Luftwaffe prisoner exchanges?

twoeagles · 11-22-2006, 09:56 AM

Sometimes I feel I have been living in a sealed tin, for all I don't know.
Reading Caldwell's JG26 War Diary, he notes that on 18 August 1940,
"Oblt. Walter Blume crashed near Canterbury, severly wounded. Blume was
repatriated in 1943 and returned to combat, ending the war with fourteen
victories". I can't imagine Walter escaped and swam the channel. So, was
there a significant exchange of prisoners going on at that time?

the lancaster kicks ass · 11-22-2006, 12:27 PM

As far as i'm aware the only German Officer to escape from Britain back to Germany in WWII was Franz Von Werra, Adjutant of JG3, his aircraft crashing in Kent, September 5th 1940.............

DerAdlerIstGelandet · 11-22-2006, 01:15 PM

Actually Lanc he did not escape from England but rather Canada. He was shipped to Canada with other POWs in Jan 1941 and jumped from a train and crossed the border into the USA which was still neutral at the time. He turned himself into immigration authorities and they were doing to send him back to Canada but the Germand Consulate helped him get to Mexico where he took a ship to Spain and went through France and returned to Germany.

He was the only German aviator to escape from an allied camp. There were other German soldiers that did escape.

pbfoot · 11-22-2006, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DerAdlerIstGelandet

Actually Lanc he did not escape from England but rather Canada. He was shipped to Canada with other POWs in Jan 1941 and jumped from a train and crossed the border into the USA which was still neutral at the time. He turned himself into immigration authorities and they were doing to send him back to Canada but the Germand Consulate helped him get to Mexico where he took a ship to Spain and went through France and returned to Germany.

He was the only German aviator to escape from an allied camp. There were other German soldiers that did escape.

It was an amazing feat of courage by him crossing the St Lawrence river in the winter

DerAdlerIstGelandet · 11-23-2006, 03:03 AM

I agree.

He did escape one time from a British camp in England and made his way buy disguising himself as a down dutch aviator trying to get back to his unit. He made it all the way to a hanger and almost convinced a Mechanic that he was taking a plane out on a test flight but got caught at the last minute.

the lancaster kicks ass · 11-25-2006, 05:13 AM

oh ok thanks for the info adler.....

DerAdlerIstGelandet · 11-25-2006, 06:39 AM

Thats what we are here for!

Nonskimmer · 11-25-2006, 11:25 PM

I've read about this man on numerous occasions, in novels and old articles. He actually made it into the cockpit of a Hurricane by fooling folks into thinking he was a Dutch pilot, before he was stopped. Talk about close! He may have been the enemy, but what can you do but salute?

Tenacious b*stard, that's for sure. It paid off for him in the end. He escaped all the way from Canada!

DerAdlerIstGelandet · 11-26-2006, 01:48 PM

Yeap he told them he was taking the plane out on a test flight. They almost believed him and he almost got away with it.

I have to agree with Wayne here.

G.P.Hughes · 11-29-2006, 09:29 PM

Hi everybody,Very interesting man Von Werra.Regretably his wartime escapes are always diminished by his gross fabrications and exagerations of his combat record. His knight's Cross award was based on event's that never happened,neither recorded by either the Brit's or the German's.Better men deserve your attention......Regards...Greg Hughes

DerAdlerIstGelandet · 11-30-2006, 09:35 AM

Better men deserve our attentions? This thread is about Prisoner exchanges and prisoners escaping. He did escape, did he not? Therefor he deserves our attentions. Thankyou very much...

Chingachgook · 12-03-2006, 05:02 PM

I lived in UK for several years during the '90s (also Turin and Köln) while working at Dunton (Ford). In UK I met a nice old man and his wife at church - we became friends. His name was Ray Kemp. Ray lives in Brentwood, east of London.
I was at his home one Sunday for dinner with my wife and kids and he remarked that it reminded him of Sunday dinners when he grew up. He said it was usual for his family to have many people over on Sundays - they would host 4-6 Soldiers for Sunday dinner - German Soldiers! He said mostly downed airmen. He said that there was a POW camp in the town where he grew up (I can't remember what town-grrrr!). He said that the local officials set up work details for the soldiers early in the war. They were "nice"(he actually said "men of good character" -ed). Friendships were made. Soon a sign-up sheet was going around town for people to have them to dinner. The Germans were free to walk the village so long as they had the POW uniforms on, and could pretty much be free within the area - he said it was VERY strange to outsiders to see German POWs on the streets of their town. I said that was not good security - he said it was the best security - they had the Germans airmen's word - they trusted them and the POWs never betrayed that trust.
The English are just, well, so ENGLISH! lol

DerAdlerIstGelandet · 12-03-2006, 05:14 PM

They actually had similar in the US. The German POWs were allowed to take walks outside of the camp, work at local stores and in the farms and fields and even go to the movies. The program was set up to give them a good feeling about there captures so as to make the ocupation easier after the war and to also show them what living in a free world would be like so that they might take that back to Germany with them.

Many met American women and later married them. There was a camp in N. Carolina and now many of the people who reside in the Hendersonville area are either German decent or German PoWs that returned to the US and married there sweethearts.

If you drive around the area there, you see many many German flags flying from the windows next to the US flags which are flying as well.

They really are some interesting stories.

stonewall23 · 12-03-2006, 06:07 PM

Have anyone ever told you about the German and allied air crews who crashed in neutral Ireland.They were kept in seperate camps next to each other in the curragh military camp.If the individual prisoner gave his word to return to the camp at the agreed time he was given parole to do what he wanted ( within reason ).Only one man broke his word and did not return.I think he was either an American or Canadian.When he got back to Britian the allied prisoners protested to their goverment ( because the parole system was stoped ). The British sent him back to the curragh and the parole system was reinstated.

DerAdlerIstGelandet · 12-03-2006, 06:13 PM

Wow I am surprised they sent him back...