AFHI Virtual Museum - The Story of Stalag Luft III

The German garrison of Stalag Luft III was composed of non-flying Luftwaffe officers and enlisted personnel who were generally not qualified for frontline duty. Many of the guards were old and uneducated. Some had been wounded in combat and wore the patches of famous battles on the Eastern Front against Russia.

For the enlisted men, guarding prisoners was probably regarded as better than duty in the East, but for the officers it must have been one of the least desired assignments. Some officers and men of the camp's garrison were genuinely hated by the prisoners. Most of the others tried to be decent to the POWs, often under difficult circumstances and the threat of severe punishment if they were caught doing anything that could be considered contrary to Germany's war effort.

This general feeling of mutual respect is reflected in the fact that Gustav Simoleit and Hermann Glemnitz were invited as guests to the 20-year reunion of the American Former Prisoners of Stalag Luft III. They were warmly received.

To view more information about these artifacts, click on the image. A new window will open in your browser. If you don't see a new window, click here.
Colonel Friedrich Wilhelm Von Lindeiner	Gustav Simoleit	SS General Gottlob Berger
Hauptmann Galodovich	Sergeant-Major Hermann Glemnitz	The Ferrets
Front Gate Logs		20 Year POW Reunion
Post War Correspondence (from the collections of General Spivey)
Letter from General Berger to General Spivey - August 5, 1948	Letter from Colonel Von Lindeiner to General Spivey - June 22, 1948	Letter from Dr. Simoleit to Colonel Ralph Saltsman - May 1947
Letter from Colonel Von Lindeiner to General Spivey - July 31, 1948	Letter from Hermann Glemnitz to General Spivey - December 29, 1965	Letter from Hermann Glemnitz to Lt. Gen. A. P. Clark expressing satisfaction with his oral history interview of April 1984.