died (Colonel Teichmann and Captain Widmann). Prisoners
climbed on to the front fence and watched proceedings cheering
the Americans on. 2nd Ltnt Alfons Mazurek was also killed by
a stray bullet during the exchange of fire.
2 of the American tanks
pursued the SS-cars which had turned around fleeing back into
the town of Murnau. Another tank entered the camp through the
main gate. One of the Americans was Corporal Richard Pawlowski
from Chicago. Another of the soldiers was Frank ? from Kalisz
(Poland).
Oflag VIIA was liberated
by Troop B, 116th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (MECZ), Combat
Command A of the 12th Armored Division, XXI Corps of the American
7th Army, on 29th April 1945.
According to 12 Armored
Division records (Daily Journal) the camp was liberated at 16:55
in the afternoon. The 116th was the second squadron of the 101st
Cavalry Group.
Task Force 2 contained
Co. A and/or B 66th Armoured Infantry, plus Co. C of the 43rd
Tank Battalion and a platoon of light tanks from Co. D of the
43rd Tank Battalion.
I attach a photograph of
the minutes just prior to the moment of liberation as the American’s
approach the front gate and encounter a German SS car coming
from the other direction. It is highly likely that the photo
was taken by Lt. Edward C. Newell of the US Army Signals Corp.
The printed caption on
the rear of the photo reads:
"ETOHQ45 29Apr U.S.
Army Signal Corps
German staff car, carrying
two SS inspectors and others, unknowingly drives into the head
(on road) of an armored column which is in the process of liberating
this concentration camp. Lead tank opens fire killing the occupants
(center). Some prisoners hanging on the fence cheer, others run
upon hearing the gunfire.
7A TRP BM, 116th CAV RCN
SQDN (MECZ), CCA, 12TH A(rmored) D(ivision), XXI CORPS, Murnau,
Germany."
The whole collection of the
photos about Murnau I found can be loaded in full size (3300x2000
each) at : http://hollow.one.free.fr/murnau/. Photographs are rough from scanner.
Some of them have been fixed or cropped by Carol Celinska Dove
in order to enable someone to be identified, at http://hollow.one.free.fr/murnau/fixedphotos/
Toute la collection de photos de Murnau que j'ai trouvée
peut être chargée en pleine définition (3300x2000
chacune) à : http://hollow.one.free.fr/murnau/. Les photos sont brutes de scan.
Certaines ont été retouchées et recadrées
par Carol Celinska Dove pour permettre une meilleure identification
des personnes, à : http://hollow.one.free.fr/murnau/fixedphotos/
Merci des renseignements que
vous pourrez apporter sur ces photos. Thank you for any information
about those photos
Olivier and
Alain Rempfer