Camp White--One of the first West Coast prisoners of war camps for German soldiers opened here yesterday with arrival of the initial contingent of Nazis.
    The camp will intern enlisted men only, according to Brigadier General Amos Thomas, post commander. Under War Department policy, he explained, officers and men usually are not confined in the same camps.
    Remodeling and new construction, including the fencing of the area, and installation of other security facilities, have been completed under the supervision of Major Lin Shields, post engineer.
    Col. Arthur J. Ericsson is in direct charge of the camp, under General Thomas. Col. Ericsson formerly was director of personnel at Ft. Lewis, Washington. Operation of the camp will follow policies prescribed by the provost marshal general in Washington, D.C.
    While the enclosed internment area will be under the exterior control of a specially trained detachment of guards, commanded by Col. Ericsson, a large part of the internal management of the camp will be in the hands of the prisoners of war themselves, in accordance with the provisions of the Geneva Convention of 1929, of which this country and Germany are signatories, and with current army regulations.
    Regulations allow prisoners of war to be hired out as agricultural workers, under contract between the respective service command and individual farmers, but it is expected that most of the internees will be employed on the post, General Thomas said. The Geneva Convention provides that prisoners of war, except commissioned officers and persons of similar rank, may be required to work in the public service.
    Prisoners of war receive 80 cents per day if they work, receiving canteen or other credit which at the end of hostilities may be paid before removal from the country. All receive an allowance of 10 cents per day in credit whether or not they work.
    Work to be done on the military reservation by prisoners of war labor will include maintenance of roads and railroad tracks, construction of drainage facilities and firebreaks, operation of repair shops and, in some cases, clerical duties.
    Organized into companies under their own non-commissioned officers, the prisoners will operate their own mess halls, laundry, camp exchange or canteen, and recreation facilities, and will be responsible for routine maintenance and administration. Stock for sale at the canteen will be purchased through the Camp White exchange, but the army exchange service will have no other connection with the undertaking.
    Most of the buildings in the prison area, situated on the west side of camp, were formerly occupied by units in training. Buildings once used as barracks have been converted into a chapel, a laundry and a recreation hall. New construction included a guard house. An area has been provided for outdoor recreation, but the installation of recreation facilities, if any, will be done by the internees themselves.
    One ward in the station hospital has been set aside for treatment of the prisoners of war, while a dispensary will be operated within the stockade.
Medford Mail Tribune, April 17, 1944, page 1


    MEDFORD, April 17.--One of the first West Coast prisoner-of-war camps for captured German soldiers was opened at Camp White Saturday as the first contingent of Nazis arrived.
    According to Brig. Gen. Amos Thomas, post commander, the camp will intern enlisted men only. General Thomas said regulations allow prisoners of war to be hired out as agricultural workers, but it is expected most of the internees here will be employed on the post.
Oregon Journal, Portland, April 17, 1944, page 7


    Ft. Douglas, Utah, April 25--(U.P.)--The Ninth Service Command disclosed today that farmers of the eight western states may obtain the use of German prisoners of war for aid in farm work this season if they apply through their county agents to Maj. Gen. David McCoach, Jr., commanding general.
    Decision to make the German prisoners available was announced at a manpower conference here late yesterday. The prisoners will be distributed on a priority basis to areas showing the greatest need. Italian prisoners had previously been made available to relieve the farm labor shortage in critical areas.
    R. G. Fowler, Jackson County agent, said today that arrangements are under way here for taking advantage of the proffer of farm labor by prisoners of war now interned at Camp White. The agent stated he had conferred with camp officials and that procedure in securing the manpower would be made known soon.
Medford Mail Tribune, April 25, 1944, page 1


    Jackson County farmers have been advised that they may obtain use of German prisoners of war now held at Camp White for aid in farm work this summer, to meet critical labor shortages. Adequate military guard accompanies the workers.
"News for Men in the Armed Services," Medford Mail Tribune, April 28, 1944, page 3


    Camp White, May 23.--The first detail of German prisoners of war from this post began work in the Jackson County agricultural area yesterday, under contract between the local farmer and the Ninth Service Command, Brigadier General Amos Thomas, post commander, announced.
    The contracts are being negotiated, he said, to relieve the farm labor shortage in this vicinity.
    Composed of ten internees, under guard provided by the prisoner of war camp here, the initial detail is engaged in work on a farm between Medford and Ashland.
    Col. Arthur J. Ericsson, commanding the prisoner of war camp under Gen. Thomas, cautioned the public against attempting to view the internees at work. Under international law, he explained, prisoners of war must be protected from becoming the object of public curiosity.
    Requests for the use of prisoners of war as agricultural workers in this county are received through the county agricultural agent in Medford. Only in cases in which American workers are not available will such requests be considered, Camp White headquarters emphasizes.
    Contracts in all cases will provide for the payment to the government, by the farmer, of the prevailing local wage.
Medford Mail Tribune, May 23, 1944, page 1


    Military police and civil authorities were today searching for two German prisoners of war at Camp White, who escaped Tuesday afternoon from a detail working in a remote section of the military reservation.
    Camp headquarters said the escaped prisoners were dressed either in blue denim with the letters "PW" stamped on the back, or in the gray-green uniform of the German army.
    According to Col. Arthur J. Ericsson, commander of the prisoner of war camp under Brig. Gen. Amos Thomas, post commander, the escape occurred on the Antelope training range about 10 miles east of Camp White.
    A detailed description of the escapees follows:
    Heinz Kiehle, 24 years old, five feet 10 inches tall, 155 pounds, blue eyes, dark skin, brown hair, scar on right knee;
    Josef Fahrnberger, 22 years old, five feet four inches tall, 134 pounds, blue eyes, dark skin, blond hair, half-inch scar under left eye and two half-inch scars on outer left thigh.
    Anyone seeing the fugitives should telephone Col. Ericsson, Medford 5221, extension 5204.
Medford Mail Tribune, May 31, 1944, page 1


    Speaking of the weather, we hope it rains those two escaped German prisoners out and back to Camp White, in short order.
    For as long as they are at large people will worry, especially those living in the foothills and the wide-open spaces hereabouts. And with some reason--although two unarmed German boys might be easy enough to handle, by one ranch wife and the family shotgun.
    "What fools we mortals be!"
    And no fool like a Nazi fool.
    Of course it may be found these two Hitler disciples were merely a couple of crazy kids, longing naturally for their freedom and not thinking the matter out at all, when a chance to get it bobbed up.
    All races have that eager, irresponsible adolescent type.
    But more likely the escape was planned with characteristic German thoroughness, and because the two boys had been brought up on the Hitler "super race" bunk, they actually believed that in spite of being 15 thousand miles away from home and in a strange foreign country, THEY could get away with it.
    Silly!--they have about as much chance of getting away with it, as a couple of spoon-fed kittens in a dog pound.
    They know little English and what they do know has a sauerkraut accent, that will be like a cowbell around the neck of a maverick.
    And if they should, by luck, get out of the state--what chance then with the entire country to traverse before they could reach a seaport?
    No, if they live it won't be long before they are back at Camp White, with nothing gained, and much lost not only for themselves but for their campmates.
    But that apparently is the only way these German Nazis can be taught anything--the HARD way.
    One sometimes wonders how many there will be left to profit by the lesson!
Medford Mail Tribune, May 31, 1944, page 6


    Mountain roads in the Klamath area were being watched Wednesday as law enforcement officers sought two German prisoners of war who escaped from a Camp White detail late Tuesday afternoon.
    Reports reaching here early today told police that the pair were last seen on the Dead Indian road. As a result the Lake o' the Woods area and the old Weyerhaeuser Camp 2 road were checked throughout the day.
    FBI agents in Portland were advised by army authorities the escapees, Josef Fahrnberger, 22, and Heinz Kiehle, 24, were wearing blue denim uniforms marked PW. Both speak broken English.
    Early today officers had blocked the Buck Lake road, which enters the main highway at Keno.
    Sheriff Lloyd L. Low, accompanied by state police officers, drove to the Lake o' the Woods area shortly after noon today.
    Fahrnberger is blond, blue-eyed, five feet, four inches tall and weighs 135 pounds. There is a scar below his left eye. Kiehle is five feet, 10 inches, weighs 155, and has brown hair and blue eyes.
Herald and News, Klamath Falls, May 31, 1944, page 1


    Some 24 hours after their escape late Tuesday afternoon from a work detail at Camp White, two German prisoners of war were apprehended by state policemen on the Butte Falls-Lake o' Woods highway about 40 miles east of Medford.
    The internees, offering not the slightest resistance to capture, were taken into custody by Capt. Bert J. Staats and Pvt. Charles W. Neal of the state police game division, at 6:20 p.m. Wednesday. The fugitives, walking along the road about two miles this side of Lake o' Woods, were spotted by the state policemen as their car rounded a curve in the road and, according to Capt. Staats, didn't seem to care whether they were taken or not.
    "They had sheepish grins on their faces," Capt. Staats said, "and offered absolutely no resistance. One of them told us in broken English that they were headed for the Middle West, and at least they were going in the right direction."
    Capt. Staats said they told him they had stayed in an unoccupied cabin Tuesday night, where they apparently obtained food of some sort. He said they didn't appear to be hungry, and that they had a can of sardines in their possession.
    After their apprehension they were handcuffed and taken back to the prisoner of war camp at Camp White.
    The prisoners, Heinz Kiehle, 24, and Josef Fahrnberger, 22, slipped away from a detail of internees at work under guard on the Antelope training range, part of the military reservation, about 10 miles east of the post.
    Reports from civilians aided in tracing the flight of the escaped men, according to Col. Arthur J. Ericsson, commander of the prisoner of war camp under Brig. Gen. Amos Thomas, post commander.
Medford Mail Tribune, June 1, 1944, page 1


    County Agent Robert G. Fowler reported today arrangements were nearing completion for the employment of 10 German prisoners of war, now interned at Camp White, in thinning peaches. The county agent said one of the problems was securing sufficient guards for the group, but thought this phase would be ironed out and the contract signed today.
Medford Mail Tribune, June 6, 1944, page 2


    Camp White--The establishment of Prisoner of War Branch Camp No. 1 on the site of a former Civilian Conservation Corps camp west of Tule Lake, Calif., was announced today by Brigadier General Amos Thomas, post commander.
    Purpose of the branch camp is to provide workers to relieve the acute shortage of agricultural labor in that area, according to Col. Arthur J. Ericsson, who is in charge of the prisoner of war section under General Thomas.
    Farm lands surrounding Tule Lake produce valuable seasonal crops, particularly vegetables, which require a large and dependable volume of farm labor at certain critical seasons of the year.
    Colonel Ericsson said that the Italian internees who have arrived at the new camp will be used to meet a present emergency request for workers, and to construct a stockade and other facilities for a permanent establishment. When construction has been completed, the Italians will be replaced by Germans from the internment camp here.
    Capt. Henry H. Miller will command the branch camp, which will be attached to Camp White for all administrative purposes.
    Arrangements for hiring of prisoners of war will be made through the county agricultural agent at Tule Lake. Hiring is accomplished by contracts between the individual farmers and the Ninth Service Command, terms of the contracts being based upon the prevailing local wage scale. Internees who work are paid 80 cents a day by the government.
Medford Mail Tribune, June 6, 1944, page 4


    TULE LAKE--A group of U. S. army officers headed by Colonel Farber, commanding officer for prisoners of war for this region, conferred Wednesday with C. J. Main, president of the Tulelake Growers, regarding a piece rate wage for prisoners of war helping local farmers.
    The group visited fields where prisoners are at work.
    W. H. Anderson, farm labor field assistant, and a representative of the army, were making a survey today to establish a working rate and complete contracts between growers and the army. The base is one-fifth of an acre per day per man, with allowance for adjustments according to field conditions.
    While army regulations prohibit publishing the total number of men at the prisoner of war camp at old Camp Tulelake on the west side, it is known that 175 additional men arrived Tuesday from an Arizona camp. They detrained at Malone station and marched to the camp.
    Lt. James Foley, in charge of the local camp last year, has been transferred to Fort Douglas headquarters of the 9th service command.
Herald and News, Klamath Falls, June 7, 1944, page 3


    CAMP WHITE, June 7.--The establishment of Prisoner of War Branch Camp No. 1 on the site of a former Civilian Conservation Corps camp west of Tule Lake, Cal., was announced Monday by Brig. Gen. Amos Thomas, post commander.
    Purpose of the camp is to provide workers to relieve the acute shortage of agricultural labor in that area, according to Col. Arthur J. Ericsson, who is in charge of the prisoner of war section.
    Col. Ericsson said the Italian internees who have arrived at the new camp will be used to meet a present emergency request for workers, and to construct a stockade and other facilities for a permanent establishment. When construction has been completed, the Italians will be replaced by Germans from the internment camp here.
    Capt. Henry H. Miller will command the branch camp, which will be attached to Camp White for administrative purposes.
    Arrangements for hiring of prisoners of war will be made through the county agricultural agent at Tule Lake. Hiring is accomplished by contracts between the individual farmers and the Ninth Service command, terms of the contracts being based upon the prevailing local wage scale. Internees are paid 80 cents a day by the government.
Oregon Journal, Portland, June 7, 1944, page 6


    TULE LAKE--Labor situation is prospectively critical in this area, it was brought out at a meeting of the Tulelake Growers held at the high school Friday night with about 90 in attendance.
    The group voted to urge that prisoners of war be held in the area for work as long as possible. It was reported a number of prisoners from the west side PW camp had been moved to Camp White. It is believed 400 Mexicans will be moved in here for work this fall.
    The Tulelake labor camp is now open and a few families have moved in.
    Farmers reported loss of onions from weeds and cut-worms. Grasshopper poisoning is being used in fighting the worms.
Herald and News, Klamath Falls, June 23, 1944, page 7


    CAMP WHITE, June 30.--German internees have replaced Italians at the Prisoner of War Branch Camp No. 1, on the site of a former CCC camp, west of Tule Lake, Cal., it was announced by Col. Arthur J. Ericsson, commander of the prisoner of war camp here.
    Purpose of the branch camp, established last month, is to provide workers to relieve the acute shortage of agricultural labor in that area, according to Col. Ericsson.
    During the period of construction of a permanent camp at Tule Lake, Italian internees were used to meet the emergency request for workers and to construct the stockade and other facilities.
    Capt. Henry E. Miller is in command of the branch camp, which is attached to Camp White for all administrative purposes. Arrangements for hiring of prisoners of war for work in the farm lands surrounding Tule Lake may be made through the county agricultural agent at Tule Lake.
Oregon Journal, Portland, June 30, 1944, page 8


    Mrs. Arthur J. Ericsson entertained a group of officers' wives Monday. Luncheon was served at the Officers' Outpost and was followed by bridge at Mrs. Ericsson's home, 106 Ashland Avenue. Fourteen guests were invited for the luncheon and card games.
    This morning Col. and Mrs. Ericsson left for Ogden, Utah, where the officer will be stationed in the future. The Ericssons have resided in Medford since last April, the colonel having been in charge of the German prisoners-of-war camp at Camp White. He has been replaced by Lt. Col. Lou J. Farber.
Medford Mail Tribune, August 20, 1944, page 4


    Portland, Ore., Sept. 19.--(U.P)--In a report to James T. Marr, executive secretary of the Oregon State Federation of Labor, the Klamath Falls Building and Construction Trades Council (AFL) today charged that German prisoners of war were being used in the Klamath area for other than agricultural industry. The statement said that the prisoners were being used in garage and plumbing shops.
    Marr said that "once before" attempts had been made to employ war prisoners in Oregon canneries, but that the action had been frustrated when the federation protested to the War Manpower Commission that their use was in competition with free labor.
    Marr said that the Portland office of the WMC had no knowledge of war prisoners being used in the Klamath Falls area.
Medford Mail Tribune, September 19, 1944, page 7


    Tulelake--Four hundred German prisoners arrived here Friday to aid in the potato harvest, swelling the number to approximately 1000 now working in the fields.
    The prisoners, thought to have been moved here from Camp White, are housed in tents on property adjacent to the Tulelake elementary school. The area is not fenced but it is under guard. Commanding officers are Major Shellcroft, Capt. Albrecht and Lt. Boomer.
    This particular group of German prisoners is working in the Tulelake section, most of them as truckers and swampers in the potato harvest. They are not picking. Some have been detailed to aid in the haying. Rumor has it that they will be returned to the valley immediately after the harvest is over.
    Other German war prisoners are housed at the west side Tulelake CCC camp. Farmers reportedly regard the work of the German prisoners as satisfactory.
Medford Mail Tribune, September 26, 1944, page 4


    A widely circulated report that two German prisoners of war had escaped from Camp White Friday was branded as erroneous by the Provost Marshal's office at the camp last night.Medford Mail Tribune, October 29, 1944, page 1


    The state police, FBI agents and county officers were conducting an extensive search for an escaped German prisoner of war, Karl Pfeiffer, 19, who fled from Camp White late Friday.
    Pfeiffer was wearing the regulation blue denim uniform with PW printed on the back when he fled from a work detail about 18 miles from the camp. Clinton W. Stein, special agent in charge of the FBI office in Portland, said the prisoner may also be wearing a regulation U.S. army raincoat.
    Pfeiffer is five feet, six inches tall, weighs 150 pounds, and has blue eyes, blonde hair and a fair complexion.
Medford Mail Tribune, December 3, 1944, page 1


    Karl Pfeiffer, 19-year-old German war prisoner, was captured late yesterday while hitchhiking three miles south of Medford, Ore., after a two-day escape from Camp White, Ore., the San Francisco office of the FBI announced today.
    Still wearing his prisoner's uniform, Pfeiffer was rearrested by Deputy Sheriff D. V. Hastings, Medford, and turned over to the army at Camp White, the FBI said.
Medford Mail Tribune, December 4, 1944, page 2


    Camp White--A public exhibit of works of art done by prisoners of war at Camp White will be held Saturday at the prisoner of war compound. The exhibit also will be open to the public Sunday.
    Approximately 100 oil paintings and 300 watercolors, charcoal and pencil sketches, cartoons and line drawings will be on display.
    The public, including both military personnel and civilians, will be admitted to the exhibit from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
    In announcing the exhibit, Lt. Col. Lou J. Farber, prisoner of war camp commander, said an MP will be stationed at Avenue F and Pacific to direct visitors to the exhibit.
    The paintings and sketches, done by professional artists among the prisoners, cover a wide range of subjects, including African scenes, German castles and street scenes, portraits, still lifes, marines and landscapes.
    Among the works are a number of paintings and sketches of Oregon scenes as well as several pencil sketches of Medford street scenes.
    A catalogue of the exhibit has been prepared and will be given to visitors. There will be no charge for admission to the exhibit, Col. Faber said, but some of the paintings will be offered for sale to any parties interested in their purchase.
    The oils are particularly outstanding, and many of them show excellent craftsmanship and technique. Some of the African scenes, in particular, are almost photographic in their detail.
Medford Mail Tribune, December 22, 1944, page 3


    Wounding of an escaping German prisoner of war at the Camp White compound was reported today by Lt. F. J. Johnston, camp public relations officer. According to Lt. Johnston, the 23-year-old prisoner was discovered early Wednesday morning outside the compound and when challenged by a guard started to run. The guard shouted "halt," several times and followed with a shot into the ground and one over the man's head. When the German failed to heed the warnings, the guard shot again, inflicting a minor flesh wound in the left side.
    Lt. Johnston said the German had been detailed to work in a kitchen outside the compound some distance from where he was found.
Medford Mail Tribune, January 12, 1945, page 1


    Two German prisoners of war were reported as having escaped from a work detail at Camp White during the night, according to camp officials. The prisoners have been identified as Walter Wenner, serial number 31G72489, age 20 years, five feet six inches tall, weighing about 148 pounds, blue eyes, fair complexion and blond hair, and George Sauerbeck, serial 5WG-1933, age 24 years, five feet nine inches tall, about 160 pounds in weight, brown eyes, fair skin, brown hair, and a scar on the right wrist.
    The prisoners were on a work detail from 5:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. and were all present when the guards checked them in for lunch at 10 p.m. When the guards again checked at 10:30 p.m. the two prisoners were missing.
    The prisoners were dressed in blue denim work uniforms with "PW" printed on them and may be wearing GI overcoats without regulation army buttons. The escaped prisoners are thought to be heading for Portland. Authorities have been notified and are on the lookout for them.
Medford Mail Tribune, January 22, 1945, page 1


    One of the two German prisoners of war who escaped from Camp White near Medford Sunday night should be easy to identify, as the middle finger of his left hand has been amputated, and he has a scar on his right wrist, according to a description furnished by the Portland FBI office Monday.
    This man is George Sauerbeck, described as five feet nine inches tall, weighing 160 pounds, age 24. He has brown eyes, brown hair and fair skin.
    The other escapee is Walter Wenner, 25, five feet eight inches, 148 pounds. Wenner has blue eyes, fair skin and blond hair.
Oregonian, Portland, January 23, 1945, page 5


    Two German prisoners of war who escaped from a work detail at Camp White Sunday night were captured at 2:10 a.m. today by Deputy Sheriff Verne Hastings about two miles south of Medford on Highway 99.
    Hastings was patrolling the highway when he saw two men step off the road as his car approached. He stopped to investigate and found them to be the escaped prisoners. State Police Officer Charles C. Johnson came along on regular patrol and followed Hastings and the prisoners back to Medford, where they were turned over to Camp White officials.
Medford Mail Tribune, January 23, 1945, page 8


    A German prisoner of war who escaped from the Camp White station hospital early Saturday morning was back in custody today, 1st Lt. F. J. Johnston, post public relations officer, announced.
    The prisoner, Gerhard Klave, 24, was apprehended at 9:40 p.m. Saturday after he went to the Lester Wertz farmhouse on Antelope Creek road near Climax and asked for food. He offered no resistance and was still garbed in the pajamas and robe which he was wearing at the time of his disappearance.
    The prisoner apparently had no particular objective when he escaped, Lt. Johnston said. A patient at the hospital, Klave disappeared between 2 and 4 a.m. Saturday. He was not seen again until evening when he appeared at the Wertz home.
    At the farm house Klave, who can speak a little English, asked for something to eat. While he was eating, Mrs. Wertz telephoned the Camp White provost marshal and a short time later soldiers and state police closed in on the farm house.
Medford Mail Tribune, January 29, 1945, page 1


    Washington, March 14--(U.P.)--War Food Administrator Marvin Jones today disclosed that the War Department probably will supply 100,000 prisoners for farm work at the 1945 harvest peak.
    Last year about 70,000 prisoners aided U.S. farmers. The additional 30,000 this year will be made available from 100,000 German prisoners expected to arrive in this country soon.
    "Regardless of war developments, another record output of food and fiber crops is urgently needed," Jones said. He added that even more city people and imported workers again will be needed for emergency field and harvest labor.
Medford Mail Tribune, March 14, 1945, page 1


    Two German prisoners of war escaped from Camp White sometime Monday night, according to a report to state and city police. State police said they escaped from the north side of the stockade by climbing a wire fence.
    The prisoners were described as Herman Dirr, aged 21, five feet, 11 inches tall, weighing 130 pounds, brown eyes, reddish complexion, and a scar on the right side of the chin. Herman Goebel was described as being 25 years old, 140 pounds, brown eyes and hair, two scars on left forehead and left elbow and fair skin.
    Anyone knowing the whereabouts of the escaped prisoners are asked to contact the state police.
Medford Mail Tribune, March 28, 1945, page 1


    Two German prisoners of war have escaped from Camp White, Or., FBI agents announce. One of the escapees is Herman Goebel, 25 years old, 5 feet 8 inches, 140 pounds, brown eyes, fair skin, brown hair. He has a scar on his left inner elbow and another on his forehead, on the left. He does not speak English.
    Hirman Dirr, the other prisoner, is 21, 5 feet 11 inches, 130 pounds, blue eyes, reddish skin, brown hair. He has a scar on his lower chin, on the right.
Oregonian, Portland, March 29, 1945, page 10


    Two more German prisoners of war from the Camp White stockade have found the "great outdoors" hereabouts much greater than they had anticipated and hungry, cold, disillusioned and docile have been herded back to meditate upon the error of their way.
    Hermann Dirr, 21, and Hermann Goebel, 25, latest to flee the camp, were returned Friday after having been apprehended 32 miles east of Crescent City. Departing the night of March 26, with Mexico as their destination, the pair subsisted on peanuts for seven days and had nothing at all to eat for four days; they told their captors.
    First making for the Table Rock district, the fugitives had followed Rogue River toward the coast. Keeping off roads during the daytime and sleeping in barns or in the woods at night, their progress was slow. They had planned to subsist on fish from the river but found the matter of catching them beyond their ability.
    A. C. Hamilton, of Ashland, notified authorities in Crescent City Friday that he had passed two men wearing army overcoats and acting suspiciously near Idlewild in Del Norte County. Officer F. Plaisted, Sheriff Austin Huffman and Captain Edgar Huffman of the state highway patrol left to investigate and soon found the Germans who seemed relieved that their hardships of the open road were over.
    Notified of the capture by the California officers, Captain Leopold E. Fritze, director of security and intelligence at Camp White, returned the prisoners to the stockade Friday.
    Although around half a dozen Germans have attempted escape from Camp White, none enjoyed freedom more than a few days, Dirr and Goebel being out the longest and probably covering the greatest distance.
Medford Mail Tribune, April 8, 1945, page 10




    Representatives of the War Food Administration and the Oregon State College extension service will be here this week to discuss the harvest labor situation in Jackson County the coming summer. County Agent Robert G. Fowler states the county has requested 1,000 Mexican nationals for assignment here. A request for 500 German prisoners of war has also been filed to fill the 1000 quota in case the requested number of Mexican workers are not sent.
    German prisoners of war are still held at Camp White. Sen. Cordon of Oregon reported recently 20,000 war prisoners were scheduled to be sent to the Ninth Corps area. The unconditional surrender of Germany will alter this picture, in a few weeks, when the exchange of prisoners starts.
Medford Mail Tribune, May 8, 1945, page 1


    Camp White, Ore.--Four female civilian employees currently working in the clothing and equipage shop at this installation and one in another department, were dismissed from their jobs for fraternization with German prisoners of war, Colonel John R. Young, post commander, announced today.
    In making the announcement, Colonel Young stated that the civilian employees had been removed from the positions they held after repeated warnings against fraternizing with German prisoners.
    "Fraternizing with prisoners of war," Colonel Young stated, "will not be tolerated at this camp."
Medford Mail Tribune, May 18, 1945, page 1


    MEDFORD, May 19.--(AP)--Five women workers at Camp White have been dismissed for fraternizing with German prisoners of war, Col. John R. Young, post commander, announced Friday.
    The women were employed in the clothing and equipage shop and previously had been warned about fraternizing with the Germans, Col. Young said.
Oregon Journal, Portland, May 19, 1945, page 3


    Camp White, Ore., May 24.--German prisoners of war at this post have donated $1400 voluntarily to American and international welfare agencies, Lt. Col. Lou J. Farber, prisoner of war camp commander, announced today.
    Of this amount, $400 was earmarked for the American Red Cross, which serves American prisoners of war only. The remaining thousand dollars was divided equally between the International Red Cross and the Young Men's Christian Association.
    Before making their contributions, the prisoners were informed they could donate to the International Red Cross Committee, the American Red Cross or the War Prisoners' Aid of the Young Men's Christian Association, Col. Farber stated.
    All of the money was contributed from prisoners' savings accumulated during their employment on farms and in government projects in this vicinity. Prisoners of war are paid 80 cents a day under the terms of the Geneva conference.
Medford Mail Tribune, May 24, 1945, page 9


    German prisoners of war have filled a definite labor need in this country and more are needed here to meet critical labor shortages, according to Lt. Col. Lou J. Farber, officer in charge of the Camp White POW section. Farber emphasized the fact that prisoners here mostly Afrika Korpsmen with a few from the Normandy invasion, are treated firmly in full conformance with the Geneva Convention and are not coddled.
    Close censorship on the handling of prisoners of war has resulted in much misunderstanding; that is why the public will be given information concerning the POW program in the future, the speaker said.
    For the past two months non-rationed foods have replaced rationed items on the menu for prisoners, and scarce soft drinks and cigarettes have disappeared from compound canteens. Profits from these canteens go to a fund for athletic equipment and correspondence courses for prisoners. Radios without short wave are allowed and magazines are not restricted. It is a case of no work, no eat with prisoners, Col. Farber told Rotarians. In occasional cases of work strikes bread and water becomes the menu for strikers.
    German prisoners here are well disciplined and good, thorough workers, Col. Farber said. The men are subject to the articles of war the same as American GIs.
    Only four cases of escape have occurred at the Camp White compound, and those who participated were quickly returned. Among 300,000 German and Italian prisoners working in the U.S., only 273 had escaped and only 16 were supposedly at large when last checks were made. Without clothes and money, and with distances so great, the chance for successful escape is remote. No instance of sabotage has been recorded at Camp White, although about 150 men have been weeded out and removed as trouble makers since the camp opened.
    Col. Farber outlined the method of organizing the prisoners into companies and the system of working in crops and industries when not in conflict with free labor. Eighty cents a day is the prevailing wage to POWs, while the government receives the balance between that wage and the prevailing labor scale in each area. More than $25,000,000 has been returned to the government through prisoners' labor, the speaker said.
    Col. Farber, a veteran of the last war, was introduced by Mark A. Goldy, program chairman.
Medford Mail Tribune, June 6, 1945, page 3


    The packing plants of the valley will again hold a packing school next month, to provide additional packers for the coming pear season. There are not enough packers locally, and shippers figure this talent lack [is] the major bottleneck in the coming fruit harvest. Prospect for harvest labor is brighter, with applications filed for Mexican nationals and German prisoner of war help.
    Since the war, there has been a yearly shortage of experienced packers who come under the head of skilled labor. It takes a couple of seasons experience to make a good packer. In former years many of the packers were transient, following the fruit harvests, starting in California and working north.
Medford Mail Tribune, June 22, 1945, page 7


    Exact information on how many Axis prisoners of war and Mexican national farm workers will be assigned Jackson County for the pear harvest will not be definitely known until the final week of the month, County Agent Robert G. Fowler reports. German prisoners of war from Camp White have been assisting in orchard thinning, and several squads have completed their jobs. Thirty additional Mexican workers arrived recently.
    Application was filed last January for 1,000 Mexican workers, but it is doubtful if this many will come. Many are now engaged in sugar beet hoeing and pea picking in Eastern Oregon and Idaho, work which has started to taper off.
Medford Mail Tribune, July 16, 1945, page 5


    Three hundred German prisoners of war and 320 Mexican nationals will be assigned Jackson County for harvest work in field and orchard, County Agent Robert G. Fowler reports. Official confirmation of the assignment is expected shortly.
    There is a shortage of Mexican nationals for farm work this year, the county agent states. The original request for this county was cut to 500 and then the 180 men now here were deducted, making a total of 320.
    The prisoners of war will probably include many now held at Camp White.
    The total number of harvest workers sent here will be approximately the same as last year, when no German prisoners were engaged.
    The county agent and federal authorities have been conferring on the allocations for some time.
Medford Mail Tribune, August 2, 1945, page 1


    Cpl. Jakob Planker, 39, a German prisoner of war at Camp White, committed suicide Friday night by hanging himself, according to camp authorities. Planker, who worked as a cook's helper in the prisoner of war mess hall, apparently left the lock off the mess hall door when he left Friday evening. Returning later, he hanged himself by stepping from a ladder with one end of a rope around his neck and the other end attached to a rafter in the hall.
    Requiem mass services were conducted Monday evening in the camp compound by the Rev. Henry A. Orth of the Catholic church in Medford. The body is being sent to Vancouver, Wash., for burial in the prisoner of war cemetery.
Medford Mail Tribune, August 7, 1945, page 2


    Packing plants of the valley will start next week, with pear picking scheduled to begin Monday. German prisoners of war and Mexican nationals will aid in the harvest. Canneries started packing Elberta peaches this week.
"On the Home Front," Medford Mail Tribune, August 10, 1945, page 5


    The 320 Mexican nationals assigned to this section for the Bartlett pear harvest, starting next Monday in many orchards, are due to arrive late Saturday from Eastern Oregon and upstate points.
    German prisoners of war, according to Robert K. Norris, of the labor committee, will start picking pears early next week. Five hundred have been assigned here. They will work in the field only, as under army rules they are not permitted to be employed in packing houses. County Agent R. G. Fowler, who has been studying methods of handling prisoner workers in Nyssa sugar beet fields, is due back Saturday.
    Chairman Norris reports the labor situation as "fair." Packers report a scarcity of local labor.
Medford Mail Tribune, August 10, 1945, page 9


    Picking and packing of valley pears started this week, and opening of high school has been delayed to Oct. 1 to relieve labor shortages. Mexican nationals and German prisoners of war are also aiding.
"On the Home Front," Medford Mail Tribune, August 17, 1945, page 5


    TULE LAKE, Sept. 7--A group of army officers from Camp White was here today looking for location of another prisoner of war camp to provide harvest labor in this busy agricultural area.
    Chester Main, head of the Tulelake Growers, said the army men indicated 400 men would be brought to the camp as soon as it is set up, and the number will be increased to 1000 by September 25. There are 75 prisoners at camp No. 1, the old Tulelake CCC camp, at present.
    Main said the migrant workers camp at Tulelake is now filled, with about 400 people on hand including children. He said there had been numerous complaints about migrant white labor this year from growers.
    A camp of 400 Mexican nationals will be set up adjoining the migrant labor camp at Tule.
Herald and News, Klamath Falls, September 7, 1945, page 1


    The labor situation in the Rogue River Valley is still tight, with more help of all kinds needed in orchards and packing plants. Bulk of the workers are now Mexican nationals and German prisoners of war. An appeal has been issued by the Rogue River Traffic Association for local help.
    The Mexican workers the past weekend took time off to observe the Mexican independence day, and slowed down some work.
Medford Mail Tribune, September 17, 1945, page 1


    Pear interests of the Rogue River Valley have taken steps for the War Department to grant an extension of time for German prisoners of war at Camp White to continue working in the pear harvest, now at its most critical period, County Agent Robert G. Fowler reports. An extension of time was recently granted from Sept. 15 until Tuesday, Sept. 25.
    Close to 300 prisoners of war are now engaged in pear harvesting and packing plants, and the removal of them now would further aggravate the local labor shortage. The Oregon congressional delegation and other federal and local agencies have been working on the problem for several days.
    A dispute at Camp Prescott, headquarters of the Mexican nationals employed in the fruit harvest, first of the week has been adjusted. Cooks at the camp, irked by delay in receiving their pay checks, walked off the job, leaving supper unprepared. They returned to work as soon as they understood reasons for the delay.
Medford Mail Tribune, September 20, 1945, page 1


    Pear harvest continues unabated and orchardists and packers are still begging for additional labor. Steps are being taken to grant an extension of time for the use of German prisoners, some 300 of which are now being used.
"On the Home Front," Medford Mail Tribune, September 21, 1945, page 4


    This is the first of a series of three articles relating the effort to re-educate German prisoners of war away from the Nazi line of thought. They are based on observations made by the author at the prisoner of war camp at Camp White, Or.
    Before next spring the last of more than 350,000 men of the vast armies upon which Adolf Hitler depended to impose Nazism upon the world will have been repatriated from prisoner-of-war camps in the United States to Germany. Will they take back from democratic America any ideas that will guide Germany to reconstruction as a peace-abiding nation? Have they learned to respect the United States for its military power; do they now realize that free people are stronger than the slave people of totalitarian states? Have we, the unrelenting enemies of Nazism, knocked any of the Hitler propaganda out of their heads?
    The prisoner-of-war camp at Camp White, where currently 1295 Germans are in custody, provides some interesting views on these subjects. After three days at the POW camp, interviewing American army officers and enlisted men, and visiting with and observing the prisoners, I came away with these conclusions, some of which are my own, some of which were offered me at the camp and with which I found no reason to disagree:
    The German prisoners are unrepentant, so far as accepting guilt for the war. They will agree that Nazism's leaders were wrong, but argue that because the people had no voice in determining the nation's course that the people should not be punished.
    They assert their belief that Nazism is through, but they argue that democracy cannot work in Germany.
    While they lay the blame on Hitler, protest that they never approved of his policies but explain that they had no voice, and make these statements with a convincing vehemence, it is still difficult to believe that they have deserted Nazi ideologies in which many of them were steeped since childhood. It is more reasonable to conclude that they blame Hitler because he was a failure rather than because of his ideologies.
    Some of them undoubtedly believe that Germany may again disturb the peace of Europe unless she is permitted to reconstruct herself as a major nation. They argue that taking from her the ability to produce and manufacture means the death of the German people and this argument holds the insinuation that they might again take recourse to force to obtain what they believe they are entitled to.
    Nazi propaganda has made a lasting impression. Its violent preachings against communism still find voice in statements by the prisoners that Russia is the real danger. They speak of the fear in which they hold Russia and remind you rather pointedly that communism and Nazism are similar in structure and that we, the allies, made friends with communism.
    A considerable number of the prisoners at Camp White have the ability to become leaders in Germany.
    Despite the fact they have spent virtually all of their life in this country within prison compounds they have learned much about America; they have the conviction it is a great and powerful country.
    The final conclusion is that we have done only a moderately fair job in indoctrinating these people in our way of life, the way we think will be most effective in establishing permanent world peace. Probably we have missed a golden opportunity to send them back to Germany as converts to democracy. Some of them during their enforced stay in America have reached the conclusion that Nazi policies were the cause of Germany's downfall. Virtually all realize that Nazism is dead. We appear to have failed to give them a tangible, real substitute for the type of government we tell them we will never permit them to have again.
    The prisoner-of-war camp at Camp White was activated in April, 1944, and the first prisoners, a group of 400, arrived April 17. Population of the camp never has been static. It has run as high as 2400. By the time this article appears in print probably not more than 150 prisoners will be in the compound. The remainder will be at the branch camp at Tule Lake, Cal., engaged in the potato harvest.
    Lt. Col. Lou J. Farber of Weiser, Idaho, has the double responsibility of commanding Camp White and the prisoner camp. Commander of the compound and executive officer of the prison camp is Capt. Henry J. Pauls, Fayetteville, N.C., native and an army veteran of nearly 25 years. Assistant executive officer of the POW camp and the man who has the difficult task of conducting a re-education program among the Germans is Lt. John R. Fahey of Spokane.
    Lt. Fahey represents the special branch of the provost marshal-general's office at Washington by Maj. Gen. Archer Lerch, the provost marshal-general. Fahey has for his lone assistant another young man, PFC Manfred Hecht, native of Austria, former medical student at Vienna. Hecht, an American citizen who is said to have been a promising musical comedy singer before he entered the American army, speaks fluent German.
    But among all the American personnel at the POW camp only Hecht and Cpl. Mark Walton, member of the security and intelligence department of the camp's company, speak German. Walton, native of Russia, graduate in 1933 of the University of Vienna, former junior college teacher of Latin and German at Vienna and later instructor in those languages at University of California at Los Angeles, came to the United States in 1938. At one time the POW camp's station complement included five enlisted men and one officer who spoke German, but now only the two remain.
    Lt. Fahey speaks only what German he has been able to pick up since he came to Camp White in December, 1944, to inaugurate there the provost marshal-general's re-education program instituted at other POW camps over the United States. Many of the 150 officers selected to carry out this program, like Fahey, do not speak German.
    Hand-picked by the War Department's G-1 section from among college graduates and others of promising stature, these 150 studied Germany history and psychology, learned as much about the minds and problems of Germans as the army could teach them and were sent out, not to democratize the Germans, but to give them an understanding of, possibly instill a respect for the United States and, failing in these goals, at least to impress them with the power of the United States. The re-education program, which began to take form as far back as 1942, was launched in great secrecy and for a long time it remained on the "classified" list, its purpose undisclosed, its personnel unidentified except to proper authorities.
    In some respects the program has been highly successful.
    "We have given them a respect for and understanding of our country," said Fahey. "I think the majority of them will go home with the conviction that the United States is a great country. But I'm afraid they won't go home with the conviction that Hitler was wrong."
    Newspapers, magazines, books, motion pictures, school classes, personal discussions and a careful weeding out of unregenerative pro-Nazis have been the tools available to Lt. Fahey and his co-worker, PFC Hecht. They substituted such movies as Bing Crosby's "Going My Way" for the thrillers and low-grade stuff, learned that the Germans liked singing and music. Two of their favorites are Deanna Durbin and Donald O'Connor. Fantasy didn't go over at all. Saroyan's "The Human Comedy" left the prisoners cold.
    School courses proved popular. Under supervision of the re-education program prisoner instructors have taught and are teaching 36 courses in American history, geography, civics, advanced English, Russian, Spanish, French, mathematics, engineering and other subjects, with an average attendance of 1000. The American history course was set up for an expected enrollment of 60, but got 300. The course is factual, not propagandistic, the idea being to give the Germans something that will stand up later when they get back to Germany.
    Prisoners who cannot speak English are required to attend an elementary course in that language. It has been a difficult task to teach English to men who don't have a good understanding of German to start with. Surprisingly, Fahey says, a majority of the Germans are not well grounded in the liberal arts. They take much more readily to training in the crafts and skills.
    Approximately 10 percent of the prisoners speak English fluently. About 50 percent can understand commands well enough to obey. Ten percent can read English easily and 20 percent can read with varying degrees of effort.
    The personable young German who runs the POW camp library of some 2000 volumes told me that about 50 percent of the prisoners come to the library once a week to take out a book. The books are of three types, (1) castoffs from various organizations, some good, many worthless; (2) English and German-language texts selected for their desirability; and (3) books printed either by the United States government or at its request, including translations of best sellers, a brief history of America, a brief guide to America and an outline of the American school system.
    Many of the prisoners have bought books, mostly in connection with correspondence courses. About 30 are enrolled in such courses in the Oregon and Washington education systems.
    The history of America and the guide to America have been popular. A history of the Pacific Northwest has had several readers. Fiction leads in library withdrawals.
    The War Department imposes no restriction on the American newspapers the prisoners may read, but foreign-language papers must be on the approved list. The Oregonian is the prison camp's most popular newspaper and, with the exception of a few copies of the New York Times, the only American paper regularly received. About 100 of the prisoners are Oregonian subscribers. The camp buys, out of its compound fund, which is maintained by dividends from prisoner purchases in their canteen, an additional 50 copies of the Oregonian for general distribution.
    Among German-language newspapers the New York-published Staats Zeitung is popular. Prisoners read Der Ruf (the Call), the German language paper produced twice monthly by the provost marshal-general's office with tongues in cheeks, for they are immensely suspicious of propaganda. At first they burned or otherwise destroyed copies. For a long time they believed that everything they read, heard on the radio or saw in the movies first had been cleared by the government, Nazi fashion. Fahey thinks most of them now believe that government does not inject propaganda in press and radio.
    One of the powerful weapons to win the Germans from a blind and unreasoning faith in a lost cause has been Heimat, the prison camp newspaper, edited by a keen and energetic young German sergeant who got his start in journalism at Berlin and hopes to become a newspaperman upon his return. The army neither censors nor supervises Heimat, but scans it closely. Its editor speaks frankly of its purpose, which, he says, is to preach that Nazism was dead with the end of the war, but that the German nation is not dead. Lt. Fahey says Heimat has been one of the greatest forces in getting the prisoners of war to face reality.
    Heimat's editor appears a convincing example of the anti-Nazi trend of thought toward a new deal in Germany's political setup. Only the suspicion that no German prisoner would tell you the truth would cause you to doubt that he is sincere. His editorials undoubtedly have a marked effect on the readers of Heimat. At first a majority refused to read the paper because they thought it gave them only American propaganda. Now it is said to be read universally. No one knows how many agree with its policies.
    Its editor, to my question what he would reply when people in Germany asked him why he thought the allies won the war, answered in this roundabout fashion:
    "Many letters published in Heimat indicate that our people now realize Germany was wrong. They realize that she had been preparing for war for a long time and that everything that was done in Germany had a military purpose. They realize that prosperity there was artificial."
    The older men, he said, come more readily to these realizations. The younger men who knew nothing but Nazism are less easily convinced.
Oregonian, Portland, September 30, 1945, page 14


    This is the second of a series of three articles relating the effort to re-educate German prisoners of war away from the Nazi line of thought. They are based on observations made by the author at the prisoner of war camp at Camp White, Or.
    The same movie films which were used to teach Yank soldiers why they were fighting the Germans and Japanese were employed to inform German prisoners of war of the reasons why America threw its victorious weight into the struggle, and to acquaint them with the record of war-provoking German aggression and the shocking history of atrocities, many of them committed after these men had left their country and of which they professed disbelief and ignorance.
    The series of films titled "Why We Fight" is an expertly done job. It made the blood of many a Yank soldier in training boil. It was received with great interest and had a marked effect on German prisoners of war at the POW camp at Camp White, said Lt. John R. Fahey, assistant executive officer at the camp, who has charge of the provost marshal-general's program for re-education of prisoners.
    Sound tracks on the original film were translated into German. The prisoners, even if they did not believe all that the films revealed, at least understood. They learned what other nations accused them of doing. The showing marked a turning point in the re-education program to get the interest of the prisoners. Another thing that contributed at this time to turn the trend of thought away from Nazism was the transfer of 135 of the completely unregenerative, dyed-in-the-wool Nazis whose unwholesome influence had affected many of the more than 1200 prisoners at a camp at Rupert, Idaho.
    Showing of the movie "Why We Fight" was quite a feather in the cap of the re-education program authorities. Prior to that time some "atrocity" pictures had been shown, but with little effect on the prisoners. Many apparently did not understand, and the word was passed around that this was crude propaganda, that these were Russian, not German atrocities. Later, the same type of pictures appearing in Life magazine had greater effect, possibly from repetition.
    Getting the German prisoner of war to realize that Germany was in the wrong has been an uphill fight for the re-education program of the provost marshal-general's office. They have been suspicious that anything told them in America was propaganda. They say they were raised on propaganda, that they now realize that they never got the truth in Germany. The free and bitter talk of the last election campaign, the criticism of army and navy policies are said to have convinced them that there was something to freedom of press and radio in America.
    One prisoner told me:
    "We know now that had Germany had freedom of the press, her people would not have supported the war."
    But no one, least of all the officers and men of the American army who deal with them daily, can tell how much to believe of what the German prisoner says. His is the defensive attitude of captive toward captor.
    At first it was hard to convince the prisoners that Germany was losing. Those first men [were] from the Afrika Korps, a proud and triumphant army. Later, as prisoners came in from Normandy the belief in Nazi victory began to wane.
    Now, said Lt. Fahey, some of them will admit that Germany made unprovoked attacks, some will admit she committed atrocities, some will say the Nazi Party was corrupt. But, by and large, they will not believe in German guilt. I found not one who would say he thought German people should be punished. They said the Nazi leaders who deceived them, who gave them no voice in affairs, who failed to conquer the world, they should be punished.
    In all the interviews with prisoners by American personnel they found not one who would avow he was a Nazi, yet many were shipped away from Camp White because they preached Nazi doctrines among their fellows.
    While disavowing belief in Nazism, they display strange mental processes. One prisoner boasted that in Germany he had been permitted to "buy" a Volkswagen. That he never got it was unimportant, He had been permitted by a generous government to make his payments toward that great day when all Germany would ride luxuriously.
    The conclusion is inevitable that our efforts to enlighten them have not succeeded in erasing from the minds of many the Nazi teachings which were all they knew for 15 years. This is evident in their attitude toward Russia, the target of Nazi propaganda for years.
    "If the government of Russia should become democratic there would be no danger. If communism continues there will always be danger," one prisoner asserted.
    Worry of starvation in Germany this winter occupies them, but Russia is their great fear, whether that fear is a hangover from Nazi propaganda or not. Talk of Russia leads to their argument that Germany should not be broken up, that it should continue as a powerful nation, all its energies directed toward peace in the future, of course.
    They say they want free speech and the other things that go to make democracy, but they assert that democracy will not work for Germany. They appear to be afraid the allies will impose some form of government upon them. That, of course, would not be democratic, they point out. They offer a convincing argument.
    "Our problems are not like yours," one said. "America has always had a feeling of security. Germany is in the midst of warlike nations."
    That sort of talk made it easy for them to accept Nazi doctrines in the old days, of course. No prisoner was found who had a plan for government of Germany. They explained that they had been away too long, they did not know what was going on, they did not know what the allies were going to do. But they did know that the allies had said they would occupy Germany until it could not again make war. Their assertion that a people cannot have self-determination while it is occupied by military forces leaves no answer.
    Obviously, it is futile for us to preach the virtues of of self-determination and at the same time tell these people we are going to occupy their country with military forces for an undetermined long time. Our re-education program and our military government of Germany are not coordinated. To these Germans Nazism, although vile, was tangible. Communism is real. We offer them in place of these something intangible, abstract. We add to their confusion.
    Most of them are reluctant to talk of politics. They give you the impression that they dread facing the realities of Germany. Many have not heard from their families in eight or nine months. More than half of the prisoners are said to be family men.
    "If Germany is starving what is the use of talking politics?" asked one. "Anything to live--," he said.
    Another, thinking of food, gave me a facetious answer when I asked him what he learned in America.
    "We learned that even when Americans were complaining under rationing they were getting more food than Germany got in peacetime," he replied.
    Many of these prisoners have promise of becoming leaders among their people. Heimat's editor may become an important molder of public opinion as a newspaperman. His friend who told me "what we see and hear here are going to have a marked influence on us," and who asserted that Nazism was through but that democracy would not work, hopes to complete a college education and become a teacher.
    Between 20 and 25 of the 1295 Camp White prisoners are college graduates. One is a graduate of the Missouri School of Mines. Only one was born in the United States, although several lived here before they returned to Germany to enter the army. Their ages run from 18 to 56, but the average is 27. Most of them were captured in Africa and Normandy, some by the British, French and the Poles, but the bulk were taken by the Americans. All are enlisted men and non-commissioned officers except two medical officers, one of whom runs the compound dispensary, the other the prisoners' ward in the navy hospital at Camp White.
    Numerous prisoners have said they do not want to return to Germany, but Lt. Fahey says he thinks not more than 20 seriously want to remain in the United States. After the war with Germany ended there was a brief wave of "volunteers" who wanted to join the American army to fight the Japanese. A member of the POW camp office said he thought two to three hundred could have been signed up. These volunteers were regarded as opportunists, men who wanted to avoid contact with the rigors of the first postwar winter in Germany.
    The work record of the prisoners has been good. They work everywhere about Camp White, in laundry, bakery, shops and at many jobs, and are lightly guarded. On work details outside the camp, in the Rogue River Valley orchards, in the potato fields at Tule Lake, an armed guard and a civilian supervisor accompany every ten prisoners. Officials believe none would attempt to escape now the war is over. Only five have escaped; one pair was recaptured in 36 hours, the other pair had freedom 12 days. The fifth escapee was a psychopathic who wandered to a nearby farm house.
    Under announced policy of the War Department, with which the prisoners are familiar, those who have a record of being most cooperative will get first call to go home to Germany. The prospect of repatriation is said to have considerably bolstered POW camp morale.
    Every prisoner has a job; all work a six-day week under Geneva conference rules. The work program interferes seriously with the re-education schedule. At Tule Lake they work from dawn to dark, and live in tents. Although Lt. Fahey goes to Tule Lake during the potato harvest, he can accomplish but little under such conditions.
    In their work the Germans are slower than American labor, but they do painstaking work. Under incentive, they speed up. Quotas were set on certain jobs above the current level and they reached their quota by 3 o'clock in the afternoon, which entitled them to knock off for the day. The quotas were raised to what was considered maximum and still they finished early.
    One farmer contracted for a work gang for six days, wanted to terminate the contract at the end of the second day, was prevailed upon to give them one more day, then kept them for two weeks and complained because he was not permitted to have them longer.
    A peach grower got more than the expected price because of the care the Germans took in handling his fruit and wanted to give the government a $70 "cut" of the extra profit. In these work contracts between government and farmer the farmer pays the prevailing wage scale to Uncle Sam, and the prisoner gets 80 cents a day.
Oregonian, Portland, October 1, 1945, page 19


    This is the last or a series of three articles relating the effort to re-educate German prisoners of war away from the Nazi line of thought. They are based on observations made by the author at the prisoner of war camp at Camp White, Or.
    The re-education program conducted among German prisoners of war in the United States by the special projects branch of the provost marshal-general's office has been mostly a business of tearing down old ideas without the counter-balancing value of substituting anything of a tangible nature to take their place. Many of the prisoners in the POW compound at Camp White show unmistakable evidence that their faith in the doctrines of Nazism has been rudely shaken by revelation of German aggression and atrocities, of Adolf Hitler's deceit, of his insane ambitions.
    Most of them must realize that national socialism was a failure, and many of them now say they believe it was wrong from the start. They know, of course, that Hitler and his companions in the scheme failed, and there can be no doubt that they feel great resentment against him for leading them into a world war which ended so disastrously for Germany.
    But the conclusion is inescapable that we are not going to send these German prisoners back to their native land equipped with a new doctrine for government to supplant the outlawed Nazism. The fact is that we have given them no such plan. We have told them how it works in America. We perhaps have instilled in them some respect for America because our government is one of self-determination by the people. But we have failed to show them how it will work in Germany.
    And in failing to offer the materialistic German mind something in exchange for that which we would take away, how can we expect him to renounce something he has believed in for 15 years, perhaps all of his adolescent and mature life? Small wonder that he holds stubbornly, for want of something tangible to grasp, to something he has been raised with, although our teaching has caused him to doubt its value.
    So far as it went our re-education program has been sound, has achieved good results. There has been created in the mind of the German an appreciation for many of the things that go to make up democracy. He knows our press and our radio are free, and these things appeal to him. He even quotes from our free press to bolster some of the points he makes in argument. He searches diligently for something that is critical of Russia, seizes upon it as a sort of proof or support for his contentions. Dorothy Thompson, who all along has been a bitter enemy of the Nazis but cordial toward the German people, is his favorite newspaper columnist.
    The German has become fond of the radio, which if it was not denied to him in Germany was limited to propaganda. About 30 of them are owned in the compound and do heavy duty, because there is no restriction on what the prisoners may listen to. Only rule is that the radios must be off when lights go out at 11 P.M. It is interesting to note that there are no soap opera addicts. Music and news are their favorites. The commercials confused them for a long time. Now they take them in stride, like any other radio listener.
    They took the initiative in purging their reading matter of magazines containing sensual pictures on the ground they were damaging to morale. They are fond of movie magazines. Life magazine is one of their favorites. This magazine and its companion, Time, are purchased from their canteen fund. At the canteen they may buy other magazines from a list approved by the provost marshal-general, which includes, in addition to those named, Collier's, Coronet, Newsweek, Natural History, Pageant, Readers' Digest and Saturday Evening Post.
    Spiritually, say officials of the POW camp, the German prisoners are a broken lot. The world they knew has collapsed. They are bewildered, worried, not only over what turn affairs in Europe and Germany will take, but disturbed because they do not know what has happened to their families. For some six months the mails from Germany, Romania, Yugoslavia, Poland and Austria have not been functioning. A few have had letters from American, French and British zones, and others have been able to establish contact through relatives who live in America.
    Almost entirely gone is the arrogant and often insolent attitude, the haughty military stiffness of the ex-German soldier which characterized them when first they came to prisoner of war camps in America. No longer do they bear themselves as soldiers of a mighty, conquering nation, who had merely had the misfortune to be taken prisoner. As this military veneer has worn off the individual characteristics of the men have gradually become apparent.
    Camp officers say they may have been resentful toward us right after the collapse of Germany. They show no such feeling now. Their thoughts seem pointed toward their return home.
    Only a small percentage have religion to turn to. At Camp White 130 of the 1295 attend Catholic masses regularly and 80 attend Protestant evangelical services. These are all who practice religion faithfully. Another two to three hundred are said to be disposed to attend church services but seldom do for various reasons, one of which probably is that religious worship is in such minority they hesitate to expose themselves to possible ridicule by the unbelievers.
    Without the solace of religion, out of contact with home, ignorant of what has happened in Germany in the long years of their enforced absence, these men have no place to turn. It would appear that they are ripe for some heart-to-heart talks about the future. But what once may have been fertile soil has turned barren and unyielding for want of proper cultivation. And it is probably too late now to do anything about it. Recently announced War Department plans call for return to Germany of the approximately 350,000 prisoners of war at the rate of 18,000 in September, double that number in October and 40,000 a month thereafter until all have been repatriated.
    Lack of proper coordination between the re-education program of the provost marshal-general's department and the allied military occupation forces in Germany would appear be the major stumbling block in sending these men home with something they can turn to value in the future setup of Germany. So far as is known there is no working liaison between the two agencies. Officers at Camp White are never certain that what they tell the prisoners will hold good after they return to Germany. It is reasonable to assume that those in charge of the military occupation of Germany do not know what is being told the prisoners in the United States.
    It is obvious that the two agencies are not working toward the same goal. The re-education people would like to guide the prisoners toward resuming normal functions of life, would like to have them see the desirability of setting up a government in which the people are sovereign. With the allied leaders in Germany the establishment of order by military force is the goal.
    That appears to be the major barrier toward re-education. There is another within the prison camps themselves. Conflicting directives come from the higher echelons to the camps, one directing that the prisoners be employed in necessary labor, such as harvesting, the other that some course of education be instituted. In this clash the labor demand takes precedence. The re-education program is secondary. First consideration of the War Department seems to be to get work out of the prisoners.
    Cooperation is said to have been very fine at the POW camp at Camp White, but it is evident there will be little time or inclination for the study of civics or history by men working in the Tule Lake potato fields from dawn to dark and living in tents.
    Two months ago a War Department directive specifying what baggage prisoners of war might take home alerted the Germans at the camp. The strain of planning for long-awaited repatriation has hindered the re-education work.
    The American people themselves have hindered the indoctrination of the prisoners. Complaints of coddling of prisoners, often made in good faith but often without basis of fact, have resulted in log-rolling in higher political circles, and this has tended to retard full development of the program.
    A big mistake was made at the outset in not selecting men and officers for the program who could talk to the Germans in their own language. Lt. Fahey admits that this has been a big handicap to him.
    Prisoners who speak and read English have a surprisingly good knowledge of what is going on in America. They exhibit considerable pride in having learned so much without being able to get outside the prison compound. Several of them told me they would like to learn more about this country. That, obviously, is impossible.
    But despite our failure to take full advantage of the opportunity to indoctrinate these people into the ways of American life many of them will go home, they say, with facts that have made a deep impression on them.
    One of them answered three questions for me in this fashion:
    Question: Were you told in Germany that the democracies were too soft to fight?
    Answer: Nobody expected America to fight in Europe. We thought you were too busy enjoying your movies, your golf and your ice cream, and that business reasons would keep you from fighting in Europe.
    Question: Do you still believe that?
    Answer: We changed our opinion very fast, I think, first, when we saw your air power. We didn't have a chance in Africa.
    Question: Do you think it has now been proved that the democracies can and will fight?
    Answer: We realize now that the people of a democracy will fight whenever their liberty or independence are in danger.
    If they realize only that much, and if we are able to teach them no more, perhaps we can rest on that for the present.
Oregonian, Portland, October 2, 1945, page 5


    Camp White, Oct. 2.--Camp White lost its second post commander in three weeks when Lt. Col. Lou J. Farber was assigned today to new duties placing him in command of Service Command Unit 1984 at Pomona, Cal.
    Previously at the helm of the prisoner-of-war camp since August, 1944, he succeeded Col. John R. Young on Sept. 11 as commanding officer of Camp White and 1913 SCU while still retaining his position as PW camp head.
    Col. Farber will be the guest of honor this evening at a farewell party tendered him by officers of Camp White. He will leave for Pomona tomorrow to assume his new post.
    No announcement was made of a successor to Lt. Col. Farber.
Medford Mail Tribune, October 2, 1945, page 1


    It is apparent to one who reads the now concluded series of articles [above] in the Oregonian by Herman Edwards, staff military writer, that few German prisoners of war will return to the fatherland as vigorous proponents of democratic government in Germany. They do not accept German war guilt; they renounce Nazism, if at all, with tongues in cheeks; they say they want free speech, free press and self-determination, but they fear communism and Russia and they say that Germany cannot survive as a democracy.
    If the attitude of the prisoners of war at Camp White reflects to any considerable extent the feelings of other Germans, it is evident that Germany is ripe for emergence of another dangerous experiment in government based on fear, hatred and the unsuppressed belief in the superiority of race. It is an experiment the world cannot risk.
    Mr. Edwards' investigation led him to the conclusion that the United States has not made the most of its opportunity to convert German prisoners to democracy and peace. We have not made sufficient impression on the tough-minded Germans, who will expect in due time to resume domination of their Milquetoast countrymen. Their renunciation of Nazism and of leadership which failed means nothing.
    That these prisoners taken in Africa and Normandy saw most of the victories and few defeats of the German army, and little if any of the terrific destruction of the homeland, has only relative significance. The United Nations have a long and uncertain road to travel before the German people will have earned the right to freedom and self-determination. If the Germans will not accept the obvious, domination by their conquerors becomes a necessity.
Oregonian, Portland, October 3, 1945, page 10


    Camp White, Oct. 5--(U.P.)--Capt. Henry J. Pauls of Fayetteville, N.C., has been named to succeed Lt. Col. Lou J. Farber as commanding officer of the prisoner-of-war camp at Camp White, it was announced today. Capt. Pauls has been assigned to the prisoner-of-war camp since April, 1944, as adjutant, and last May became its executive and compound officer.
Medford Mail Tribune, October 5, 1945, page 3


    About 900 German prisoners of war stationed at Camp White have been sent to the Tule Lake area, where they will aid in the potato harvest, it was learned today. They will return to Camp White when the harvest is completed. A few prisoners were retained for "housework" around the camp and at the naval hospital, and a few are assisting in the packing plants and orchards.
Medford Mail Tribune, October 9, 1945, page 10


    That we have been particularly favored is most apparent today when we compare our lot with that of so many millions throughout the world, especially those whose lands and lives have fallen under the rule of alien and despotic foes.
    Consider, for instance, the plight of a German who was captured by American forces during World War II, was brought to this country and kept for a time in the stockade at Camp White. "August," as we shall call him, served as an interpreter for prisoner of war crews which helped harvest the fruit crop here when PW's were used for that purpose. August was returned to his country after the war, but as his home was in the Russian occupation zone his life has been subject to the continual harassment which the Communists have seen fit to deal out to the captive peoples behind the iron curtain.
    August became acquainted with a Medford man during his time here and letters have been exchanged from time to time. The correspondence has been infrequent because of the rigid censorship imposed by the Russians and the fact that the German's letters have gotten out of Germany only through underground channels via West Berlin.
"Much To Be Thankful For," Medford Mail Tribune, November 26, 1953, page 4


    A former German prisoner of war, now an American, who spent some two years at the Camp White POW installation in 1945 and '46, wants to come back to the Rogue Valley.
    He has written the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce for advice on how to go about securing a job. His name is Theodore H. Zink, and his address is 2736 North Menard Ave., Chicago 39, Ill.
    His letter follows:
Gentlemen:
    Ever since the years of 1945 and 1946, when I came to love your part of the country while I was a prisoner of war at Camp White, I have been dreaming of moving my family, of 5, to Medford or its vicinity.
    As time goes on I am beginning to question whether I will ever make it, since high rents and high prices here continually manage to eat up my paycheck and I therefore can't quite see myself leave my family behind in hopes of finding a place to live and a job to work at in Medford.
    By trade I am a metals-chemist, which is certainly a lost cause in Medford, but I have a good deal of experience as a service station mechanic and in the retail merchandising field. But as far as that goes, I am quite willing to do just about anything in order to make a decent living for my family and to live where I want to be.
    Some day, so I dream, I'd like to own a few acres of land somewhere around Medford with a house of my own, no matter how small or insignificant, for after all these years of travel in Europe and in this country of ours, I have come to the conclusion that this is where I want to be; and if you live where your heart is, it is of little consequence how you earn your living and what your social standing may be!
    I wonder just how many people in your area are aware of the hundreds of envious people in this big pile of rocks--people who would gladly change their station with the least of you?
    But--again and again we tell ourselves: "They don't really want us and as it is, their labor situation is probably worse than ours. How do we stand a chance to get started and keep going?"
    Gentlemen: Please tell me, is that a fact, or are we just frightening ourselves needlessly?
Medford Mail Tribune, January 30, 1955, page 3


    Werner Baecker, of Hamburg, Germany, who was a prisoner of war at Camp White in World War II, will arrive in Medford by plane at 9:50 a.m. Friday.
    Under the sponsorship of the Governmental Affairs Institute of Washington, D.C., he is on a tour of the United States, and has indicated a great interest in seeing this area again as a free citizen.
    After his release as a prisoner of war, Baecker entered radio training school, and later became editor in North West German Radio assigned to social welfare, POWs, and refugees from the East.
    In 1952 he received a year's contract with BBC in London and presented talks, features and plays on the European service. He also served as German TV commentator during the coronation of Elizabeth II.
    At present, Baecker, who is 37, prepares and delivers a daily news commentary, Echo des Tages Daily (Echoes) to an audience of nearly 8,000,000.
    Baecker's chief interests in the United States, his sponsors said, are in meeting editors of programs similar to his own, and getting acquainted with American youth problems, medical research (especially polio and cancer treatments), and drama.
    During his two-day stay in Medford, Baecker will stay at the Jackson Hotel. Anyone who may have had contact with him while he was a POW, or who is interested in seeing him may contact Mark Goldy, head of the World Affairs Council of Southern Oregon.
    The German visitor will leave for Portland on the 7:08 p.m. train Saturday to continue his tour.
Medford Mail Tribune, June 8, 1955, page 1


    A recorded interview between Werner Baecker, of Hamburg, Germany, who was a prisoner of war at Camp White during World War II, and James Dunlevy, manager of radio station KYJC, will be broadcast over the station Saturday, June 11, at 10:30 a.m.
    Baecker, currently representing the northwest German network, is in America to gather information from radio and television operations with the idea of improving service in northwest Germany. Though radio there operates in similar ways, it is maintained through taxes on each receiving set, Baecker said. While in the valley as a POW he studied journalism by correspondence course from the University of Oregon.
Medford Mail Tribune, June 10, 1955, page 14


    Werner Baecker, a 36-year-old German radio announcer and commentator, spent most of Friday and Saturday in and around Medford, visiting the area where he was a prisoner of war just 11 years ago.
    On a tour of the United States under the sponsorship of the Governmental Affairs Institute, Washington, D.C., Baecker has visited New York, Washington and San Francisco so far on his trip, but Medford is the only "small city" on his itinerary. He had expressed a specific desire to see the Camp White area where he spent a number of months as a POW.
    Arriving by plane Friday morning, he was met by Mark Goldy, who as chairman of the World Affairs Council here acted as his host. During the two days he visited Camp White, was entertained by several groups, and toured some of the valley areas where he worked as a POW. He was interviewed by James Dunlevy for a KYJC radio broadcast.
    During conversations Saturday, Baecker expressed himself in fluent English on a variety of subjects. He displayed a wristwatch, which he purchased in Medford as a prisoner and still wears. He mentioned that a radio broadcast from Camp White which he watched in 1945 was the first he ever saw, and that this and a correspondence course in journalism from the University of Oregon led him into a highly successful career in radio journalism in Europe.
    Baecker was enthusiastic about the type of exchange program which brought him to this country, saying that it was one of the most effective methods of cementing international friendships. He said he hopes that it can be broadened so that young Americans in greater numbers can go abroad, as well as residents of other countries visiting the United States.
    Since Germany is right next to the Red army, and there is a constant stream of refugees entering the Federal Republic of Germany from the East, Baecker said there is no danger of the West Germans being taken in by Communist propaganda.
    "The tanks of the Red army are only 30 miles from my home," Baecker, who lives in Hamburg, explained.
    He added that a majority of Germans seem to be in favor of rearming their nation because they know that the freedom of the West must be protected, and can be protected only by strength. It is only the younger generation, which has grown up since the war, that is dubious about army service, he said. He added that they lack the realization of what they have to lose.
    Baecker at one time proposed that the new German army be trained in the United States, where it would have the influence of democratic procedures, and might better get away from the old Prussian tendencies so long identified with German militarism. While this proposal appears impossible, he said, he still hopes that the new army can be built along democratic lines, with civilians in control at the top, as in the United States.
    Virtually all West Germans give at least lip service to the ideal of unification with East Germany, he said, but he doubts that the Russians will ever permit unification on acceptable terms. There is a strong but largely unspoken sentiment against unification too soon, he said, for it would have a serious impact on the booming economy of West Germany.
    "Say you are living comfortably in your own home, and suddenly seven poor relatives came to live with you," he said, giving this as a simile of what might happen if Germany were unified overnight.
    Germans and Americans seem to be attracted to each other by an attraction for efficiency, and a certain materialism, Baecker indicated, saying that the two nations had much in common.
    The involvement of Germany in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Steel and Coal Community lays the groundwork for the possible eventual fulfillment of the ideal of a United States of Europe, Baecker said. But he added that something in the realm of common ideals and understanding must be added to the military and economic alliances before greater real unity can be achieved.
    During his tour he is writing articles for the North West German radio, which are mailed back and broadcast several times each week.
    His radio organization, Baecker said, usually broadcasts all night long, for residents of East Germany can more easily listen to banned radio broadcasts at that time. News broadcasts are made at different times of the night to avoid jamming by Communist radio technicians.
    Baecker left for Portland by train Saturday night.
Medford Mail Tribune, June 12, 1955, page 13


    Many roads lead to Medford, but the longest, the strangest and in all likelihood the most inspiring, was taken after the close of World War II by Heinz Bertram of 1298 Sunset Ave.
    Bertram was a German prisoner of war at Camp White during the closing days of the war and since then, with the Rogue Valley in his mind, he has returned to his native land, has married, has escaped the Communist domination of East Germany, and has returned here.
    He is now on his way to acquiring American citizenship.
    Speaking Monday at the round table luncheon at the Jackson Hotel, Bertram explained that as a prisoner of war he had found the local surroundings pleasant and the climate healthy and that in the year he spent at Camp White he made up his mind to return.
    It took him seven years to make it back. But he and his wife, Edith, have been here for five years now, and both hope soon to become naturalized citizens of the United States.
    Bertram is the proprietor of Lindenpark Upholstery at 917 West McAndrews Rd.
    He was born in central Germany, he explained, and joined the German Air Force at the age of 17. He was taken prisoner in North Africa and sent to England as a prisoner of war.
    From England he was brought to this country and spent time at camps in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Washington, in addition to Camp White.
    After the war he returned to Germany--reluctantly, he said--and began the long process of coming back to the United States.
    His home, where his parents still live, was in Russian-occupied Germany. It was necessary to cross the guarded border into Western Germany to apply for a visa to this country.
    Crossing from the Russian area entailed a 30-mile walk, by night, while he hid in the daytime. After making the trip once, Bertram had to re-cross into the Russian zone when his fiance became ill.
    Afterwards they both crossed again, this time as man and wife. Bertram was caught once by the Russians, but he said he was only detained a couple of hours.
    One of the hardships he was put through as a result of the time he had spent in the United States was a "volunteer" six-month stint in a uranium mine. Bertram said that when he returned home government officials, fearing he had become democracy-oriented, asked him to prove he was a "good citizen" of the new society. A half-year of mining followed.
    Bertram said he had to wait two years for a visa to the United States while he was thoroughly investigated.
    The main difference between this country and his previous home, he said, is the standard of living of the average citizen.
    In Germany, he said, only the "very rich" have such things as cars, refrigerators and deep freezes. When he writes to his friends who have remained in Germany, they don't believe him, he said.
    They accused him of borrowing a rich man's car to pose in front of for the picture.
Medford Mail Tribune, August 26, 1959, page 26


    Television Germany's American correspondent, Werner Baecker, is filming two documentary shows in El Paso.
    Baecker, a youthful-looking commentator who enjoys living in America, first came to the United States in 1943 as a prisoner of war--he was held in the PW camp at Roswell, N.M.
    Baecker has been the German network's New York-based correspondent since 1960.
    "We produce regular programs for the network," he said. "Most of them are political, but they also are entertaining.
    "I am a writer," he said. "I write the shows and give the dialogue.
    "We are working on 'GI Joe, 1966,' which really shows the very serious effort of the United States to fulfill its commitment in Viet Nam," he said, adding, "The minority dissent will be presented, too, otherwise, I would not be very much of a journalist."
    The program which will be presented March 22 to German viewers, he explained, follows one college youth, Michael J. Frame, 22, from his home in Long Beach, Calif., to his basic training at Ft. Bliss. The scenes include Frame in college, his father working in a fire station, his mother in her real estate business, his parting with his girlfriend, a farewell party in a tavern, the bus station in Long Beach, the Los Angeles recruiting center and the train trip to El Paso.
    "We are still in the first days of his basic training here," Baecker stated.
    "What you really see is the transition of a teenaged boy from a comfortable society to basic training at Ft. Bliss.
    "The German mind automatically doubts that a boy from a spoiled background can become a good soldier," he said, adding his message is "this boy has all the things a German teenager may not have--an automobile, parties, a soft life--but despite this he can do it."
    Besides, "there is nothing more interesting for people to watch than what other people do--that is why I believe this program is going to be a success," he declared.
    Baecker said the cooperation he and his staff have received has been beyond their expectations so they decided to stay longer than scheduled and are filming another documentary program on El Paso for his network's Sunday show, "Mirror of the World."
    The film about El Paso, he said, "will give an idea of the friendly border, the solution to the Chamizal dispute and to stress that El Paso is going to be the first city in the United States to be host of an altogether foreign military establishment (the new German missile school which will be staffed only by Germans)."
    Baecker was born in 1921 in a small community near the city of Cologne in western Germany. He was inducted into the German army as an enlisted man in 1938 at the age of 17.
    "I have never been an officer--which turned out to be quite favorable--when I was captured the Americans assumed every officer was a Nazi," he commented.
    He served in the Afrika Korps during World War II under Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. He became a prisoner in May, 1943, in Tunisia and was then shipped to the PW camp at Roswell.
    "In Roswell I spoke three words of English, so they immediately made me an interpreter," he said.
    "We had difficulties in Roswell," he said. "The Germans did not like that work in the cotton fields, but did great jobs in motor pools, work shops, mess halls and such as that.
    "The Americans created a so-called quota system to pick a certain amount of cotton to make 80 cents a day," he said, explaining the prisoners were paid in coupons which they could save--they had savings accounts--or could spend in the prisoner camp PX.
    After eight months in the Roswell PW camp, Baecker's unit was transferred to Camp White, Ore.
    "I began my journalism career by publishing the camp newspapers for prisoners in Roswell and later at Camp White," Baecker recalled.
    "I took a correspondence course in journalism from the University of Oregon.
    "The dean of the journalism school, a Prof. Turnbull, wrote a note on one of my papers: 'Hope you keep on writing'--this encouraged me," Werner said.
    "I was released in 1946 and went immediately to a so-called radio training school in Hamburg, set up by the British military government."
    He said he was one of 24 students selected for the school from 12,000 applications. Young people were in demand for radio training, as the British had dismissed the older radio employees who were affiliated with the Nazi government.
    Baecker said he returned to Roswell three years ago to visit the PW camp site--then only concrete slabs remained where the prison camp buildings stood--to film a documentary on changing America.
    He first came to El Paso in 1955, when Fred Hervey was mayor, on a State Department-sponsored tour, and returned in 1964 to film a documentary program "The Other America," which was a documentary program on the Barry Goldwater presidential campaign and the conservative political phenomena of Western America.
    "The conservative philosophy of America is better explained in this part of the country than in the East," he stated. "Here there is the old tradition of America in the wide-open spaces.
    "Fred Hervey is a model of the self-made man--the seller of popcorn and hot dogs--you have to admire how he thinks, how he explains.
    "When people in Europe think of America, they think of New York and Boston.
    "Probably more true Americans are not in the East--as we think of them. The Americana, private enterprise and so forth."
El Paso Times, Texas, January 30, 1966, page 8

Last revised August 14, 2026