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Chapter 4 Love Thy Enemy: Coddling, Segregating, and Fraternizing with German POWs I’ve got no love for these blankety-blanks. When I first came here, it made me sore to see how well we treat them. But my father got word last month that my brother Phil is a prisoner of the Germans. If we treat these fellows here bad, Phil will take the rap for it. So now, whenever I do something for these blankety-blanks, I just figure I am doing it for Phil. —Anonymous American solider Americans reacted to the housing of the German POWs with mixed emotions.1 The number of injuries and deaths of American boys overseas continued to rise and the army discovered evidence of German military atrocities. GIs taken captive by the enemy suffered torture and deprivation while POWs held by the United States enjoyed dry clothes and warm food. News of POW escapes, violence , and mischief reached the public through the press, police dispatches, military releases, and the rumor mill. Confidential information sometimes leaked out of the camps; often it poured out. The local prisoner of war camps usually created the biggest news for the area communities and proved irksome for citizens whose family members were away at war. An American public that already hated the German enemy and especially the Nazi scourge became incensed at the activities of the Nazis “next door.” The actions of a few prisoners brought much negative attention to all German POWs. Citizens charged the military with coddling the enemy and complained bitterly about this treatment in newspapers and to politicians. Camp guards often expressed their anger toward the POWs more directly and violently. In the midst of this distrust, misunderstanding, and violence, the reactions also ran to the other end of the spectrum. Guards allegedly escorted POWs out on the town and engaged in drinking parties. Employers allowed prisoners to 56 Love Thy Enemy roam freely and invited them to dine at their houses. POWs engaged in sexual activities with their female co-workers. These charges of fraternization fed directly into the accusations of coddling. Military officials used the Geneva Convention as a defense of humane treatment but at the same time investigated and took measures to end the problems in the camps. POWs’ fraternization with civilians and guards presented a problem, and army regulations forbade it. The cooperative attitude of many war prisoners, their hard-working nature, and the fact that some of the Americans either felt sorry for them or themselves were of German ancestry made preventing these relationships difficult.2 In many cases, guards and camp officials fostered friendships to prevent problems within the camps. These attitudes made POWs more cooperative in camp life, labor, and providing information to the U.S. officials. The actions of the guards colored the reactions of the POWs. Leonhard Reul, a former German POW, recalled that “we always got along well with our American guards.” He remembered one guard who “was a colorful character who used to say ‘Fuck the army’ or ‘You damn Germans make me sick. Instead of watching you sons of bitches, I could be at home making a lot of money.’ I used to cool him down by telling him at least he didn’t have to go to the front line.” Reul added that “we Germans were never offended by his crude remarks because we too were familiar with a trooper’s tongue.”3 Former POW Alfred Schmucker, who spent time in Arizona and California camps, commented on the lack of respect GIs gave American officers: “Many times we noticed that a GI did not take his hands out of his pockets while talking to an officer. We are all human beings; there are good ones and bad ones, there are intelligent ones and there are dummies. That applied to the prisoners as well as to the guards.”4 Schmucker recalled the limited interaction with the guards on work details because of “the language barrier which prevented the exchange of a meaningful conversation.” In addition, “during their 8-hour shift, there was nothing for them to do but to stand around, sometimes in other people’s way.”5 At other times mutual respect and friendship formed the basis of the relationships between guards and POWs. Former POW Heinrich Kersting remembered playing ping-pong with the guards and the friendly competition the guards arranged between POWs. He became friends with his civilian employer Elmar Ruehling. Kersting told Ruehling that he met his...

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