When I Landed In America I Understood That We Never Had A Chance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkUvk9SN3Rs
Comments below the video:
“German POWs were helping to run the saw mill in a Louisiana saw mill town where my mother lived. She was a child during WWII & was always making sandwiches for the POWs working at the mill to make sure they didn’t go hungry. One of those POWs either remained in or came back to the saw mill town & lived there after the war was over. He always made a children’s rocking chair for each child born in the town. He made a rocking chair for my sister when she was born & one for me when I was born a year later although my mother no longer lived in the town. My grand- mother still lived there. I visited her for a month every summer & got to know the “rocking chair man”. One day I asked him why he made rocking chairs for my sister & me even though we didn’t live there. He said it was because my mother brought him a sandwich every day.”
Do you still have that rocking chair? I still have the little general’s coat one of the German POW’s made for me. They built a POW camp on the block behind the folk’s house. My Mom did laundry for the officers. I was about two when they started the camp and about 4 when they shut it down. I remember being really bummed when I outgrew that coat.
There’s a town nearby which was the location of a German POW camp. These guys came from Rommel’s “Afrika Korps” troops. My dad remembers them getting off the train and marching through town to the camp.
Many of the men had similar stories of kindness from the local residents which you both shared.
There’s a museum there now and the last couple of years they’ve hosted a re-enactment complete with a big band dance on Saturday night and a war era movie at the theater which the museum now owns due to it being donated to them.
https://www.alicevillemuseum.org/german-pow.html