Part 2 of 4: German POW camp at Lake Wabaunsee
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Camp Life at Lake Wabaunsee
Most of the POWs were pleased with their experience at the Lake Wabaunsee camp. The location was appealing. Wabaunsee County is in a scenic area of Kansas, and POWs had a good view of the lake. The Eskridge Independent reported that: "Goth the Army men and the prisoners are delighted with the prospect of living at Lake Wabaunsee this summer."
The camp had an almost homelike atmosphere. POWs were allowed to plant flowers and engage in woodworking projects. They decorated their walls with pictures of German officers and pinup girls. Ernst Kunzel recalled that sleeping accommodations were much better at Lake Wabaunsee than they were in the German Army. The camp commander selected movies for the POWs viewing. POWs had a piano in the mess hall. They enjoyed listening to the record player and the radio at Lake Wabaunsee.
POWs enjoyed playing soccer at the camp. George Diehl recalled that his family often drove over to Lake Wabaunsee to go fishing on Sunday afternoons. The Diehl family found it hilarious "to see 30 grown men chasing after one little ball." Diehl remembered that the only sports his family knew about were football and baseball, and it was years before the family figured out the POWs were playing soccer.
POWs had cultural, educational, and religious opportunities at Lake Wabaunsee. The Fort Riley base amp sent out 20 books for the POWs at Lake Wabaunsee to read. Many POWs also had their own books. POWs studied many different subjects at Lake Wabaunsee. The most popular course was English. Some individuals also studied Hebrew, mathematics, and chemistry. A parish priest from Eskridge conducted religious services for the prisoners.
Pets made life more enjoyable for POWs. One had a pet rabbit. Many POWs had dogs whom they taught tricks such as to roll over, to play dead, and at the command, "mach schon" (make yourself pretty(, to sit up and put their paws on each side of the head. After the war the POWs were compelled to leave their pets behind. One of the dogs was adopted by the George Diehl, Sr., family. George Diehl, Jr., who was a boy of about 10, was excited at the prospect of getting a dog who could do many ticks. However, George was initially disappointed because the dog only responded to commands in German.
Army guards were usually housed separately from the POWs. However, Ernst Kunzel lived in the same building as the Americans, perhaps because he was a cook. The Army personnel stayed in the old NYA dormitory (which since the war has been converted into a restaurant and private club known as the Flint House.)
Most of the POWs stayed in the old barracks. These were converted into the Rainbow Dining Hall and Tap Room after the war, but on April 5, 1947, the old mess hall burned. According to Otis Reed, a couple of barracks were also lost in the fire. These barracks allegedly became quite important to two POWs who returned to live in the United States after the war. They had settled in St. Louis, but they came back to the camp to recover money they had hidden in one of their barracks. They were quite dismayed to find the barracks had burned down, along with all of the money they had cached.
Ernst Kunzel praised the camp commander, Thomas Mishou, who he believed aided the successful operation of the camp. Kunzel recalled that Major Mishou told the POWs in an orientation address that he wanted them to be obedient and to behave as they had in the German Army. He reassured them that if they were obedient, he would give them no problems. Kunzel reported that the POWs seldom gave Mishou any difficulties at the camp or on work details. Kunzel described Mishou as a "wonderful soldier" because he always kept his promises and treated them as he would American soldiers. No POW interned at Lake Wabaunsee ever attempted to escape despite ample opportunity. Klaus Majer said they had no desire to escape because they "had it good" at Lake Wabaunsee.
Lax security measures contributed to the friendly atmosphere at Lake Wabaunsee. Hermann Dorn said that at Lake Wabaunsee you could almost forget that you were a prisoner. Even though the camp was enclosed by a barbed wire fence, the POWs considered the fence to be only "symbolic".
By the time the camp was established at Lake Wabaunsee, authorities realized that it was unnecessary to guard POWs 24 hours a day. POWs were usually sent out on work details without any guards. However, J.O. Warren recalled that guards supervised the work of POWs at his home. This may have been because they were working in Eskridge. The Army may have believed that the POWs presented a greater security risk in the city, or appeared to be a security risk, and therefore assigned guards to them.
Relations Between POWs and Civilians
POWs and Wabaunsee County farmers often developed friendly relations, even though they had to overcome cultural and language barriers. The POWs’ hard work and personal qualities won over many Americans. Most POWs were friendly, fun-loving, and kind. J.O. Warren commented that "the POWs were nicer man that the CCC boys; of course the CCC boys were the scum of the earth." Warren recalled that he became friendly with one POW who spoke good English and enjoyed visiting with Warren because they were both in their thirties. The POW often discussed his relatives who were political prisoners in Germany.
Americans were impressed by the POWs’ love of children. Joey Diehl recalled that once when one of the POWs was eating a sandwich, he stopped, pulled the meat out, and handed it to one of Diehl’s children to eat. When Roger Schwalm visited Ernst Kunzel in Germany after the war, Kunzel joked that he should have a candy bar for Schwalm. Kunzel had given Schwalm a candy bar every day that he worked on his father’s farm. Despite the neighbors’ warnings, Mr.. And Mrs. Roland McKnight trusted their children with several of the POWs. For example, they sent Helmut Grahl on a pony to pick up their first-grad daughter at a rural school. Mrs. McKnight remembered that one POW, Johannes, from Austria had a low chuckle that terrified her six-year-old daughter, Virginia. She refused to have anything to do with Johannes. This "really upset him because he really wanted her to like him." Myrtle Thierer remembered that Alfred enjoyed showing snapshots of his family. "He was just crazy to see and hold my niece because he had a child that age." Helmut Grahl’s affection for three-year-old Lois McKnight was poignant because he believed his own little boy in Germany was probably dead.
Ernst Kunzel repeatedly asked John Schwalm to take him on a cattle-selling trip to Kansas City. Presumably Kunzel was interested in drinking liquor unobtainable in Kansas, which allowed only 3.2 beer. Schwalm told Kunzel not to worry about being detained by law enforcement officers. "After all," Schwalm joked, "you're already a prisoner. What more can they do?"
Kunzel himself joked about his status. "I was originally from Czechoslovakia, where I was drafted into the German Army. The Army sent me to Italy and then to North Africa where I was captured. I was sent to Liverpool, England, before being shipped to New York. At New York I was put on a train and eventually ended up at the Lake Wabaunsee. It was a trip only a rich man or a prisoner could take!"
POWs often showed a sense of humor and a spirit of fun. When Helmut Grahl met Caroline Stratton, an attractive school teacher, he jested that he "wouldn’t mind going back to school". George Diehl, Jr., remembered that the two POWs who worked for his father were playful and often engaged in water fights at the water pump. Myrtle Thierer recalled another example of POW humor. POWs at her childhood home hauled gravel in the driveway. Mrs. Thierer playfully took a shovel and began to scoop gravel. The POWs noticed this and laughed: "Ah -- Super-woman!"
The Roland McKnight family benefited greatly from the hard work and kindness of the POWs. Mr.. McKnight had fallen off a silo in September, 1944, at the Beasterfield farm and had sustained major injuries that forced him to lie flat on his back for 99 days. The POWs were kind to McKnight. During his recovery they would help him into a chair so that he could see the activity on the farm. Later they would dress him in overshoes, coat, and gloves so that he could go outside and see his livestock. Mrs. McKnight felt that the POWs were "just like Kansas farm boys".
The quality and quantity of food served to POWs had a large effect on how hard POWs worked on the farms. Some people tried to save money by feeding POWs poorly. Fritz Ott told Edwin Ringel about an experience he had working on a Kansas farm. No one brought the POWs any food or even more insulted that they were hauled to town to eat dinner in a restaurant rather than being fed in the farmer’s house. He said that when they had been badly treated they would merely "piddle along". However, Ott said they would work diligently if they were treated well. Ernst Kunzel recalled that he gave his "best" while working at the Schwalm farm because of their good treatment. According to George Diehl, Jr., POWs wanted to go places where they were fed well.
Many farm families fed the POWs more than they were required. Farmers served POWs food for humanitarian reasons as well as a reward for hard work. Kunzel said that the camp commander was concerned that the POWs were not getting enough to eat, so he sent out a letter to the farmers that requested they feed the POWs extra food. Many of the farmers had already been serving extra snacks or even complete meals. George Diehl, Jr., recalled that the POWs had a poor breakfast of only oatmeal at the camp, so many farm wives, such as Cora Ringel, gave them a large breakfast of pancakes, bacon, eggs, and hash browns upon their arrival at the farm. Mrs. Clarence Gnadt fixed a meal for the POWs at 4:30 pm before they returned to camp. Myrtle Thierer’s parents were Swedes who shard their afternoon coffee with the POWs. Lothar Gilg recalled that farmers even gave POWs food to take back to the camp and share with their friends. Roger Schwalm’s father used another method to curb POW hunger. Mr. Schwalm told Ernst Kunzel to take a shotgun and go out into the pasture. Whenever he was a clump of grass that had a little entrance that looked like and animal had rested there, he was to shoot into the clump. Kunzel followed Schwalm’s instructions and bagged ten rabbits. He took the rabbits back to the camp kitchen, where they were cooked and served to the POWs.
POWs expressed preferences in food. Many Americans remembered they scorned corn as "swine food" or something to fatten chickens or cattle for slaughter. Ester McKnight recollected that POWs also felt that pumpkins were unfit for human consumption. They preferred the dark breads common to Germany over the American white and refined bread. Many of the POWs called white bread "cake" and reserved it to the last of the meal to eat as a dessert. Clarence Gnadt recalled that the POWs were "meat and potatoes" men. The Alta Vista Journal, in an article entitled "Corn on the Cob Not Fit Food for the Superior Race", reported that they had a hearty appetite for mashed potatoes and gravy, peas and tomatoes. Fried chicken was a favorite of POWs, according to Myrtle Thierer. Edwin Ringel remembered that a POW told him that water was never brought to field workers in Germany. Beer or wine was served instead, because water would spoil out in the field during the day.
Communication between the POWs and the American farmers was sometimes quite easy, but often difficult. Many people in Wabuansee County were of German descent, and many of them still spoke German. Farmers who spoke German developed especially close relations with POWs. For example, Edwin Ringel spoke fluent German because his grandparents had immigrated from Germany and he had attended a Catholic parochial school where both German and English were taught. Ringel still corresponds with a former POW, Fritz Ott, but interestingly enough, they write in English. Ringel’s German has grown impaired by disuse. Joyce Thierer recalled her mother’s recollections of Joyce’s grandfather laughing and laughing at a POWs stories in German, even though he was Swedish. Apparently there was enough similarity between the languages so that the two could understand each other. Most of these stories were considered bawdy and unfit for the children’s ears, so they spoke in German and not English.
Not all farmers of German descent were so lucky. Mr.. And Mrs. Clarence Gnadt spoke some German, but the dialect was different from the prisoners’. Their conversation in German with the POWs was severely limited, but useful. A neighbor of the Roland McKnight family, a Mr.. Figge, came every morning to the McKnight farm to get the POWs lined up for work. He would give them a short explanation in German, and although they didn’t understand everything he said, they usually got the main ideas.
Even farmers who didn’t speak German found ways to communicate with POWs. Some POWs spoke English, which helped. Myrtle Thierer commented that many of their POWs waited to see how they were going to be treated before revealing that they could speak and understand English. Many of them picked up a lot of English while in America. Farmers often commented on the speed with which POWs learned the language. Georg Stanglmaier was aided in his learning of English by Caroline Stratton who taught at a country school.
Even when the spoken language was of no help, communication wasn’t impossible. Farmers would demonstrate and gesture to show what they wanted accomplished. This often proved adequate, because many times all they wanted done was simple labor. A POW at the Garland Gideon home used drawings to communicate with the Gideons. Mrs. Gideon recalled that many of the drawings were humorous cartoons that brought many chuckles to the Gideons.
POWs who could communicate with the farmers in German were at an advantage, not only because they could express gratitude and complaints, but also because the use of the same language emphasized a common bond between so-called enemies. Farmers who conversed readily in German had to realize that the POWs were human beings similar to themselves. The POWs were delighted at being interned in a German ethnic community, and they especially enjoyed eating traditional German dishes at American homes.
One POW, Heinrich Wolgast, found out that he was related to an American family. Wolgast and Herman Fink were doing errands in Alma when they passed Wolgast Lumber yard. Heinrich Wolgast saw the sign and mentioned the coincidence that he and these Americans shared the same last name. Fink suggested that they go inside and visit with William Wolgast, the owner of the lumber yard, and he introduced Heinrich Wolgast to William Wolgast. They discovered that Heinrich was William’s cousin’s child and that their ancestors cam from the same town (in what was to become East Germany). The two Wolgasts became fast friends because William Wolgast spoke fluent German. Herman Fink brought Heinrich Wolgast in once a week to the lumber yard so the two Wolgast men, one a prisoner of war and the other a well-to-do American Businessman, could have a nice long visit.
Americans often broke rules regarding POW use and treatment because of their kind feelings toward them. For example, the farmers were not supposed to buy or make clothes for the POWs. However, the McKnights bought the POWs straw hats. Because the POWs knew this violated the rules, they refused to take the hats back to camp, and hung them on hooks on the back porch. The Warrens of Eskridge also wanted to give the POWs small gifts, but as it was forbidden, they would merely lay apples and gloves around so the POWs could "discover them".
The Army authorities at Lake Wabaunsee were somewhat more lenient in enforcing the rules in the case of the McKnights because they were aware of their plight. For example, they allowed the POWs to drive automobiles and trucks for the McKnights. However, the authorities absolutely forbade any lone women to pick up or return POWs, so Mrs. McKnight had to depend on one of her neighbors, Mr. Figge.
Many Americans treated POWs more as friends or even members of the family than an prisoners. The Wichita Morning Eagle of September 24, 1944, said: "The old farmer-farm hand relationship, normally kindly, is difficult to down, however, even in the case of Germans." For a local example, John Schwalm introduced Ernst Kunzel as "my German boy" instead of as "a German prisoner of war working for me". The Schwalms also demonstrated their kindness toward the POW on his 21st birthday. He requested to be excused from farm work on June 1 because it was both his birthday and a Catholic holiday in Germany. Schwalm told him that he needed to work, and he deferred. The Schwalms gave him a surprise birthday party instead.