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Introduction

In the final, tumultuous months of World War II, twenty American soldiers captured by the Germans were transferred from the overpopulated and harsh confines of Stalag 7-A, in Moosburg, Germany, to the idyllic Bavarian village of Nussdorf am Inn.

From March 16 to May 2, 1945, these American POWs worked side by side with their German hosts, forging bonds that transcended barbed wire and battlefields.

"Beyond Barbed Wire" chronicles the heartwarming relationships that developed between the American soldiers and the farming families to which they were assigned.

Through personal letters, interviews, and historical records, this captivating narrative brings to light the enduring friendships and the remarkable post-war reunions that exemplify the resilience of the human spirit.

Journey with these soldiers as they navigate the complexities of war and peace, finding faith, hope, and friendship in the heart of Bavaria.

If you have information that might help fill in blanks in the accounts of the twenty POWs: photos, bios, wartime experiences, etc., please use the CONTACT page to reach out to the author. Please provide sources for all proposed contributions to this project. If your information is used, the author will be sure to credit you (or the named source).

"PRISON CAMPS IN GERMANY" (Allied front lines shown as of February 20, 1945.) [1]

Sketch of Stalag 7-A by American POW, Jon Fink.

Photo of Stalag 7-A (Jon Fink collection)

In the last 4 months of the war, Col. Paul R. Goode [2] served his fellow inmates as the US Camp Commander. He and his staff worked diligently to keep camp discipline and their environment clean. The decision as to which soldiers were sent outside of Stalag 7-A in work crews in Munich or in satellite camps was ultimately made by Col. Goode, through a candidate pool composed of volunteers. [3]

After the heavy bombing of Munich on October 1, 1944, a 1,400-strong work detachment was formed. It departed daily in cattle cars from Moosburg train station at 5:00 AM and returned by 8:00 PM. These work crews cleared debris, filled bomb craters, and dismantled damaged rails. In exchange for their labor, these soldiers received two meals in Munich during the workday plus their regular camp rations.

By early 1945, work in Munich was too dangerous and Stalag 7-A was overcrowded. The solution was to send the men of the work detachment units to live and work in villages scattered across southern Bavaria.

These satellite camps typically consisted of 20-50 POWs who lived in repurposed buildings. They slept in bunkbeds with straw mattresses and eiderdowns, had a small stove on which to cook Red Cross rations, primitive toilets, and sometimes running water and bathing facilities. Many of these men ate at least one daily meal with the farming families for whom they worked. Medical supplies for minor injuries were kept on hand in the camp and were entrusted to one or two of the prisoners, and a civilian doctor was supposed to pay a weekly visit to the camp. Only essential farm work was done on Sundays. Unlike Stalag 7-A, free time did not involve organized sports, entertainment or religious services. The men were allowed to send and receive mail, including parcels, but Germany's transpiration infrastructure was in a state of disarray in the final months of the war. [4]

A post-war list of the 20 US soldiers who had been assigned to the farming POW camp in Nussdorf am Inn.

A postcard of Nussdorf am Inn from 1958.

The roof of the former POW camp is visible. After the war it was converted into an apartment on the street side and the small barn at the back housed a horse drawn hearse .

Nussdorf am Inn was a community of perhaps 600 people during the Second World War. One might ask, "Why did this village need help running their farms?" Here is a list of the local men who died on the battlefields of Europe, in captivity, were MIA and never came home, or who died of their wounds at hospitals in Germany. That's 30% of the total male population and approximately 53% of the working-age, adult male population.

Richard Altmann - 1944 Aachen

Anton Auer - 1942 Russia

Rudolf Axmann - 1943 MIA Russia

Franz Bauer - 1941 Russia

Wolfgang Baumgartner – Date and Place Unknown

Georg Beer - MIA East Prussia

Walter Beer – Date Unknown Russia

Josef Binder - 1944 MIA Romania

Karl Blatter - 1945 MIA Russia

Josef Bock - 1944 MIA Russia

Stefan Bonaschli - 1944 MIA Breslau

Wilhelm Brecht - 1942 MIA Russia

Josef Briller - 1948 At Home

Adolf Czerny - 1944 Yugoslavia

Georg Dandlberger - 1943 MIA Russia

Georg Dandlberger - 1944 France

Josef Dandlberger - 1942 Russia

Konrad Dettendorfer - 1944 France

Ludwig Dettendorfer - 1945 At Home

Max Dettendorfer - 1942 Russia

Wolfgang Dettendorfer - 1943 Russia

Sebastian Draexl - 1942 Russia

Vitus Draexl - 1943 Russia

Vitus Draexl - 1944 Russia

Johann Enzinger - 1941 Crete

Sebastian Fischer - 1942 MIA Italy

Willibald Freundl - 1951 At Home

Franz Fuhrmann - 1945 East Prussia

Hans Fuhrmann - 1944 Russia

Johann Funk - 1940 Holland

Clement Gallenmueller - 1944 Croatia

Johann Gebhard - 1942 Russia

Georg Gradl - 1944 MIA Albania

Georg Grandauer - 1943 Russia

Karl Gsinn - 1943 Russia

Johann Hansig - 1943 Romania

Michael Hauser - 1945 Alsace

Ernst Heintel - 1945 Croatia

Hans Hiller - 1942 Russia

Ernst Hoechsmann - 1942 Russia

Wilhelm Hoermann - 1949 At Home

Wolfgang Kammerer - 1941 Russia

Josef Kirchgessner - 1940 At Sea

Alois Klimek - 1944 Russia

Gerhard Koehler - 1945 MIA East Prussia

Ruppert Kolb - 1945 MIA Russia

Franz Krener - 1944 MIA Unknown

Johann Lagler - 1944 Latvia

Wolfgang Lagler - 1944 Poland

Ernst Lagler - 1944 MIA Russia

Rudolf Lebeda - 1945 MIA Unknown

Xaver Marchfelder - 1943 Russia

Adolf Marschall - 1945 MIA Unknown

Christoph Mauerer - 1944 Russia

Kaspar Maurer - 1943 Russia

Ludwig Maurer - 1944 Russia

Anton Mayer - 1944 Serbia

Georg Mayer - 1944 Italy

Georg Mayer - 1944 France

Georg Mayer - 1942 Russia

Melchior Mayer - 1943 Russia

Franz Michel - 1945 Unknown

Andreas Mitterer - 1944 Russia

Leonhard Moosner - 1944 Poland

Günther Morkis - 1945

Max Neumayr - 1944 Russia

Paul Niedermaier - 1944 Hospital Dachau

Gerhard Noeppert - 1944 Lithuania

Edwin Pilz - 1945 MIA Eastern Front

Raimund Pohl - 1945 Latvia

Franz Xaver Reichel - 1946 At Home

Josef Reinninger - 1944 MIA Russia

Georg Roehl - 1942 Russia

Emanuel Rother- 1945 In Captivity Russia

Franz Schmid - 1943 Russia

Robert Schubert - 1946 In Captivity Russia

Johann Schwab - 1944 France

Konrad Schweiberer - 1942 Russia

Johan Schwoed - 1946 In Captivity Russia

Alfred Seidler - 1942 MIA Russia

Georg Staffner - 1942 Hospital Garmisch

Franz Xaver Steinbeisser - 1944 Belorussia

Georg Steinbeisser - 1942 Russia

Georg Steinbeisser - 1943 Russia

Josef Steinbeisser - 1944 MIA Russia

Josef Steinbeisser - 1944 Poland

Johann Stuffer - 1944 Russia

Paul Watschoeder - 1943 MIA Russia

Ernst Wiedermann - 1944 Russia

Stefan Wiesbeck - 1949 At Home

Albin Winhard - 1944 Russia

Andreas Zinkl - 1942 Russia

Five of these men died fighting against American forces, whereas 80 of the 88 died fighting against Soviet forces.

[1] Stalag 7-A Moosburg Bavaria 48-12 (Work Camps 3324-46 Krumbachstrasse 48011, Work Camp 3368 Munich 48-11); -"P.O.W. - The Monthly Newsletter" (Sydney, Australia), No.39 of April 16, 1945.

[2] Goode was a West Point instructor and had been the Commanding Officer of 175th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division. He previously served in the same capacity at camps in Trier, Limburg and Szubin (German occupied Poland). He was captured during the invasion of Normandy – “Goode is Missing in Action,” Corvallis Gazette-Times, Jul. 24, 1944, p. 6.

[3] Lee McCardell, Baltimore Sun war correspondent, May 2, 1945.

[4] Stalag VII A: Oral history: Prepared by Military Intelligence Service War Department 1 November 1945-Compiled and presented by Greg Hatton of www.b24.net; NARA: Records of World War II Prisoners of War, created, 1942 - 1947, documenting the period 12/7/1941 - 11/19/1946 - Record Group 389

World War II Prisoners of War Data File, 12/7/1941 - 11/19/1946; Note: For the most comprehensive list of the small farming/agricultural "Kommando" camps, see The Pegasus Archive.