After Eugen Zimmermann arrived at Camp Aliceville as a German POW, he sent this telegram to his family back in Germany on November 14, 1943. It was customary to allow the POWs to send telegrams like these through the International Red Cross, but this is the first one I have been able to post on the blog, thanks to Eugen's granddaughter who sent a copy, along with information about her grandfather's World War II experiences.
Eugen Zimmermann was a carpenter by trade, and a very good one according to family accounts. His daughter has said that, while a POW, he was allowed to go into the town of Aliceville with work crews because of his skills. 
Later, when he was released from Camp Aliceville, Eugen was sent to France. (The photo at left shows him during his time as a POW.) Like many Aliceville POWs (including Wilhelm Schlegel, who is also mentioned on this blog site), Eugen was kept in France for another year after the war. During this extra time as a prisoner,he did backbreaking work in a French coal mine. After the war, he told his family that he was treated well while in the U. S. but that his treatment was more difficult in France. "I guess it's understandable," said his granddaughter, "after what the Nazis did." She added that, although her grandfather served in the German army, he was not a Nazi. While he was away fighting, his wife took in war refugees and cared for them in her home, in spite of her meager circumstances. 
Eugen's granddaughter lives in Oklahoma where her father retired from the U.S. Army at Fort Sill. He met his wife, Eugen's daughter, in Ulm, Germany, and they have been married for 50 years. The family has just begun to research the World War II history, which they consider fascinating and important.
PLEASE NOTE: A journalist in South Carolina is seeking information about German POWs who were interned at Camp Aliceville in Alabama and then sent to an air force base camp at Florence, South Carolina. If any of my readers have information about these men, please leave a comment and I will put you in touch with this journalist.
Tags: Camp Aliceville, German POWs, WWII
