At
the corner of the camp by our location the guard was a red headed
German from Brooklyn who spoke with the Brooklyn accent. He was
brought up in Brooklyn and had been drafted into the German army
while visiting Germany. There was only one fence around this camp so
we could go over and talk to him, sometimes giving him one of our
chocolate bars as he had little to eat. One of the guys traded with
him for a camera and film which he used to take pictures. I signed up
for copies and received them several months after returning home.
Those pictures are included in this chapter.
Moosburg had been a center for Red Cross parcel distribution and
therefore food parcels were issued again one per week to each of us,
thus providing adequate food again. We had no provisions for cooking
so the art of making stoves from tin cans began In earnest. Some
were simple and others very elaborate with wheels that turned by a
handle to force air through the fire to increase the heat and help
when burning green or wet wood. Bruce and made a simple one with two
tin cans with the fire in the bottom one. It was a good enough setup
for the little we cooked. The open areas between the barracks were
filled with those little stoves at mealtimes. We were getting German
ersatz coffee which was bitter and resembled coffee only by its
color. We drank it because we needed something hot. There were also
all kinds of cigarettes in camp when American cigarettes were not
available.
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