Camp near Siegberg Germany?

[Jean Jacobson]

How True!

 

And Marion, I can only imagine what your Dad is thinking right now of you!!!

 

From a Member of Christoph's and Marion's Fan Clubs,

Jean J

[Christoph]

You two ham it up a bit, don't you?

 

Wgat Jean writes about Theo is very true, I htink, and even his son does not understand how a catholic Christian like his father could join the NSDAP.

 

Christoph

[Jean Jacobson]

Christoph,

 

No we don't ham it up and you know it! You are incredible!!! Those characters Marion uses are a riot!

 

I was worried about saying something philosophical about Theo and in fact erased a few sentences. They were about Theo's conflict, and so many other ideas on conflict. The Allies are bombing the place like mad, and yes the Allied prisoners want the War to end but the bombing might kill them. And then there is the idea that the Germans are fighting this War against men that they are willing to hospitalize so they can live. The list of conflicting situations and ideas goes on and on.... Life!

 

What I wanted to tell Marion was her title of The Proud Daughter was so appropriate and her Dad would be a Prouder Father to the Nth Degree!

 

Now, an interesting thought, hopefully on Monday we should hear if my Dad is one of the 2 French men that had a successful escape. I did not think much about it as a clue, but I am named after my Dad. Yes, his name is Jean. I keep a low profile life, and would not ordinarily mention a name. But Dad used to have lots of responses for the 'French' spelling of his name. One was that his Mother wanted a girl. But the main reason he gave was that in 'French' Jean means John. So who knows if that influenced the person writing the report.

 

Now Prisoner #2 that I found I wonder what we should call him. I could call him Lucky. No I don't think that works. I could call him #2. Definitely not that since the poor guy got dysentery during his 15 days of hiding and no food. He said he pooped about 20 times a day and it was liquid. This was the case at the Abbey too. Now I am looking for a name for him but I had to tell you about the dysentery problem because that will become part of future situations. I could try P2 but in the end I think KF is best until I have his permission to share his name.

 

Good Night,

Jean J

[Jean Jacobson]

Hello!

 

This is information that I wanted to share last week but so much news was coming that I delayed it.

 

The gentleman that I mentioned Dan, is with the Third Armored Division Association, he is the one who is helping me locate more maps that connect to the Siegburg map with the hope that some of Dad's escape route/paths/options could be determined. He sent me the following message:

I looked at the maps. Combining the Sechtem, Bonn, and Eitorf maps to the Siegburg map should give you the coverage you are looking for. The Sechtum map has Sechtem in the North, Bornheim in the middle, and Hemmerzheim to the South (and a little east). The Bonn map connects to the Sechtem map a little south with Widdig and Rheid in the north, Boisdorf in the middle east, Bonn in the middle west, and Lengsdorf to the South. The Bonn map also extends west of the river -- from Meindorf to Putzenen. The Eitorf map connects with the Siegburg map at the river (the river at the top of the Siegburg map) and runs west.

I am ordering all 3 of those maps while we wait to see if he can find the one that includes Remagen.

Because the maps are too big for their scanners I order them on disc and that work gets done from a different group and takes much longer for me to receive.

It will be interesting to see if these maps will help us with Prisoner #2, KF and feel certain I will have to order at least one additional map more with an emphasis on Cologne. More to follow on that.

The Dan that sent the above message on the maps is the one that went through the records he has available and found the entry and wrote “Your father wasn't French, right? The March 16, 1945 G-2 Report talks about two French PsWs who escaped and crossed the Rhine.”

Dan is an employee or maybe a volunteer with the Third Armored Division Association. If he is an employee, he loves what he does and clearly goes above and beyond whatever his job requires!!! Now that is a man you want working for you!!!

From a book in my queue that I want to read in its entirety there is one page that I marked and would periodically reread. You can access it here:

 

www.jjworld.com/images/Book-DeathTrapsPg266-3rd ArmoredDivMarch20_1945

 

I could never figure out how they were handling E and W and the sides of the Rhine – why refer to the main road to Remagen which it says ran down the West bank of the Rhine if they were traveling on the East Bank and how did they get on the East Bank.

Christoph, so to answer one of your questions about Dad after March 22, 1945, and while I have said Dad was tough and maybe he could swim the Rhine, what about Gidrie. Gidrie supposedly had his rear end blown out – or something like that. Gidrie’s health was such that it delayed Dad leaving Europe. They wanted to keep the 2 of them together after what they had been through. And so Dad was in several hospitals before returning home. And even then they came back on a Hospital ship. Maybe Gidrie’s health was okay enough, but Christoph with the water conditions on the Rhine as they were around mid March 1945 could you have rescued someone and then you personally with them swim across the Rhine and carry them as dead weight over to the other side of the Rhine? Could my father? Did my father? I doubt it happened, maybe the men writing the report meant the River Sieg. Dad mentions that River in some random notes.

If this is Dad that the report refers to, will it be accurate with the location where he was picked up. Like the Hodges Diary entry – thank gosh it exists – but many discrepancies.

And as I went back and forth last Wednesday on this topic with Dan as to why I thought this could be Dad, Dan wrote back:

There isn't much information on the two but I will send you a PDF of the report.

Also, the Hodges diary says General Collins told Hodges of the two escapees. I am not sure if you know this, but General Collins was a member of the Third Armored Division.

I think Dan works an afternoon/evening shift because his messages come late in the afternoon and evening. Only a couple came in close to noon.

 

I want to go to Mom’s tomorrow because while I went yesterday and today, she is not doing very well. Hopefully the weather will be no worse than today because of Hurricane Isaac-Christoph.

 

So the wait goes on to see if Dad found a beret, spoke a little French, found one of those long cigarette holders and a cigarette, all after he left the Abbey. You know, I never asked him if he took a shower knowing he was going out. Actually, that is another question, did they shave while at the Camp?

 

Jean J

[Jean Jacobson]

Well, no sleep last night and I have just heard from Dan.

 

His email was regarding the maps and the other Department and the costs etc. I did not mention Cologne issue yet because did not want to delay any thing he might do on the 2 French men status.

 

He kindly wrote me :Hi:

 

No problem. I will send you a pdf of the G-2 report that mentions the French soldiers shortly.

 

Dan

 

On Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 1:30 PM, Jean Jacobson <jeanj@jjworld.com> wrote:

 

 

Oh it is so great to hear from you! You can tell I am sitting by the computer!

 

Thank you for the map request to those folks.

 

Jean J

And now the continued wait.

 

Jean J

[Jean Jacobson]

I will have Steve work on getting the info so I can attach it.

 

But quickly the paragraph reads: The following tactical information has been obtained from interrogation of civilians and impressed foreign workers from the Cologne area. Two of the informants were escaped French PsW who had crossed the RHINE. The information of all the men interrogated is considered credible.

 

And I do not know what I think.

 

Jean J

[Jean Jacobson]

Here are the documents that Daniel Raymond sent:

 

www.jjworld.com/images/G-2 Mar_6_1945.pdf

 

Dan said I could use his name. And now I know his title. He is an assistant archivist for the Third Armored Division Association Archives located in the Archives Research Center.

 

Boy are they lucky to have him working for them, and I am too.

 

Jean J

[Christoph]

Oh, that's hard

 

About swimming across the Rhine: The (main) problems are flow, ships and temperature. If you only want to cross the river, no matter where, the flow is nearly secondary. Today ships are the biggest danger for swimmers in the Rhine, but in March 1945 I assume there were none. But the Rhine is cold in March, between 5 and 11 degrees the last years. Unfortunately I don't have data for 1945. Even in summer "our" life savers wear neoprene wet suits when they have to swim in the Rhine, but of course they don't have a Nazi army behind them. I think your dad could have managed it, but if he had to pull Gidrie I doubt.

 

Christoph

 

I see you have got the answer while I was still writing

[Christoph]

If they have interviewed the two "French" PsW, I'm quiet shure that they would have recognized them as Americans, even with a French name. However, there is not s much information about the two in the report

 

Now Isaac is present in our news too!

 

Christoph

[Jean Jacobson]

Christoph,

 

I lean towards your assessment. I was so excited but that is life. And of course, I will not give up. It just means one future day we will have a big celebration because we really will find the records.

 

I sent both of your responses to Dan. I used your full name. Those were 2 very important messages that you sent me and now him!! You shared your personal wisdom to add logic to the news!

 

And I did a gulp/double take when you said about not having the Nazi Army behind you. I will chuckle forever over that.

 

Thank goodness Hurricane Isaac-Christoph missed us, we got lots of wind and rain and that is fine, but who knows where you are going now!

 

I know am going to go to Mom's and will be putting her to bed.

 

Good Night and as always Thank You for what you do and being there!

 

Jean J