Description:

GERMAN P.O.W. AT STALINGRAD GROUPING
Excellent grouping of items concerning the imprisonment by the Russians of a German officer at Stalingrad and his most improbable liberation. Includes a small homemade brown paper booklet, 3 1/2" x 5", titled: "Memo P.O.W. Franz Graf Stalingrad", the pages bound with fine wire twisted to tighten the fastening. Contains within four pages with addresses of individuals in Germany, followed by a brief chronology of his capture and imprisonment. Graf related that he was captured on the day of Germany''s surrender, in Austria. He sets forth his movements, noting he is sent to a collection point on May 11, and arrives in his first camp May 15. It appears that he is shuttled between various camps in Austria and is then sent to Slovakia. On Aug. 9, 1945 he arrived as "Diekutschi" and in September he is loaded into a train which transit Romania to Kiev and thence Stalingrad on Aug. 29, 1945, at "Camp 362/5". The remaining entries trace Graf''s return route back to Germany, and note his internment in camps in Germany. Also included is a letter Graf sent earlier to his parents, 4pp. 8vo., "In the field", Mar. 31, 1942. In this difficult to decipher letter, Graf mentions his award of the Infantry Assault Badge and Iron Cross, 2nd Class, adding: "... a soldier must do his duty for the Fuhrer, people, and Fatherland until the bitter end..." Also present: a Russian Red Cross postcard sent to him while he was a prisoner at Stalingrad, May 15, 1946, the writer mentioning he had received a card from a comrade, conditions at home were passable, two friends had not yet returned from the war, etc. Graf notes he received the card on July 31, 1946, two months after its mailing. Also a card bearing a mounted page with his photo and a note: "Franz Graf Souvenir of my imprisonment in Stalingrad on Volga from 8.5.45 - 1.9.46" Also three documents concerning Graf''s liberation, including a French "Provisional Liberation", travel permit, and "Control Card", and two photos. Uncommon, as the vast majority of German prisoners held by the Russians are now buried in Russia.

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April 17, 2018 10:00 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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