i paid a vendor to convert this U.S. Army Signal Corps motion picture film from the NARA II to a high definition digital format. He did a fine job in my opinion. According to the ADC card, this film was shot on 27 April 1945. The camp apparently was liberated the day before by the U.S. 10th Armored Division of the U.S. Seventh Army. Memmingen housed 4,000 Allied POWs: Yanks, Brits, Aussies and Poles among others. Dave
This is excellent Dave. Great cooking scenes. Chaps on the blower, the biggest I've ever seen (clearly an American model!) and superb engineering. Got an excellent boil going, the joys of one pot meals! And I hope the chaps won more than the map for making the point the hard way! Thanks so much for posting this, very, very much appreciated. Kind regards, always, Jim.
Dave, this is fantastic. Memmingen is only about 40 kilometers away from my home. There will be some interest among local historians. How can they view it or purchase a copy? Stefan.
Hi Dave, great film. My dad was a Polish POW at Memmingen Stalag VII B. His name was Aleksander Gozdzik from Tomaszow Masowiece, Poland. He was made to work on a farm in Asbach, Ausburg. I have pictures of the camp with the Polish flag raised, plus various artefacts, such as a work type passport/visa with the name of the place my dad worked. The option of working on a farm and getting out of the camp was preferred. On the outbreak of war my dad was thrown ill prepared into battle. Within a few weeks he was captured by the Germans and too my knowledge transferred to the Stalag Vii B camp. My dad then appeared in Italy in 1945 with the regrouped Polish II Corps. In 1947 he was repatriated to Leeds, England where he married my mum. In 1965, our surname was changed from Gozdzik to Gill. Dad passed in 2009 with many untold stories. He was very reticent about his past. I would love to know more. The film matches many photos I have of the camp. Thank you very much for the post
City archive has a lot of info: Stadtarchiv Memmingen: Kriegsgefangenenlager Stalag VII B Memmingen 1940-1945 I served in the Luftwaffe at Memmingerberg, 1988/89. All the best Andreas
Paul, in these days parts of the airport and their post war bunkers can be visited. Send me a PM and I might be able to assist you. My home is not too far away from the airport. Stefan.
My grandfather was a Polish POW who spent the war in this area. He too worked on a farm, but we don't know which one. I'd love to see your photos if possible.
