WW2 Era Postcard Sent by German POW in Missouri to His Family Back in Germany.

This postcard was written by a Fritz Darge. He was previously a German Soldier but had been captured and brought back to the U.S. to the Prisoner Of War Camp in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Fort Leonard Wood held POW’s from Germany, Italy, and Japan. The majority of Germans in the camp were captured in North Africa in 1943.


The postcard reads:


“ My dearest little wife, my sweet boy, and all my loved ones. Yesterday, after a long time, I was fortunate to receive a cherished letter from you, my darling, dated 08.12. My joy was, as always, very great, and I thank you sincerely. I am glad to know that you, Ralph(?), and all our loved ones are still well and healthy, and I hope this is still the case.


Hopefully, my dear mother is also well again, and Hans has overcome his disappointment.


Still healthy myself, I send you warm greetings and kisses, Your loving father. 25.03.1944 “.


After the war ended, Fritz would have been allowed to return home to his family in Germany.

 

Reminds me of a thread i might post.

 

1 of 1001 reasons that the allies won WWII is that in 1944 as a POW in the USA, you could send word back to your family in Germany that you were alive and well and hoped to see them soon.

 

Amazing how long the postcard is. The Germans limited our guys who were PoWS to a few words. Guess the German censors didn't want to read too much.

 

"I didn't die at Stalingrad because I was a POW in Arkansas."

Near Berlin, there is a family bible with things like “Russland 1942”, “Frankreich 1944”, “Is Nicht Bekannt 1945” after the names

 

More than one German papa told his son to surrender to the Americans. One German reflected, "Papa was right."