The envelopes held notices from the War Department that he was missing in action and finally that he was freed.
Art Botz languished as Nazi POW
By Harry Hanson
Only recently did the Sauk Centre Herald become privy to the heartbreaks of Pvt. 1st Class Art Botz who went through hell as a Prisoner of War (POW) in a German POW camp. He had been captured along with over 7,000 others from his 106th Infantry Battalion during the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium in mid-December of 1944.
Botz finally made it back to Sauk Centre and spent his working career driving truck for the Blattner Road Construction Co. When he died a short time ago, his sister-in-law, Elaine Botz, figured it was time to let Sauk Centre locals know about the travail he was forced to accept while a prisoner for 100 days, which ended when Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945. While Botz never talked to his family about his POW experiences after returning from Europe, he had sent letters to his mother, Mrs. Fred Botz, and his sisters, prior to his capture.
The story of the captured members of the battalion were gleaned from newspaper articles both in Minneapolis papers and the Sauk Centre Herald. Alma Saunders put together all articles and letters written home into a scrapbook. Belgium was registering 20-below temperatures in December of 1944. The 106th was dispatched to a position parallel to the Nazi Siegfried Line near St. Vith which was considered a quiet sector of the front.
Five days passed after the German party first attacked in massive force. On Dec. 16, German General Von Rundstedt gave orders to advance on St. Vith along a ten-mile front after a tremendous artillery shelling. Of the 8,663 soldiers in the 106th, 416 died, and 1200 were wounded.
The remainder became POWs.
"Searchlights were lighted to blind American troops at night when smoke arising from artillery hits became ghost-like," said the Associated Press release. Botz's parents received two letters from the war department, first presuming their son MIA (Missing In Action), and the second on Jan. 13 confirming it.
Letter home asks for "care package" A letter home from Botz dated Jan. 5, 1945 from the prison camp stated (with one sentence censored) he was doing well under the conditions. He wished they would send him a half dozen hankies, and four pairs of socks. "Also send me a few bars of candy. I'm getting so I crave sweet stuff. Also send pipe tobacco and papers because they take less room than cigarettes. A few bags of Bull (Durham) will also be welcome and whatever else you think will survive the trip." Liberation day came on April 2, 1945, when American tanks rolled in. The third letter arrived April 5 stating he had been freed. During their stay in the prison camp all prisoners were subjected to harsh treatment which was against the Geneva Convention concerning capture.
Prisoners were not getting the same rations granted to their captors. The worst was described as a lone beet as a day's ration for THREE prisoners.
The general rule, however, was living on potatoes, soup and black bread. Botz weighed almost 200 pounds, which plummeted to 120 pounds by the time he was released from the prison camp. In contrast, Americans operating a POW camp composed of German prisoners were told "Let's not be beastly on the Germans."
What a full story could have been told by Art Botz to awaiting listeners had he not chosen to remain silent concerning his ordeal.
©Sauk Centre Herald, Sauk Centre, MN