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Stalag 3B Prisoner of War Camp
Stalag 3b was located at Fürstenberg a.d. Oder in Germany.
22nd Jul 1941 Parcels
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Want to know more about Stalag 3B Prisoner of War Camp? There are:2 items tagged Stalag 3B Prisoner of War Camp available in our Library
These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War. |
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Sgt. Virly Elmo Azbill My grandfather, Sgt. Virly Elmo Azbill, was cycled through Stalag 7A as it was his first stop. He later spent most of his time as a POW in Stalag 3B. He, and a lot of other soldiers captured at Salerno, Italy went through Stalag 7A and he recalled how, after having little to eat or drink during the railroad transfer to 7A, the Airmen there provided them with some cigarettes and also gave up their potato rations for a day to make certain that all of the newly arriving prisoners ate. I am currently working on my grandfather's memoirs and hope to find a publisher for them.
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Francis Gorgen Gorgen My grandfather was captured at Kasserine and sent to Stalag 3B and then Stalag 3A. His name is Francis Gorgen. He spent the war as a POW and was liberated by the Russians. He never spoke of any of the experiences he endured, but did curse the Red Cross for trading items meant for the POWs to the Germans. Any info about Stalag 3A or B would be appreciated.
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Marion Jacobs My great uncle's name was Marion Jacobs and he escaped from Stalag 3b during the spring of 1945 just before the russians bombed it. I was wondering if anyone was with him and could share stories? I know that they were picked up by some war correspondents and there story made the newspaper, but that is about all I know. Eager to hear from anyone who may have known him to find out details concerning his time as a POW.
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Andrew J. Lesyinski I am currently working on the family history for Andrew J. Lesyinski. Corporal Lesyinski was a POW at 3b from Oct '43 to June '45, as listed by the National Archives Database in the USA. He passed away in 1980 and I am eager to learn more about him and about the camp. I was delighted to find your website and appreciate what you are doing.
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Thomas Lester Fort My uncle Tom Fort was in Stalag 3B.
He came home a very angry and confused man, not the man that we knew who was gentle and kind. If anyone has any information I would appreciate it.
Thank you.
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2Cl. Zacharja Kuper 2nd REM Originally from Poland, Zacharja Kuper emigrated to France in 1926. He enlisted for the duration of the war in 1939 and was held as a Prisoner in Stalag IIIB. His parents, brothers, sisters and nephews were deported.
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Dvr. George Douglas "Sticks" Randall Royal Army Service Corps      Dad, Douglas Randall was a POW for the whole six years after being captured at the beginning of the war. He was driving the Padre somewhere in France when he got stopped by German soldiers. He had his front teeth knocked out by the butt of a gun. They shot the padre and made Doug dig his grave. All the time he was thinking he was digging his own grave too. He buried the padre and was taken to a POW camp. He was in several camps during this time. The four camps that I know of were, Friegegeben Stalag IIID, Stalag XXA, Stalag XXB & Blechhammer E3.
He was on the long walk to a camp in Poland in which many died. He was always called Doug as his father was named George but his nickname was Sticks as he was a drummer and performed in the camp entertainment shows.
My father said he was treated well by his captors.
Dad was on a re-union committee for ex pows from Blechhammer E3 camp after the war and was chosen to host a visit from a German Prince as a good relations exercise. So Prince Hohenlohe came to stay with my Mum & Dad in their tiny house in London.
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PFC. Raymond Walter Ochs My uncle, Raymond Ochs (1916-1996), was a prisoner at Stalag 3b from 1943-45. I interviewed him while I was in college as he (like my dad) was reluctant to talk about WWII.
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LAC. Cyril Pellowe Cyril Pellowe was my dad.
He was a prisoner of war in Stalag 3b.
He didn't talk a lot about this time, just little things now and then.
He was in the Air Force and was taken prisoner on the island of Kos. He said that all the prisoners gave anything they had to the children before it was taken by the Germans.
When they were in the prison camp they were given injections using a cartridge pen and swapped some of their things from Red Cross parcels with the guards.
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T4 Ernest Ignace Lorette 191st Tank Btn Infantry     Ernest Lorette was my great uncle. He served with the US Army Infantry 191st Tank Battalion in WW2.
I was recently given papers that had belonged to my step-grandmother, Edith Lorette. She had saved numerous newspaper articles and letters received by my grandfather, Edmond, in reply to his inquiries of the status of his brother, Ernest. Further, Ernest appears in the National Archives WWII Prisoners of War Data File, 7th of December 1941 - 19th of November 1946. In that file, Ernest is listed as having been a POW at Stalag 3B Furstenberg Brandenburg, Prussia. He was captured September 1943 and was released June 1945.
A letter received from Headquarters, 191st Tank Battalion by my grandfather and dated 11th of November 1943 states the following:
"The battalion was engaging the enemy when the tank in which T/4 Lorette was riding, was hit by a shell. Your brother was the first man to leave the tank and since we have several witnesses to this we are satisfied that he was not injured. However, he saw that all the men were not leaving the vehicle so he went back into the tank to help a man with a leg wound. He was again seen leaving the tank with this man and was last observed dressing his wounds in a field. Latest information is that the man he was helping was captured by the enemy and is at the time a prisoner of war. We are in hopes that T/4 is with him but have nor received word to substantiate this."
Then my grandmother received a telegram from the Adjutant General confirming he was reported missing 3rd of September 1943 in the North African area which included Casino, Italy where Ernest was taken prisoner.
His last known assignment was with the African Army of Occupation as a tank instructor. He was 25 years old.
Patricia Lorette Phillips
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Sgt. Leonard Melvin Rock 9th Division We know Leonard Rock was captured in Tunisia, by Rommel. He escaped at one point, but was betrayed and returned to the Germans. He was reported as killed in action. His family believed him dead until, upon liberation from Stalag 3b, a ham operator who got his name and state of residence, was able to get word to his family that he was alive.
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SSG. Charlie H. Little Company D. 4th Infantry Regiment  Charlie Little enlisted on the 5th of Nov. 1941 at Fort Bragg, NC, Became a Staff Sergeant in Company D Fourth Infantry.
He was in the African Middle Eastern theater and then part of the invasion of Italy where he was captured. He told me he and another soldier became separated from his company and hid in a bomb creator. The other soldier fell asleep and began to snore. The noise gave them away and the other soldier refused to be captured and was killed. Dad was put on a train and ended up in Stalag 3b.
According to my Dad, cigarettes and chocolate from the Red Cross packages were used to trade for items to build a crystal radio from the German guards. Each part was kept by a POW for safe keeping during the day. At night they would put it together and listen to the news. The German guard propaganda was that the Allies had lost the war but the POWs knew different. One day the guards just left the camp. While listening to the radio they knew Germany had lost. They were able to locate the nearest US troop location. A small group including my dad chose to leave the camp and found the US troops and were liberated.
He was awarded the Bronze Star and the Good Conduct medals. Lillie Charlene Little Clay
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Staff Sgt. Reuben Horace Summerhill 1st Armored Division Rueben Summerhill was captured in February of 1943 at the Battle of Kassarine Pass in Tunisia.
He was good friends with -- Deaton. They were separated at the battle, but reunited in Stalag 3B.
Rueben was first sent to Italy and used as forced labor. Then he was sent to Germany to Stalag 7A. Soon he was in Stalag 3B where he spent most of the war. He was a POW for 26 months.
Just before the Russian Army liberated Stalag 3B, a Russian Sergeant made friends with Rueben because Rueben had shared food with Russian POWs. The Sergeant helped arrange for Rueben and a few others to take a firewood wagon out of the camp, escaping before the Russian Army held American POWs for barter power.
It took Rueben three weeks of walking at night west across Germany and hiding in the day to reach the American forces. He stayed in France, recuperating and then returned to the Arlington Hotel in Hot Springs, Arkansas, to further recuperate, having lost more than eighty pounds.
He remained in the Army for his career, retiring in 1951 having spent 21 years in.
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Pte. Charles Edward Morrison 17th Field Artilley Group    My Uncle, Ed Morrison, was stationed in Tunisia, North Africa with the 17th Field Artillery Group. These undermanned Allies were overwhelmed by a large Nazi contingent under the Leadership of German Field Marshall Erwin Rommel and his Nazi Afrika Korps.
Ed was captured by the German attack force on 14th of February 1943. After several relocations, including attacks on German aircraft he was in by American pilots unaware their fellow soldiers were on board. These men were also marched mercilessly in sub-zero temperatures with little food or clothing. He and his fellow prisoners, spent the remainder of World War 2 surviving in the inhumane confines of P.O.W. camps USA KD01, Stalags 7A, 3A and Nazi Stalag 3B located in Furstenberg, Germany near the Polish border.
Ed and his Brothers in Arms spent over two years incarcerated. He saw many horrors of war, he was punished, in one instance, caught,with potato peelings in his pocket to help a fellow soldier who was sick, to a stint in solitary confinement.
Uncle Ed survived Stalag 3b, he came home to Middlesboro and worked for 40 years at Kentucky Utilities and raising his wonderful family. My Uncle is a warm, kind, gentle husband, father, brother, uncle and friend to many. He is a hero to me, although he would always say " The heroes are the ones who didn't come home".
|
Sgt. Virly Elmo Azbill My grandfather, Sgt. Virly Elmo Azbill, was cycled through Stalag 7A as it was his first stop. He later spent most of his time as a POW in Stalag 3B. He, and a lot of other soldiers captured at Salerno, Italy went through Stalag 7A and he recalled how, after having little to eat or drink during the railroad transfer to 7A, the Airmen there provided them with some cigarettes and also gave up their potato rations for a day to make certain that all of the newly arriving prisoners ate. I am currently working on my grandfather's memoirs and hope to find a publisher for them.
|
Francis Gorgen Gorgen My grandfather was captured at Kasserine and sent to Stalag 3B and then Stalag 3A. His name is Francis Gorgen. He spent the war as a POW and was liberated by the Russians. He never spoke of any of the experiences he endured, but did curse the Red Cross for trading items meant for the POWs to the Germans. Any info about Stalag 3A or B would be appreciated.
|
Marion Jacobs My great uncle's name was Marion Jacobs and he escaped from Stalag 3b during the spring of 1945 just before the russians bombed it. I was wondering if anyone was with him and could share stories? I know that they were picked up by some war correspondents and there story made the newspaper, but that is about all I know. Eager to hear from anyone who may have known him to find out details concerning his time as a POW.
|
Andrew J. Lesyinski I am currently working on the family history for Andrew J. Lesyinski. Corporal Lesyinski was a POW at 3b from Oct '43 to June '45, as listed by the National Archives Database in the USA. He passed away in 1980 and I am eager to learn more about him and about the camp. I was delighted to find your website and appreciate what you are doing.
|
Thomas Lester Fort My uncle Tom Fort was in Stalag 3B.
He came home a very angry and confused man, not the man that we knew who was gentle and kind. If anyone has any information I would appreciate it.
Thank you.
|
2Cl. Zacharja Kuper 2nd REM Originally from Poland, Zacharja Kuper emigrated to France in 1926. He enlisted for the duration of the war in 1939 and was held as a Prisoner in Stalag IIIB. His parents, brothers, sisters and nephews were deported.
|
Dvr. George Douglas "Sticks" Randall Royal Army Service Corps Dad, Douglas Randall was a POW for the whole six years after being captured at the beginning of the war. He was driving the Padre somewhere in France when he got stopped by German soldiers. He had his front teeth knocked out by the butt of a gun. They shot the padre and made Doug dig his grave. All the time he was thinking he was digging his own grave too. He buried the padre and was taken to a POW camp. He was in several camps during this time. The four camps that I know of were, Friegegeben Stalag IIID, Stalag XXA, Stalag XXB & Blechhammer E3.
He was on the long walk to a camp in Poland in which many died. He was always called Doug as his father was named George but his nickname was Sticks as he was a drummer and performed in the camp entertainment shows.
My father said he was treated well by his captors.
Dad was on a re-union committee for ex pows from Blechhammer E3 camp after the war and was chosen to host a visit from a German Prince as a good relations exercise. So Prince Hohenlohe came to stay with my Mum & Dad in their tiny house in London.
|
PFC. Raymond Walter Ochs My uncle, Raymond Ochs (1916-1996), was a prisoner at Stalag 3b from 1943-45. I interviewed him while I was in college as he (like my dad) was reluctant to talk about WWII.
|
LAC. Cyril Pellowe Cyril Pellowe was my dad.
He was a prisoner of war in Stalag 3b.
He didn't talk a lot about this time, just little things now and then.
He was in the Air Force and was taken prisoner on the island of Kos. He said that all the prisoners gave anything they had to the children before it was taken by the Germans.
When they were in the prison camp they were given injections using a cartridge pen and swapped some of their things from Red Cross parcels with the guards.
|
T4 Ernest Ignace Lorette 191st Tank Btn Infantry Ernest Lorette was my great uncle. He served with the US Army Infantry 191st Tank Battalion in WW2.
I was recently given papers that had belonged to my step-grandmother, Edith Lorette. She had saved numerous newspaper articles and letters received by my grandfather, Edmond, in reply to his inquiries of the status of his brother, Ernest. Further, Ernest appears in the National Archives WWII Prisoners of War Data File, 7th of December 1941 - 19th of November 1946. In that file, Ernest is listed as having been a POW at Stalag 3B Furstenberg Brandenburg, Prussia. He was captured September 1943 and was released June 1945.
A letter received from Headquarters, 191st Tank Battalion by my grandfather and dated 11th of November 1943 states the following:
"The battalion was engaging the enemy when the tank in which T/4 Lorette was riding, was hit by a shell. Your brother was the first man to leave the tank and since we have several witnesses to this we are satisfied that he was not injured. However, he saw that all the men were not leaving the vehicle so he went back into the tank to help a man with a leg wound. He was again seen leaving the tank with this man and was last observed dressing his wounds in a field. Latest information is that the man he was helping was captured by the enemy and is at the time a prisoner of war. We are in hopes that T/4 is with him but have nor received word to substantiate this."
Then my grandmother received a telegram from the Adjutant General confirming he was reported missing 3rd of September 1943 in the North African area which included Casino, Italy where Ernest was taken prisoner.
His last known assignment was with the African Army of Occupation as a tank instructor. He was 25 years old.
Patricia Lorette Phillips
|
Sgt. Leonard Melvin Rock 9th Division We know Leonard Rock was captured in Tunisia, by Rommel. He escaped at one point, but was betrayed and returned to the Germans. He was reported as killed in action. His family believed him dead until, upon liberation from Stalag 3b, a ham operator who got his name and state of residence, was able to get word to his family that he was alive.
|
SSG. Charlie H. Little Company D. 4th Infantry Regiment Charlie Little enlisted on the 5th of Nov. 1941 at Fort Bragg, NC, Became a Staff Sergeant in Company D Fourth Infantry.
He was in the African Middle Eastern theater and then part of the invasion of Italy where he was captured. He told me he and another soldier became separated from his company and hid in a bomb creator. The other soldier fell asleep and began to snore. The noise gave them away and the other soldier refused to be captured and was killed. Dad was put on a train and ended up in Stalag 3b.
According to my Dad, cigarettes and chocolate from the Red Cross packages were used to trade for items to build a crystal radio from the German guards. Each part was kept by a POW for safe keeping during the day. At night they would put it together and listen to the news. The German guard propaganda was that the Allies had lost the war but the POWs knew different. One day the guards just left the camp. While listening to the radio they knew Germany had lost. They were able to locate the nearest US troop location. A small group including my dad chose to leave the camp and found the US troops and were liberated.
He was awarded the Bronze Star and the Good Conduct medals. Lillie Charlene Little Clay
|
Staff Sgt. Reuben Horace Summerhill 1st Armored Division Rueben Summerhill was captured in February of 1943 at the Battle of Kassarine Pass in Tunisia.
He was good friends with -- Deaton. They were separated at the battle, but reunited in Stalag 3B.
Rueben was first sent to Italy and used as forced labor. Then he was sent to Germany to Stalag 7A. Soon he was in Stalag 3B where he spent most of the war. He was a POW for 26 months.
Just before the Russian Army liberated Stalag 3B, a Russian Sergeant made friends with Rueben because Rueben had shared food with Russian POWs. The Sergeant helped arrange for Rueben and a few others to take a firewood wagon out of the camp, escaping before the Russian Army held American POWs for barter power.
It took Rueben three weeks of walking at night west across Germany and hiding in the day to reach the American forces. He stayed in France, recuperating and then returned to the Arlington Hotel in Hot Springs, Arkansas, to further recuperate, having lost more than eighty pounds.
He remained in the Army for his career, retiring in 1951 having spent 21 years in.
|
Pte. Charles Edward Morrison 17th Field Artilley Group My Uncle, Ed Morrison, was stationed in Tunisia, North Africa with the 17th Field Artillery Group. These undermanned Allies were overwhelmed by a large Nazi contingent under the Leadership of German Field Marshall Erwin Rommel and his Nazi Afrika Korps.
Ed was captured by the German attack force on 14th of February 1943. After several relocations, including attacks on German aircraft he was in by American pilots unaware their fellow soldiers were on board. These men were also marched mercilessly in sub-zero temperatures with little food or clothing. He and his fellow prisoners, spent the remainder of World War 2 surviving in the inhumane confines of P.O.W. camps USA KD01, Stalags 7A, 3A and Nazi Stalag 3B located in Furstenberg, Germany near the Polish border.
Ed and his Brothers in Arms spent over two years incarcerated. He saw many horrors of war, he was punished, in one instance, caught,with potato peelings in his pocket to help a fellow soldier who was sick, to a stint in solitary confinement.
Uncle Ed survived Stalag 3b, he came home to Middlesboro and worked for 40 years at Kentucky Utilities and raising his wonderful family. My Uncle is a warm, kind, gentle husband, father, brother, uncle and friend to many. He is a hero to me, although he would always say " The heroes are the ones who didn't come home".
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