Chapter 9

Dieter and his fellow kriegsgefangener waited out the war in semi-comfort in Camp McMillan while fortunes turned against Deutschland. The Soviets launched massive attacks in the summer and fall of 1943, driving the Wehrmacht West. The Allies knocked Italy out of the war about the time Dieter and his friends arrived at Camp McMillan in late September, 1943. Gisela’s brother, Georg, had recovered from his wounds from Stalingrad and now was fighting in Italy. The Wehrmacht was girding for the Allied powers to invade France in the spring.

The kriegsgefangener were hired out in April, first to help with spraying fertilizers and pesticides on the fields and orchards. They weren’t out every day, since manpower wasn’t needed for plowing and tilling the soil and planting the crops. That changed in Mai when the first hay crops were ready for mowing.

Dieter and his squad’s first farm turned out to be a familiar one – Herr Marvin Wenger’s farm. Last fall a ten man crew worked with Herr Wenger to “make hay.” Herr Wenger gave the five man crew a hearty smile and wave as they climbed out of the 2 ½ ton, olive drab army truck when they arrived at the farm. The five expected a long, hard week of work, at the very least, to bring in the hay. Last fall it had taken ten kriegsgefangener to bring in Herr Wenger’s hay and the better part of a week of work. Now they had as much hay as before and half the work crew.

A new, bright red piece of farm equipment, trimmed in yellow and with large yellow letters announcing, “NEW HOLLAND” sat in the lane beside the barn.

“Was ist das?” Dieter exclaimed as he looked over the odd piece of equipment.

“My new hay baler,” Herr Wenger explained proudly.

“It doesn’t look anything like any baler I have seen before,” Dieter replied. His Vater’s employer had a couple hay balers they rented out to local farmers back in Leck. They had a hopper where you loaded the loose hay. The machine compressed the loose hay into tight bales. The machine had platforms on each side, where two workers looped wire or twine around the bale and tied the bale together. This machine had none of that.

“I bought it over the winter,” Herr Wenger proudly explained. “The New Holland Maschinenfabrik [New Holland Machine Company] invented a machine that can knot the bales automatically. This machine can pick up a windrow of hay, bale it, tie it up and spit the bale out the back without any men assisting. All I need is a couple men on the wagon at the back to stack the bales. Willi and Oskar, up for that?”

The two young men agreed. “Dieter, do you remember how to drive my tractor?” Herr Wenger asked.

“I should be able to do that,” Dieter agreed.

“Good, you are going to take the wagons full of hay bales back to the barn and load the bales on the elevator. Ernst and Hans, you gentlemen will stack the bales in the hay mow. Any questions?”

“What is an elevator?” Hans asked. Herr Wenger took the crew over to the side of the barn and showed them what looked like a portable slide on wheels that children would play on. Closer examination provided them with a better understanding of the “elevator.” The slide had metal slats across the inclined trough. Chain drives on either side were attached to the slats. Herr Wenger flipped a switch and the elevator rattled and clanked. An electric motor pulled the chain drives up the incline, moving the slats along with the chain drives. The name “Smoker” was stamped on the outside of the metal chute.

“Put the hay bales on the bottom,” Herr Wenger explained to Dieter. The elevator will take the bales up to the hay mow for Ernst and Hans to stack inside. Any more questions?” The work crew had none.

Herr Wenger’s new baler made swift work of “making hay.” What took almost a week last fall was done by half the crew in a day and half. Herr Wenger was so pleased with the squad’s work that after lunch when they finished on the second day, he treated the crew to beer. They relaxed in Herr Wenger’s backyard and enjoyed the warm, spring afternoon until their truck came to return them to camp before dinner.

The Allies invaded France a few weeks after Dieter’s letter to Gisela. Feldmarschall Rommel commanded Nord France and faced off against Generals Montgomery and Eisenhower again. Progress was slow through Juni and early Juli as the Allies expanded their beachhead in Normandie and flooded truppen and panzers onto the Europa continent. The same day the Allies landed in Normandie, Rome fell. The Wehrmacht was on the run, trying to stop the Allies from bursting out of northern Italy and rolling in Österreich [Austria].

Dieter and the other prisoners followed the krieg news through the local papers. The summer flew by as the kriegsgefangener harvested oats, wheat, and hay. They helped in the orchards, picking cherries, plums, peaches, pears and then apples as the fruits became ready. Herr Wenger asked for Dieter and his squad specifically each time he needed farm help.

American camp commanders had noted how the Nazis among the prisoners had taken control and forced a-political and anti-Nazi soldiers to follow the party line in the camp. Slowly, they weeded out the ardent Nazis and sent them to a camp in Oklahoma for the die-hards. Over the course of the summer, Camp McMillan slowly de-nazified.

Feldmarschall Rommel was injured when a Jabo [fighter-bomber] strafed his staff car as he headed back from the front on 17.Juli. General Kluge took over Heeresgruppe B. The gridlock in Normandy broke days later. Allied troops flooded out of Normandy into Brittany and also headed Ost [east] for Paris. Deutsche truppen were pummeled around Argentan and Falaise as they withdrew for Nord France. General Patton’s 3.Armee stormed through the Loire and Seine valleys as they drove east for Deutschland. Paris fell on 29.August.

News from the Ostfront was no better. The Soviet Sommer Offensive nearly obliterated Heeresgruppenzentrum [Army Group Center] in White Russia [now Belarus]. Heeresgruppesüd [Army Group South] crumbled as the Soviets drove them from Russia into Bulgaria and Romania.

The kriegsgefangener in Camp McMillan continued working in the fields and orchards of Adams, Franklin, Cumberland and York counties as the summer wore on. They did classes in the evenings. Dieter signed up for a course taught by the Gettysburg park historian. The course explored the origins and meaning of American democracy.

Bulgaria and Romania, seeing which direction the wind was blowing, changed sides and joined the Alliierte. The Wehrmacht was reeling backwards towards Deutschland on nearly every front. The kriegsgefangener understood that prospects for victory for the Fatherland were slim. The possibility of defeat was openly discussed for the first time since they arrived in Amerika.

In the past, the Nazis among the kriegsgefangener would have cracked down on anyone admitting to that possibility. The American guards had weeded out the die-hard Nazis and sent them to a camp in Oklahoma where they wouldn’t bully the other kriegsgefangener who were apolitical or quietly anti-Nazi. Hopes of the krieg ending soon could be openly expressed now.

The hopes of the kriegsgefangener for an early end to the war were dashed as the Soviets and Allied offensives stalled later in September. They continued working away in the fields and orchards as they waited to see how the krieg would go.

Dieter and his squadmates always were part of the workcrew sent out to work for Herr Wenger. Dieter found out why in early Oktober, when he overheard Herr Wenger talking with a guard. It turned out that Herr Wenger specifically requested Dieter and his squad when he needed help. That made Dieter feel good when he heard that he and his squadmates work was appreciated by the kind, older farmer.

Dieter and his squadmates were part of a crew helping fill Herr Wenger’s silos with corn silage a few days after his latest letter to Gisela. Late afternoon, after the work was done, Herr Wenger called Dieter over.

“Dieter, I have a proposition for you,” Herr Wenger announced as they sat down at the picnic table outside the farm house.

“What can I do to help, Herr Wenger?” Dieter replied.

“Would you be willing to work for me every day on the farm?” Herr Wenger asked. “I am not as spry as I used to be. I can use the help.”

“Would the camp Kommandant permit that?” Dieter asked. “I would enjoy working with you, but how would I get here and back to camp? I don’t imagine the camp will want to send a truck out twice a day for one person.”

“I have talked with Captain Owen already,” Herr Wenger responded. “He is willing to allow me to hire you full time. You are right about transportation. I could offer you my son Lloyd’s bicycle. It is less than five miles from your camp to my farm. What do you think?”

Dieter grinned. Steady work on a farm would be nice. Working for a kind man like Herr Wenger was even better. He reached his hand across the table and shook Herr Wenger’s hand. “I accept. When do I start?”

“I have to make arrangements with Captain Owen,” Herr Wenger replied. “I can probably have arrangements made by the end of the week. How about if you start next Monday?”

“That works for me,” Dieter answered.

“I’ll pick you up from the camp Monday morning,” Herr Wenger said. “You can ride Lloyd’s bike home and keep it at the camp while you work for me.”

“Excellent!” Dieter said. “I look forward to working with you, Herr Wenger.”

“Marvin ... you may call me Marvin, if we are going to work together full time.”

Dieter enjoyed his new-found freedom to travel around the countryside. He reported for work at 6:30 in the morning and assisted Herr Wenger in feeding the cattle. Frau Wenger would make both Dieter and her husband breakfast once the livestock were fed. The two men worked around the farm during the day. Frau Wenger provided lunch for Dieter too. He enjoyed her home cooking immensely. He helped feed the cattle again late afternoon and then rode his bicycle back to camp before dinner.

The fall continued as Dieter worked the Wenger farm. The Westfront was stalemated, though fighting continued. The Ostfront stabilized midway through Poland, Hungary and Yugoslavia. The Soviets were quiet during the fall as they assembled supplies and brought more truppen to the front for their next offensive. Georg Fischer, Gisela’s older brother, was with the 3.Panzergrenadier Division in Italy. That front had stabilized across the top of the Italien Stiefel [boot].

Dieter received occasional days off from work, when the weather was bad or Herr Wenger didn’t have much work available. Most weeks in Oktober and November he worked five or six days. By Dezember, he worked a couple four-day weeks. Herr Wenger and Dieter discussed the news of the day over breakfast most mornings.

18.Dezember brought surprises for both men. First, a snow storm hit Gettysburg, mid-afternoon. The flakes poured down all afternoon and evening. Herr Wenger called Camp McMillan and got Dieter permission to spend the night with the Wengers. Conditions were too bad for him to ride a bicycle back to camp and too treacherous to drive to camp in Herr Wenger’s auto. Dieter spent two days with the Wengers, finally riding back to Camp McMillan Wednesday evening, after the roads were plowed and open again. The storm dumped 18 cm [seven inches] of snow on the small town.

The second piece of news that day came when the newspaper reported that the Wehrmacht attacked into the Ardennes, at a thinly held portion of the American lines. They watched the newspaper reports day by day as the Nazi spearheads drove West. Would the Wehrmacht succeed or would this be the beginning of the end of the krieg? By New Year’s Day it was apparent. The Wehrmacht was stopped. The krieg could be over soon.

The Allied troops cleared the bulge in the Ardennes lines and pushed Ost for the Rhein. On 12.Januar 1945, the Soviet offensive opened up, gobbling up Poland and pushing to the Rivers Oder and Niesse, on the outskirts of Berlin. The vice around the Fatherland was tightening. Herr Wenger and Dieter watched anxiously. The end of the war in Europa couldn’t be too many months away. That was a relief for Herr Wenger. His twenty-five year-old son, Alan, was a gunner on a B-17 with the 5th Bombardment Wing in Foggia, Italy.

The Japanese were showing more fight. They held on bitterly to every inch of every island they occupied in the Pacific. Herr Wenger’s twenty-two-year-old son, Lloyd was in the Marines. He had fought in Kwajelein, Saipan and Tinian in 1944. Lloyd reported to his Vater that his division was preparing for another invasion, though he couldn’t say where. He told his dad to watch the news. His 4th Marine Division would be in the thick of it when the next invasion happened.

A blizzard hit south central Pennsylvania the night of 16.Januar 1945, dumping almost 51cm [20 inches] of snow on the peaceful town of Gettysburg. The snow finally ended early on the 17th. Dieter couldn’t get down to Herr Wenger’s farm for almost a week. He finally got to the farm on the 22nd, catching a ride with a kriegsgefangener work crew helping people dig out from the blizzard.

The Wenger family found out about the invasion their son Lloyd had alluded to in his last letter home when the 23.Februar newspaper arrived. Lloyd’s 4.Marine Division, along with others, invaded Iwo Jima, one of a small group of islands half way between Saipan and Japan.

The Wengers talked about the fighting day by day as the battle for Iwo Jima progressed. They were sitting down to lunch on 1.März when a car pulled up, marked “Western Union.” Was this the visit from Western Union that every parent feared? Herr Wenger walked unsteadily to the front door, accompanied by Frau Wenger. Dieter followed behind. The Western Union man handed them the envelope from the War Department. He turned and left without a word. Herr Wenger tore the envelope open and read.

Frau Wenger shrieked and nearly fainted. Dieter caught her and helped her to a chair in the living room. Herr Wenger stood silent, staring at the telegram for half a minute before going to his wife. The two grieving parents hugged and cried to each other for too many uncomfortable minutes while Dieter watched. He knew what he had to do. When Herr and Frau Wenger finally calmed down a little, Dieter offered, “You look after Anna, Marvin. I will take care of the farm work until you are ready again.”

“By yourself?” Herr Wenger asked.

“I’ll get help from the camp,” Dieter responded. He had learned some English working for Herr Wenger, enough that he could explain to the operator that he wanted to speak to the Commandant of Camp McMillan. Captain Owen answered the phone.

“Herr Hauptmann, this is Dieter Pfeiffer out at the Wenger farm south of town. Herr Wenger was notified of his son’s death just now. Would it be possible to send another kriegsgefangener out to help with the farm for a few days?”

“Has Mr. Wenger requested this help?” Captain Owen asked. “This isn’t part of the contract we have with him.”

“This family is hurting and needs time to grieve,” Dieter replied. “The farm work needs done, whether Herr Wenger is ready to do it or not. If the contract is a problem, you can take the other prisoner’s cost from my pay. This family is hurting and I need the help until they are ready to carry the burden of the farm again. Could Feldwebel Ernst März come? He has worked here often. If not Ernst, how about Obergefreiter Hans Goebel?”

“I suppose under these circumstances, we can sort out the paperwork later,” Captain Owen replied. “Work crews aren’t busy this early in March. I am sure we can free up one of the men you mentioned.”

“Could we stay out here at the farm for a few days?” Dieter asked. “There is a lot of work to do and we only have one bicycle.”

“Do the Wengers have room for two guests?” Captain Owen asked.

“If nothing else, we can bed down in the hay mow,” Dieter said. “We spent two years camping in the desert. I doubt a couple nights in a barn will hurt us.”

“I’ll send out your help later this afternoon,” Captain Owen replied.

Ernst März was delivered to the Wenger farm mid-afternoon. Dieter and Ernst took care of the animals and made sure all other work was done. They had planned to cook for the Wengers too, but that proved unnecessary. Word of Lloyd’s death spread quickly and the Wenger’s friends and neighbors came to call and express their sympathies. Every family brought food for the grieving parents. No one at the Wenger household would need to cook for a week.

Dieter and Ernst didn’t need to sleep in the hay mow. Frau Wenger insisted they use Lloyd’s and Alan’s bedrooms. The two spent a week running the farm while the Wengers received their many visitors and well-wishers. Herr Wenger finally got back to work on 7.März and Dieter and Ernst could return to Camp McMillan.

Mail from home had been delayed for some reason. Dieter didn’t get word until the middle of März that his brother Egon had been wounded in the Ardennes battle. His 12.Volksgrenadier Division was one of the lead attacking divisions at the start of the offensive.

Herr Wenger received a letter from his son, Alan, near the end of the month. Alan had completed his twenty-five missions and was standing down from active flight duty. He wasn’t coming home. He would remain in Italy and help the Allied war effort from the ground.

Dieter wrote his parents and asked them to forward a letter to Egon. Dieter advised his younger brother to delay his release from the hospital as long as possible and to keep his head down when her returned to the front. There was no sense in being the last man killed at the end of the krieg.

The end of the krieg had to be near. The Allies had crossed the Rhein. The Soviets were poised to storm into Berlin, less than 80 kilometers from the front lines. Allied troops in northern Italy prepared to break the Gothic Line. The kriegsgefangener were hopeful that their captivity would end sooner rather than later.

April brought Allied advances on every front. Montgomery, Eisenhower and Patton pushed Ost into western Deutschland. The Soviet offensive to take Berlin thundered away as they pushed West against strong opposition. The Allies in Italy broke through the Gothic Line and headed for Milan, Trieste and Österreich [Austria].

Dieter and Herr Wenger watched the Kriegsnachrichten [war news] in the papers daily. They papers reported new deutsche towns falling every day. The death of FDR, Franklin Roosevelt, the American president, did not slow the Alliierte at all. Their troops motored Ost against light opposition. The Soviets faced fanatical opposition as they fought their way towards Berlin.

1.Mai 1945 – Wenger’s Kitchen

Herr Wenger had the radio on over lunch, so they could hear the Kriegsnachrichten [war news]. The radio announced that Adolf Hitler had killed himself in his bunker in Berlin. The Americans had met the Soviets on the River Elbe. Berlin was near falling. The Bristische truppern were streaking across Nord Deutschland. Americans and Frenchmen motored across Bayern [Bavaria] into Tschechoslowakei [Czechoslovakia] and Österreich [Austria]. The end of the krieg couldn’t be more than a few days away.

“What will you do after the war?” Herr Wenger asked.

“After I marry Gisela?” Dieter laughed.

“After you marry that wonderful girl you have told us about,” Herr Wenger replied.

“I guess I look for a job somewhere around Leck,” Dieter replied. “I had planned to go to University after the war, but school was so long ago. I probably just need to find work, probably helping out the local farmers.”

“You could do that here,” Frau Wenger remarked. “Marvin isn’t getting any younger and Lloyd won’t be taking over the farm, the way we planned. You should bring Gisela and Horst back to America and live here.”

“I could use the help,” Herr Wenger added. “I don’t need a decision now. Think about it. I could use a good experienced farm hand like you.”

“I am flattered,” Dieter replied. “I will consider it.”

The radio reported that General Eisenhower was meeting with the OKW, the deutsche supreme command of the Wehrmacht on 7.Mai. Later that evening, when Dieter was back at Camp McMillan, it was announced the Deutschland’s surrender terms would be signed in Berlin on 8.Mai. VE-Day – Victory in Europa! Guards and kriegsgefangener both celebrated the end of fighting. Everyone would return safely to their homes and pick up their civilian lives again.