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I am looking for first hand accounts by anyone who experienced the slave labor camps around Hovelhof, Verl and Braunswick Germany in April 1945...or anywhere in the vicinity! This was in the XIXth Corps, Ninth US Army's path of advance in Germany after the Rhine crossing. I am looking for photos, diary or letter accounts of these camps as well. Any photos would be copied and returned...and nothing would be quoted or reproducedwithout the consent of the owners.

I am trying to flesh out the accounts of members of the 978th Engineer Maintenance Company. They overran one camp and interacted with the liberated laborers in the area.

Theron

Hello,

there have been so many camps...

One at one in Verl, one in Verl-Sende, one in Hövelhof, another in Hövelhof-Espeln, all satellite commands of the prisoner camp Oberems at Gütersloh. Only 7 km away there was Stalag 326 (VI K) Senne, you'll find a picture here

http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/portal/Internet/input_felder/anzeigen.php?verzeichnis=med&dateiname=bh-262-08.jpg&bild_id=12

and here

http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/portal/Internet/input_felder/anzeigen.php?verzeichnis=med&dateiname=bh-262-08.jpg&bild_id=11

I do not know a town named Braunswick, perhaps it should be Braunschweig, 140 km away? I'm afraid there were a lot of of small camps between Verl and Braunschweig.

Christoph