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Lot 375
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Real Life Hogan's Heroes Stalag 13 Prisoner Archive - Amazing!
Real Life Hogan's Heroes Stalag 13 Prisoner Archive - Amazing!
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Description:

World War II
Massachusetts; Germany, ca. 1943-1955
Real Life Hogan's Heroes Stalag 13 Prisoner Archive - Amazing!
Archive
The Great Escape and an earlier Trojan Horse escape took place at Stalag Luft III and were both the subject of movies; the experiences of all 94,000 American soldiers and aviators in nearly one hundred German prison camps are a fascinating part of the history of World War II. Perhaps the most famous prison camp of all time was Stalag 13 of Hogan's Heroes fame which TV watchers were glued to for six seasons. Here we have a real life Hogan, Newkirk or LeBeau in the very camp portrayed in the famous series.

This interesting archive of letters, photographs, postcards, and related documents details the prisoner-of-war experience of Polish-American Private First Class Edward J. Chludzinski of Dorchester, Massachusetts. He was taken prisoner in December 1944 at the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge and spent four and a half months in Stalag XIII-C, a prisoner-of-war camp on
[WORLD WAR II, PRISONER OF WAR.] Edward J. Chludzinski, Archive of correspondence, postcards, photographs, and ephemera from Chludzinski's service in Europe at the end of World War II, especially his four and a half months as a prisoner of war (December 1944-April 1945), 1943-1955. In a contemporary "Bryant & Stratton" (commercial school) three-ring binder scrapbook, 10" x 11.5". Some paper pages have plastic sleeves; those without are separated from binder. Generally, very good.

Edward J. Chludzinski (1921-1999) was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Polish immigrants Telespor Chludzinski (b. ca. 1891), an upholsterer, and his wife Stella (1899-1993). He attended Leland Powers School of Elocution, where he studied radio and stage drama. Chludzinski enlisted in the Signal Corps of the U.S. Army in November 1942. He studied radio repair and drafting with the signal corps before leaving for Europe in February 1944. While serving with the 2nd Combat Engineers in Belgium, he was captured in December 1944 at the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge and spent four and a half months as a prisoner of war in German prison camp Stalag XIII-C in Hammelburg, Bavaria, Germany. After American forces liberated him, Chludzinski returned to the United States in May and worked as a clerk typist with the 1262nd Service Command Unit until honorably discharged in November 1945. After the war, he received payments based on a disability of 30 percent for "Nervous Condition" from September 1946, which was reduced to 10 percent in June 1948. He was later a life member of the Disabled American Veterans organization. He also received funds to continue his education. He never married. He was active in his church and Polish cultural activities in the Boston area. He was employed by General Electric before retiring.

Highlights and Excerpts
- Edward Chludzinski's metal prisoner dog tag from Stalag XIII-C, Prisoner Number 19362.

- Edward Chludzinski, Autograph Postcard Signed, to Mr. & Mrs. Telespor Chludzinski, Stalag XIII, Germany, January 2, 1945. 1 p.
"Dear Mom & Dad, I want to assure you that I am well and safe, please don't worry. Everything is going well despite my being a prisoner of war. My thoughts are always of you, all I ask that you keep well and happy and write often. See the Red Cross, for anything you may want to know. May God Bless and help you as he has me. Love Eddie."

- Dunlop, Typed Telegram, to Stella Chludzinski, January 6, Washington, D.C. 1 p.
"The Secretary of War desires me to express his deep personal regret that your son Private First Class Edward J Chludzinski has been reported missing in action since 17 December in Belgium If further details or other information are received you will be promptly notified."

- J. A. Ulio, Typed Letter Signed, to Stella Chludzinski, January 8, 1945, Washington, D.C. 1 p.
"This letter is to confirm my recent telegram in which you were regretfully informed that your son, Private First Class Edward J. Chludzinski, 11,115,819, Corps of Engineers, has been reported missing in action since 17 December 1944 in Belgium."
"The term ‘missing in action' is used only to indicate that the whereabouts or status of an individual is not immediately known.. .. Experience has shown that many persons reported missing in action are subsequently reported as prisoners of war, but as this information is furnished by countries with which we are at war, the War Department is helpless to expedite such reports."

- J. A. Ulio, Typed Telegram, to Stella Chludzinski, March 8, 1945, Washington, D.C. 1 p.
"Report just received through the International Red Cross states that your son Private First Class Edward J. Chludzinski is a prisoner of war of the German government letter of information follows from Provost Marshal General."

- Mr. & Mrs. Telespor Chludzinski, Prisoner of War Post letter, to Edward Chludzinski, April 6, 1945, Dorchester, Massachusetts. 2 pp.
"We had a nice Easter, but of course we missed you. I hope that by next Easter we'll all be together again.... You asked about Dad's job, well the business is going fine, although I don't know how you'd like working there."

- Col. Howard F. Bresee, Director, American Prisoner of War Information Bureau, to Mrs. Telespor Chludzinski, April 19, 1945, Washington, D.C. 1 p.
"Information has been received which indicates that your son is now interned at Stalag 13 C, Germany. His prisoner of war number is 19362."

- Prisoners of War Bulletin newsletter, June 1945. Washington, D.C.: American National Red Cross. 16 pp. The lead article is Col. George F. Herbert, "Liberated Prisoners of War from Germany."

- 51 postcards, many from Landerneau, in northwestern France, and others of various German subjects, including one of Adolf Hitler.

- 10 photographs, many of German soldiers and officers.

- 19 foreign currency notes (French, German, Polish, Japanese).

- A single issue of Tygodnik Polski: The Polish Weekly, published in New York, May 26, 1946. 20 pp.

- 13 labels from foodstuffs, likely received in Red Cross packages, 1944-1945.

- Correspondence and forms from Chludzinski's wartime education, honorable discharge, and postwar attempts to obtain disability and educational payments, 1943-1955. 45 pp.

- Certified copy of Chludzinski's birth certificate, October 22, 1982, Boston, Massachusetts. 1 p.

- Blank sheets of "Messerschmitt G.m.b.H." letterhead, with Nazi swastikas, indicating "National Socialist Model Company" or "National Socialist Military Model Company."

Historical Background
A part of Stalag XIII-C had been a training camp for German soldiers as early as 1873. It served as a prisoner-of-war camp during World War I, and after 1935, it was used as a training camp and military training area for the newly reconstituted German army. In May 1940, Stalag XIII-C was established on part of the training ground and first occupied by French, Dutch, and Belgian soldiers captured during the Battle of France. By mid-1941, prisoners were arriving from the Balkans and the Mediterranean, including Serbians and Australians.

Beginning in 1943, officers were held in Oflag XIII-B, when some 3,000 Serbian officers were moved from a camp near Nuremberg. Enlisted men, like Chludzinski, were held in Stalag XIII-C, or South Camp.

Prisoners worked on farms, work camps, and industrial factories, and the Germans allowed the International Red Cross to distribute care packages and mail. American soldiers captured during the Battle of Normandy began arriving in the summer of 1944 and more arrived after the Battle of the Bulge in 1945. In March, a large group of prisoners arrived from Stalag VIII-D, having marched 500 miles from that camp in Teschen, Czechoslovakia, in severe winter weather.

By March 1945, conditions in the camp had deteriorated. The number of daily calories provided by the Germans to the prisoners had dropped from 1700 to 1,050, and the average temperature in the barracks was 20 degrees F, due to lack of fuel. A Red Cross inspection reported 1,291 American officers at Oflag XIII-B and 127 enlisted men in Stalag XIII-C.

Late in March 1945, General George S. Patton ordered the 4th Armor Division to liberate the prisoners at Oflag XIII-B, where Patton may or may not have known that his son-in-law John K. Waters was a prisoner. The camp was at the time fifty miles behind German lines. However, German resistance repulsed the task force, which suffered nearly 90 percent casualties and the loss of all 16 tanks and 41 other vehicles. A day later, the Germans transferred all remaining able-bodied Americans at Oflag XIII-B and Stalag XIII-C to Stalag XIII-D, 90 miles away at Nuremberg, and then about 100 miles south to Stalag VII-A in Moosburg, just north of Munich.

Combat Command B of the U.S. 14th Armored Division liberated both Stalag XIII-C and Oflag XIII-B on April 6, 1945. According to one report, the only prisoners not in the hospital left at the two camps were Serbian officers and Polish and Yugoslavian enlisted men. Combat Command A of the U.S. 14th Armored Division liberated Stalag VII-A on April 29, 1945. According to German sources, there were more than 76,000 prisoners at the camp in January 1945, and it grew considerably over the next three months, as the Germans transferred more prisoners there.

The late 1960s situation comedy television program Hogan's Heroes was set in the fictional prisoner-of-war camp Stalag 13, just outside Hammelburg, but it bore little resemblance to the real Stalag XIII-C.


This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 10" x 11.5"
  • Medium: Archive

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