Diplomat thanks Americans for humane treatment of German WWII POWs
The Associated Press - FORT BENNING, Ga.
A German diplomat thanked Americans on Wednesday for the humane treatment of his countrymen who were captured on World War II battlefields and brought to the United States as prisoners of war.
Now German and U.S. soldiers stand side by side in the war on terrorism and in efforts to control the proliferation of nuclear weapons, Andreas Zimmer, Germany's deputy consul general, said during a speech at a memorial service for the 44 German POWs buried at the Fort Benning cemetery.
"They were enemy soldiers of an enemy country and even after all the atrocities, you took care of them," Zimmer said. "We are very thankful to our American friends."
The POWs at Fort Benning, ranging from private to lieutenant general, were among nearly 500,000 German prisoners shipped to the United States during the war. With many able-bodied Americans fighting the war, the German POWs helped relieve a labor shortage by working on farms and elsewhere. About 860 of them are buried at 43 sites across the United States, according to the German War Graves Commission. Most died from accidents or natural causes.
The memorial service was hosted by Germany's military liaison team at Fort Benning. Besides their permanent headstones, the graves were marked by small urns containing a German flag and gold and yellow flowers.
"The family of free nations faces a new and very dangerous threat by the growth of international terrorism," said Lt. Col. Herbert Sladek, the German liaison officer. "Free nations have to stand up to this challenge, fight for their freedom and defeat their enemies wherever they are."
The other member of the liaison team, Sgt. Maj. Peter O'Grady, came to Fort Benning this year from the German special forces, known as the KSK.
O'Grady and other KSK members were in Afghanistan three weeks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, fighting with U.S. special operations forces, Sladek noted in an interview before the ceremony.
Sladek and O'Grady placed a wreath on the grave of the highest ranking POW, Lt. Gen. Willibald Borowietz, who was killed in an auto accident on July 1, 1945. Borowietz was awarded the equivalent of the U.S. Medal of Honor.
Eight U.S. Army Rangers fired a rifle salute and the Fort Benning band played the national anthems of both countries.
Among the guests were German-born wives of U.S. soldiers who keep fresh flowers on the graves, top Fort Benning officials and members of a motorcycle club that focuses on POW-MIA issues.
Liaison teams from Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Korea and the United Kingdom also were represented at the ceremony.
Zimmer noted that Germany now has 10,000 troops abroad in places like Afghanistan, the Balkans and East Africa.
"We work together on behalf of the close friendship between my country and the United States," he said.
©2004 The Associated Press
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