Missing The Boat: War Stories of Thomas Alan Dirkin

66 winter is cold, similar to the Midwest in the USA. Average temperatures in January are below freezing with average low temperatures in the 23F/-5C range. Of course, many days saw temperatures in the single digits. My father said that he personally witnessed men who froze to death at the work site. Nearing end of the war, the winter of 1945 was the coldest winter in 50 years with temperatures dropping into -15F/-26C. Life at Lamsdorf/Stalag VIIIB was far from a holiday camp atmosphere! Sean Longden’s book details the reality of camp life. The title of his book Hitler’s German Slaves is about men working without rights or freedom, with no perception of returning home. The latter point was emphasized in the early years of the war by the German guards. The POWs of the Third Reich were here for the rest of their lives. I would recommend reading the books referenced here to get a comprehensive understanding of life in Stalag VIII, regarded as one of the tougher camps in the German POW system. All men were covered in lice and fleas, they bathed infrequently, nearly all had chronic diarrhea and were incontinent. Men would line up for use of an open trench to squat and eliminate the sickly smelling contents of their bowels. Lining up could take as long as an hour or longer. Men would often rejoin the end of the line and start the process all over again as their intestinal cramps cycled through. My father told me that the smell in the warmer months was staggering. The whole camp in the summer was infested with flies. In the first year, lack of food was the primary issue. Even on a “good” day 1000-1500 calories was as much as was provided. This was for men doing hard labor in work details. The quality of the food was disgusting. Soup was made of vegetable peelings, rotten potatoes, and on occasion, animal parts, including horses heads, that were of no use to other humans. Moldy black bread was the other staple. My father was sure that eating the mold helped him stay heathy because of the relationship between mold and penicillin. If a placebo effect worked for him, I am glad!