Re: Once a Prisoner, Now a Visitor

Date: May 18, 2004

"World War II German officer visits site of Mississippi POW camp
Associated Press

COMO, Miss. - When Werner Lobback returned to the tiny north Mississippi town of Como this past weekend for first time in 60 years he came as a visitor, not a prisoner of war.

Lobback, a former officer in the German army, had spent nearly a year in Como in the final months of World War II, locked behind barbed wire with fellow POWs. He returned on Sunday.

"Let me explain it," the 84-year-old Lobback said. "I wanted to see the place where I stayed for part of my youth. At this time, I was 24 years old. And I wanted to see some of the people, if possible. . .. Maybe (I came) to give back a little bit."

Lobback didn't encounter anyone he remembered from those days but he and five members of his family were greeted by a small contingent from the Como area.

Sara Trotter and the other Como residents took the family to the site of the former camp, now a factory, then treated them to a Southern lunch.

The reception surprised Lobback, who was joined by his wife, Kate, his daughter and son-in-law, Hans and Margarette Stahlmann, and his granddaughter Sonja Stahlmann.

"I was seeing so many people interested in my grandfather's life," said Sonja, 29. "I know it was important for him, but I realized it was important for people here, too, on the other side of the story."

Lobback's first trip to Mississippi began in Cherbourg, France, in the summer of 1944. The Germans were cut off by the Americans, and rather than waste their lives, the commander ordered a surrender.

Lobback was shipped to England and eventually to the United States, where he arrived in Como by train on Aug. 17, 1944.

Perhaps surprisingly, Lobback said he has fond memories of his year in the camp about 45 miles south of Memphis.

As an officer, he wasn't put to work, as many of the enlisted men were. He enjoyed playing soccer, handball and tennis, going to movies and taking classes in several subjects.

Oh, and the food was delicious, particularly fried chicken on Sundays.

"It was a very good time for us. Feeling safe, you know," he said. "It wasn't a jail for me. I felt safe. I was waiting for the end of the war."

The irony of that comment wasn't lost on Lobback in light of the disturbing photos coming out of the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, showing American jailers mistreating prisoners.

"When I saw those pictures, I said I must go ..... I must go and tell these people I met other Americans," he said.

However, he recalled that during his time in Como he saw other photos and movies that shocked him deeply.

At the theater in Como, he and other Germans POWs, for the first time saw newsreels taken of the Nazi concentration camps.

"I assure you, we did know nothing. In fighting units, you were in front, and all that happened in the back," he said.

Lobback joined the German army at the age of 15 for a better career after military life. But when war broke out, those dreams were dashed.

"That was very bad because after the war, I had nothing in my hands," he said.

After leaving Como in August 1945 and returning to Europe a few months later, Lobback found work as a dishwasher.

But in 1948, he got a job with Esso, Exxon's European division, and he partly credits the instruction in English he received while at Como. He retired in 1979.

© 2004 AP Wire
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