Written by Clay Riley – This interview took place in Germany on August 11th, 2007. In his own words, Heinrich Krahforst tells of his experiences as a Prisoner of War, who was held at Camp Bowie, Brownwood, Texas.
Heinrich was one of more than 3,000 POWs held at Camp Bowie. Most of the prisoners were captured in North Africa, part of Rommel’s Afrika Corp. Geneva Convention rules stated that prisoners were to be kept in similar climate to the area in which they were captured. Apparently, Brownwood’s climate is similar to North Africa.
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Now the interview, in his own words:
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“I was 22 years old when I arrived at Camp Bowie. We had arrived by boat in New York City where they put us on a train. It took us days to get to Texas. I was with the first ones to arrive there.
We were about 3,000 German prisoners-of-war and were divided into three groups and taken to three different sections of the camp: two groups of 1,000 prisoners each and 1 group of sergeants and other soldiers with higher rankings (Unteroffiziere and Feldwebel).
We were treated very well, and they always gave us plenty of food. We came from all parts of Germany, and I had plenty of friends there. The barracks we stayed in were clean and nice; a group of 14 prisoners lived in each barrack.
The first half year, we were not allowed to work there, but they encouraged us to improve our living conditions in the barracks and do some landscaping in the front yards. Actually, they even gave away an award for the most beautiful front yard. At the beginning, we were all sleeping on camp-beds. They were terrible and fell apart quickly.
They then gave us real beds made out of iron and real mattresses which were very comfortable, it was like staying at a hotel! At the beginning, they put us in some ugly uniforms which we hated. We soon discovered a building where they kept some nice clothes for the American soldiers. One by one, we sneaked in, took some of those clothes, put them on and walked around with them. They soon realized what we had done, but nobody ever said a word. A couple of weeks later, we were all dressed neatly, we looked pretty handsome!
Each barrack had its own soccer team, and each Sunday we played soccer, they had a soccer field at the camp. After a while, we got pretty competitive. Our team was team PW8. During the week, we were all looking forward to the next soccer game on Sunday. When it was somebody’s birthday, we always had a big party in the evening. The person whose birthday it was had to organize a case of beer.
It was American beer, however; Well, try to get drunk with that beer! It was funny: In the town of Brownwood, it was prohibited to drink beer, but we, as prisoners-of-war, were able to!
We were able to learn English at the camp. There were two Germans who spoke it very well, they taught us. I took 2 classes and was finally able to communicate quite well.
After half a year, we were allowed to work. It was my job to mow the lawn and build pathways. My main job was, however, to work at the telephone office. My boss was Major Schroder, he spoke German fluently. Oh, what a fine man he was! Always friendly, always treated me so well. I earned $28 a month.
Every day, a messenger came by to bring us things. One day, he had to drop off something in town. He took me with him, that was the first and only time I ever saw the town of Brownwood.
The telephone office was right next to the photo laboratory. They had a puppy there I got quite fond of and played with every day during my lunch break.
We were able to buy quite a few things at the camp such as beer, cookies, chocolate and cigarettes. This was wonderful!
I was even able to buy two wedding bands there. Unfortunately, the one I bought for my wife didn’t fit later on, but she still keeps it in her jewelry box, it is of very good American gold. I didn’t spend all my money there though, when I left the United States, I had saved $132.
I had one good friend at the camp, his name was Sternjakob. He was from Oberzissen and worked in the kitchen, he was a baker. After I left Camp Bowie, I lost touch with him, I never saw him again.
In 2005, I had to go to hospital for a surgery on my knee. I had to share a room with this other gentleman: It was Sternjakob!
I stayed at Camp Bowie for 2 years, then I went to Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan for another year. We worked in the fields for the farmers, in Wisconsin I had to pick potatoes.
I liked it in the United States so much that I tried to stay there, but they wouldn’t let us. Many of my friends wanted to stay there, too. They told us though that we had to go to Germany first and then come back as immigrants. One night, they put us on a train and sent us to New York City where they put us on a boat.
They told us that we were free now and would be sent to Germany. Well, they lied to us – we were sent to France where we were also held as prisoners-of-war. Life wasn’t as nice there as it had been in the US, it was very tough.
When I left the US, I took with me a lot of things I had been able to buy: chocolate, cigars for my uncle, the wedding bands and the money I had saved.
When we arrived in France, however, they took everything away from us. I was lucky though, I had hidden the money and the wedding bands so well that they didn’t find them. I was able to escape from the prisoners’ camp with the help of a cute French girl.
It took me weeks to walk to my hometown Oedingen which is near Bonn. When I got close to it, I heard though that it was under French occupation which meant that I couldn’t go back to my family there. The French soldiers would have taken me back to the prisoners’ camp.
I therefore decided to stay at a town called Berkum which is about 5 km from my hometown, it was under British occupation. I got a job as a truck driver and met my wife there in 1947. We got married on May 21st, 1949.
When the French left, I was finally able to go back to my hometown and work at my Dad’s construction company.
After we got our new currency in Germany – the Deutschmark – I went to the bank and got 450 Deutschmarks for the 132 dollars that I had saved in the US. My wife and I bought our first bedroom furniture with that money.
I still think a lot about my time in the United States. I do remember everything very well, and I still speak some English. I have some very good memories of that time, although I stayed there as a POW.
I want to thank the people of the United States for treating me so well in their country during that time.” ~ Henirich Krahforst
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Many prisoners were allowed to work in Brownwood, riding buses from the camp to town each work day. Although many wanted to remain in the United States after the war, they were not allowed, since the same Geneva Convention rules, required them to be returned to their native country.
SS and SA members were housed in a separate area of the compound and monitored closely. They did not have the same privileges as the other prisoners. They were a danger to the other prisoners, as evidenced to several deaths, due to unusual circumstances, most likely because of collaboration with the American military.
Camp Bowie also had a separate prison or stockade, which housed American military prisoners from different camps and bases in the 8th Army area, which included Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and New Mexico.
Thanks to the work of local Camp Bowie historian, Georgia Rogers, who is no longer with us, we have these records available in the branch library downtown. These records list every prisoner held at Camp Bowie. The records include; name, rank, birth city, date of birth, and any special detachments in the German Army.
This and many other stories are available at the Brownwood Public Library – Local History & Genealogy Branch at 213 S. Broadway. Volunteers from the Pecan Valley Genealogical Society are there to assist you in your family or local history research.
Clay Riley is a local historian and retired Aerospace Engineer that has been involved in the Historical and Genealogical Community of Brown County for over 20 years.
Should you have a comment, or a question that he may be able to answer in future columns, he can be reached at; [email protected].