Introduction

Captain Jean Marie Draper

After the capitulation of France, under the terms of the decision of the Commission of WIESBADEN, in July 1940 the captain Jean Marie Draper, Major of Metrich (SF Thionville, 167eRIF) takes the way of Oflag XB, with many other officers of various units.

According to the terms of the decision, the high command of the German Army grants the honors of the war to him and authorizes it to preserve, in captivity, its weapons and luggage.

When, for health reason, it turns over to France at the beginning of 1943, some of its documents accompany it. And, in these pages, his/her son Jacques Mercier makes some to us divide some relating to Oflag XB.

Under/Lieutenant Leon Boursat

Leon Boursat is officer with the 271eRI, unit of the 60eDI (7th Army ordered by General GIRAUD) stationed on the level of the SF of Flandres before his entry in Belgium, in May 1940. The 271eRI thus forms part of these units taken out of clipper by the Germans, between Belgium and Dunkirk, and whose survivors are among the first prisoner of war.

Leon Boursat will be released only in 1945 and will return to France with documents and objects that its grand-daughter Coralie Aublanc Burlot presents to us in this file.

S/Lt joined the oflag after a short passage in stalag.

Geography

Opposite: drawing of “Tiburse” (June 6th, 40) showing that the relief bordering the camp is, at the very least, little victim.

DS. Oflag XB is located in Germany of North, in the province of Hanover, east of the Town of Nienburg on Weser, built on the edges of Weser, the river which comes beyond Cassel and which is thrown after Bremen, in the North Sea. This city is with 50km of Hanover, 60km of Bremen, 120km of Hamburg, 300km of Berlin. No the danger of bombardments.

While coming from the station (Hanover line in Bremen) one leaves the city on the right. At the end of 10 minutes of walk, after having circumvented the buildings of the barracks, one arrives at the camp

It is installed in full shift, on a ground sandy, flat, without horizon, at most, in the east, a light eminence makes dark task with its forest.

The neighborhoods of the camp are wet, almost marshy by place, subjected to the maritime mode. The camp is often beaten by the wind. There is not a long time it was a true storm which made fly and fall to ground the roof rather heavy from a WC external and the site offices of the sentinels. The summer it raises large sand clouds.

The rainwater runs out slowly, formant of large ponds around the huts, providing the artists with the camp prone to beautiful tables of reflections. The officers have shoes, that does not obstruct them.

The camp General provisions

DS. The camp approximately forms a square of 300m on side. It is surrounded by a double line of barbed wires (high 2,5m) with, enters, of the chevaux-de-frise. So that one does not approach the network, a wire tended to the strong current of the ground, with 4m of the barbed wires, delimits what is called “No man' S Land”, ground bandages where the prisoners should not put the foot, if not one draws.

With each corner of the square and in the middle of with dimensions ones, there is a square tower out of wood frame, dominating the network. They are the “Maradors” where the “postens are held” (sentinels) of guard, with armed rifle, machine-guns, projectors. The night, of many flashlights light the thorny line.

On the western face the door opens, close to the guardroom and to a watchtower. All those which penetrate or leave must show white leg with the sentinel bayonet with the gun.

Passed the door one also penetrates in an enclosure rather large, encircled him not of the barbed wires and reserved at the hospital, the infirmary, the showers and the prison. The prisoners there only will not use of these services.

The grounds surrounding the buildings were put at the disposal of officers for the gardening and the breeding of rabbits.

After having crossed a second gate kept by a second sentinel, here in front of you the large alley of the dustbins, finished by a roundabout. This alley divides the camp into two. On the left the numbered huts from 1 to 7 are aligned; on the right that numbered from 8 to 11, with, moreover, the canteen, refectories on both sides of the kitchen behind which one built the “new hut”, that where the parcels are distributed.

Behind huts 3 to 7 a sandy space called extends “the beach”. For the walk, one makes the turn of the camp, going along the barbed wires, at the edge of “No man' S Land”. It is the track on which one turns, one swivels.

There are 11 huts (block) sheltering the prisoners (from 250 to 300 prisoners each one). Hut 8 is reserved for the ordinances. The senior officers are in huts 9 and 10.

Huts 1 to 6 are built out of bricks, the others out of wood. The floors are on pile; all are hot; those of north a little wet. They are divided by a median corridor on which two lines of rooms of various sizes open (4 small rooms about the middle for 2 to 6 officers). At the entry the parts reserved for the wash-hand basins are, with the WC for the night, the wash-house. Two windows make the luminous and ventilated rooms. As of fallen the night, the shutters are closed.

A space from 20 to 30 meters separates the huts. The driers there were installed. In front of the huts runs a gravel path connected to the alley of the dustbins paved: it is less tiring which sand for walk.

The bleached rooms, reached a maximum, of variable size, comprise all the same furniture: beds with 2 or 3 stages, out of wood, with straw mattress (more one envelope of straw mattress, a cloth, a pillowcase, covers), tables, benches and stools, cupboard, stove, dustbin. Sometimes it missed place with table and stools; one lived on the beds.

The unit forms a whole harmonious [?], ventilated, clean, comfortable [?]. Any concern must thus be isolated on the side housing, hygiene and cold.

General organization

DS. The camp is ordered by a German Colonel (ex prisoner of war among Russian in 1914-1918), helped several officers responsible for the various services, especially charged with passing the call morning and evening.

The French officers are grouped not “Kompagnie” whose manpower corresponds to that of the inhabitants of a hut. A French officer knowing German, the “Führer hut” the order. He presents the company to the calls, is used as intermediary between the officers and the German authorities, centralizes the orders for the canteen, makes the distributions of balances, objects come from the canteen, the newspapers.

He is in contact with the “Stube-Führers” (“chiefs of room”) responsible for the maintenance of the rooms, charged to centralize the orders of the room, to distribute balances it, the opinions, to check the presences with the call.

The French officers take part in the administration of the camp There are with a German officer several French officers “of day” (one recognizes them with the arm-band marked POV). Since January 1st, 1941, a French commander directs the kitchen and the distribution, helped of young lieutenants. As of the beginning, the French officers directed the canteen. There are French doctors with the infirmary. French officers also worked at the German military command, the treasury, the distribution of the letters and the parcels, with their sorting what especially allows a fast distribution of the latter.

French soldiers specialists help German in various auxiliary services: maintenance of the buildings, distribution of coal, the bed linen.

There are workshops of shoe manufacture (without leather) mending from the effects, 2 or 3 hairdressing salons…

Various services are only assured by French such: the service pharmacy which provides sufficiently all the products of first urgency, aspirine, throat lozenges, Bayer specialities, of the cod-liver oil even; the service bookstore which gets German newspapers and books; the service library which has a restricted number of French books to rent; optical service and clock industry which is given the responsability to get glasses and eyeglass frames and to make repair the watches downtown.

The canteen, service ensured by French

The canteen itself gets the office accessories (paper, inks, pencil, adhesive), of toilet (ices, combs, toothbrushes, toothpaste (not of soap, every month the German authorities make us distribute a small cake of soap, every three months a shaving soap).

An appendix special provides all that it is necessary for the drawing and painting.

The canteen provides two more beer bottles per week, three to four times there was a wine bottle of the Rhine for three officers (to 3 or 4 marks part).

It got until in January a cigarette pack every 5 days. Since it does not find any more to supply itself. Send tobacco to your smokers. Nothing is worth the French tobacco.

Since the autumn 1940, it obtained vegetables to us: salads, cabbages, celeries, carrots, onions, garlics, radish, etc; several lemon times. Fortunately because the gums and the teeth were attacked. One finds there vinegar, sometimes salt and mustard. In theory nothing substantial good, nothing like food itself: bread or grazes.

Two months ago one proposed to us, by his intermediary, of the tamed parakeets.

The whole of these services, allowing the solution of many minutiae, makes however that the material life with the camp is about normal, the food question put except for.

Medium

DS. There was, with the camp, to 3500 officers and ordinances. Since the departure of the candidates, the medical ones and of some isolated, they are approximately 2800.

Among them there are officers of all ranks, of sub-lieutenant with colonel, all weapons (the German advance was if striking down that all was taken: artillery, health, etc). No aviators grouped in special camps. Of all held: some varieties of uniforms, colors, escutcheons, all the corners of France, much of Southerners (30 to 40 Toulouse). Of all the battlefields (Meuse, Dunkirk, Somme, Maginot) what was worth us precise information on the operations. Of all conditions and professions (military careers, teachers (200) prètres (70) engineers, professors, farmers, industrialists, etc what facilitated the organization of all kinds of course and conferences.

As of the beginning, groups were formed. One posted under the hood of the canteen of the lists to fill: Breton, Lorraine, Audois, Aveyronnais, Toulouse, old of Stan, of Saint-Cyr military school, Farmers, people of the textile, mountaineers, philatelists, were registered, were discovered, taken place their day and their meeting room. One there known as the received news of the country; one discussed the interests of the profession there, one made special conferences there.

The formation of these various groups did not harm of anything the perfect agreement the unit which forms a perfectly plain whole, especially now that one disappeared the egoists (escaped) and the inevitable irritation from the beginning.

No political discussions: there is only one body of French officers, one and worthy, opposite the respectful winners.

The discipline

Photograph opposite: arrival of prisoners

DS. It is necessary to return this testimony to him, the German authority of the camp is not troublesome, upsetting, painful. Apart from the two daily calls (at 9:00 the morning, at 17:00 in winter the evening) which last outside 20 minute or fifteen minutes usually, inside if it bad weather, apart from the rare visits inspections of the Colonel or the officer of day, one makes hardly sees German. And of the officers come from other camps appreciate peace extremely that one leaves the prisoners of Oflag XB. One rises there and one lies down there when one wants. Apart from the fixed hours of the calls and lunch, one does what one wants and when one wants.

I do not forget, however, 2 or 3 inspections, excavations in some made rooms “manu militari” followed by the seizure of personal notes to censure and returned then.

Daily life

Photograph opposite: one of the rooms

DS. One rises when one wants. Around 7 hours discreetly of the doors open. Then towards the wash-hand basins people accustomed move to rise early: those which like to rise at ease, the thinkers which like to make solitary a turn of camp in silence, amateurs of beautiful sunrises, those which want to go to the mass called around 8 a.m.

Soon after resounds, in the corridor, the step weighing of the ordinances which come to seek the pitchers for the “glandine” (the equivalent? of our “juice”). They will seek it with the kitchen. For quite hot drinking, most officers rise as soon as it arrives at the room, around 7:30 at 8:00.

Around 8:30 an officer of the room of day passes to note the number and the name of the patients.

At this time, it is large crowd with the wash-hand basins where one must make the tail.

With 8:45, first ring, given by the room of day: the lazy ones are stretched in their bed. At 9:00 minus 5 second and last blow: the lazy ones leap, get dressed while running. At 9:00 everyone is gathered in front of or beside the hut, by row of 5, packages of 50. The German officer arrives, accompanied by an non-commissioned officer or a soldier. The French “Baraken-Führer” presents Kompagnie, announcing the figure of the present, of the laid down patients, tightens the ticket of call. The German officer passes then in front of the rows including. During this time the soldier who accompanies it will check the presence of the patients in the rooms.

Each German officer passes the call to 3 or 4 huts. One breaks the rows only when they finished. That does not prevent, while waiting, to cause or make parts of snowballs.

The timetable which follows depends on the hour of the lunch, this one varies each week. One passes by groups of 500 every 45 minutes, of 10:15 to 2:00 approximately. In turn, one eats at 10:15, 11:00, 12:30. The service of 11:45 is reserved for the ordinances.

usually, the morning starts with a walk of 3 or 4 turns of camp: approximately an hour of walk with some “countries” come to join you. At the end, if it were not done the day before, one will read the news posted by the translators. Huts 2 to 9 had a very attended “newspaper”.

Those which have parcels precipitate towards hut 12, with their haversack, a bag. the distribution of the morning starts after the call.

During the walk, the room is swept, put in order, the lazy ones will be washed finally.

If one eats in the first, one waits the hour while chattering, if not one will make purchases with the canteen (when it opens), one begins a bridge, one makes his hour of German, of Latin, while waiting for the first distribution of letters, around 11:00. There is not always, alas!

When it tower of the hut arrives, by room one goes to the refectory, touch his lunch box or his plate of sauce. One assied by 6 front the table charged with “kartoffeln” (potatoes) out of dressing gown.

The finished meal, return to the room where it is supplemented, if one can, where one stuffs his pipe by reading the German newspapers distributed at the beginning of the afternoon.

Then, it is the moment of the reading (of the nap), it is the time of the courses and conferences. There is of them always one which attracts. If it does not take place in the room one has there with the stool with the hand or on the head.

Around 3:30 again “glandine” or herb tea. In the evening, the room of day went to perceive, with the kitchen, the evening meal, which will be taken in residence. It proceeds to the distribution by room; the officers of day, in each room, bring empty containers to him, will seek them full (?) with the bread. Then the distribution by officer takes place.

In the evening, second distribution of the parcels and letters.

With 5:00, call like the morning. Immediately after, some groups are formed for the prayer of the evening. One makes the last turn of camp before the doors are closed. The room of day closes the shutters. The cooks put themselves at work. Between 6 and 7:00 one dines.

After having played, read, worked, sung, around 10:00 one lies down. The baited workers, the impassioned readers, will settle in the corridor until 11:00 - midnight. Then it is rather frequently the calm one, disturbed by the siren: the English planes are on Bremen, Hanover. Much, accustomed, did not understand anything. Nobody moves. There is no danger, the shelters built originally between some huts were used to make fire.

Meals

Photograph opposite: meal in a room

Photograph below: the captain Draper in Oflag

about the meals the captain Draper written to his family: “Like food, the morning: a cup of glandine (juice of nipple). At midday a soup lunch box or a dozen potatoes with a sauce plate. Never of meat. Drink: water. The evening a small piece of sausage (of liver of fish, or roll or pork rind). It was all. No the physical exercises but with this mode there one should not fatten”.

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DS. They are one of the principal occupations of the day. I already indicated the schedules. Here the menu:

To the “glandine” of the morning, that nothing accompanies, those which can it add sugar (or saccharin sold with the canteen), condensed milk, pulverized chocolate.

For the lunch, been used for the refectory, there are two kinds of dishes: the “lunch box” and “potatoes”.

The “lunch box”, been used for the counter in a container of a capacity of one liter, consists of a soup with potatoes, soya, Swedish turnip, noodles (lunch box centers), with rice. There are sometimes traces of meat or bacon.

The “potatoes”, cooked out of dressing gown, are deposited (a jam bucket by table) nearly one kilo per officer. One passes to the counter to seek a plate of sauce to bacon or cod. Sat by 6 with table, the potato heap is divided, they are peeled and one crushes them in sauce. One always keeps some for the evening of them. On the tables one finds salt. It is all. No bread, not of dessert.

To the tea of 3:30 one adds some cookies of war if one in A.

The evening meal, if one sticks to the distribution, consists of a “entry” or a “dessert”. With the bread 225g, one perceives, indeed, only one piece of pie or roll, with one or two spoonfuls of grease. Happy are the days when the pie is true pie!

Thanks to the ingeniousness of some stove setters, one could manufacture small frying pans with limp of preserves, or to arrange the large stoves of the rooms, thanks to the parcels, one managed to eat something hot, either a Kub soup, or of apples gilded in ebullient grease or with choked.

All that is dry vegetables, noodles, starches, can be used. With chocolate and cookies, one makes very good cakes.

During the autumn, the canteen provided us salads, gherkins, cucumbers, celeries, cabbages, carrots, all that quite useful and was used.

Like water, one perceives two beer bottles per week. There are 3 to 4 times some bottles of wine of the Rhine, in Christmas especially where one could have a Christmas Eve party thus with dignity.

On the back of this menu of Christmas, in addition to some signatures it is noted: “To our sympathetic nerve and very skilful Boursat which for us each day of the wedding at Cana renews the strange one and useful miracle and returns edible an infamous meat to us.”

Occupations. Course, conferences, music.

Photograph opposite: play of bridge

DS. How to kill the trouble do the meals enter? How not to waste its time with always playing bridge? It is necessary to be informed. As of the beginning, in spite of the throbbing pains of the hunger, one puts oneself under investigation of German. Soon conferences are organized. Now they any more are not counted. One studies German, English, Italian, Spanish, Arabic… One speaks about all… one professes on all: Sciences, Mathematics, spaces of Riemann, History, Philosophy, Right, Theology, Pedagogy, Vine growing, Arboriculture, Geography, Colonies, Exposures of dogs, Drives out, etc etc There were talks on Pascal and the “thoughts”, on “Morals and religion”. The national circle of studies organized a series of conferences on teaching in France. Thanks to the contributions of various officers, one could reconstitute the history of the battles of the Meuse, of Belgium, of Lorraine.

All that is done by increasingly documented specialists.

Artists succeeded in getting musical instruments: piano, violins, violoncellos, etc and of the music. All the dimanches there is a concert with explanations.

Other artists assembled a troop of “cabaret”. The truck drivers will sing and make from room in room sing their so rich repertory. They gave, with the participation of the choral society, a beautiful meeting of Christmas, comprising the representation of a mystery of the Nativity by the team of dramatic art of the Clan Notre-Dame de France.

In October 1941, representation of “the flower of Orange tree” of Andre Birabeau and Georges Dolley.

Meeting of repetition for “the flower of Orange tree” (Repetition of the scene above)

André Birabeau (1890-1974) is a French writer and playwright. Georges Dolley is a French writer and scenario writer. They are, inter alia, joint authors of “the flower of orange tree”, comedy in 3 acts published into 1924 with the editions of “the small illustration”. In 1932 Henry Roussel in fact a film.

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Variety show

On the back of this photograph, captain JM Mercier wrote: “Concert of varieties 1940”

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DS. Thanks to the many supplies of the service “drawing”, the artists could organize 3 exposures. They were remarkable, continuously in progress. All the kinds were represented: portrait, still life, caricature, plan of a church, oil-base paint, gouache, charcoal, etc

The sculpture had there also its place. Ah! pretty sets of failures, beautiful service of kitchen that I saw there! The French ingeniousness and talent triumphing over all poverties.

With all that, one cannot really be bored with the camp; one would rather miss forces that of work.

If one adds to that many are the professors and the enthusiasts of gymnastics, one sees that it is not necessary to fear that faculties of the prisoners are atrophied or that they are let “go” to the tragic direction of the mot.

Mail

Photograph. Arrival of the parcels, out of leaded bags

Parcels

DS. At the base of all this activity, there are the parcels suppliers of food and books. As long as they did not arrive, it was necessary to remain on the beds. Without them one is hungry and words are wasted on a starving man, even for most beautiful of the conferences.

At Oflag XB, they arrive well. With beginning, the services of distribution were bottled a little. Since December, one could distribute to 5000 parcels per day, during a double distribution.

I do not think that parcels were lost with the camp the coaches arrive leaded. The leaded bags are discharged by French soldiers, opened with the camp by French officers who sort them under the direction of German. The parcels then are classified, driven, numbered. At midday and 5 o'clock in the evening, one posts the lists of numbers (followed by the name of the recipients) which will be distributed the evening even or the next morning.

At the time of the distribution (9h30 and 3:00) the parcels are brought to the room reserved for this purpose. 3 counters function: the first for the letters A-F, the second for letters G-M, 3rd for the other letters. French officers pass the parcels, an officer calls in the order the numbers, two others cut the strings, a German soldier opens the parcel under the eyes of the recipient to whom it gives the authorized contents.

Limp of preserve must all be open in theory. In fact limp them industrial: sardines, pies, are to it only some times and are given immediately. For the others, the recipient has the choice between the immediate opening or the placing on tip in a special cupboard from where it will be able to come to withdraw it, open, when it wants. Limp are labelled, the depositor receives a double. The chocolate envelopes are often half-opened. The paper labels of limp of preserves are removed. The breads are cut into two or several pieces.

All my parcels arrived well and intact into 15 or 20 days.

Is what one happy to find there? What is necessary to put at it? What it is necessary to live, to supplement the mode: ox, calf, stew, sausage, bacon, chicken in mince, stew, chocolate, condensed milk. Thanks to the stoves, they can cook, make cook dry soups, vegetables, pastes, rice, semolinas, flours of vegetables, tea, coffee, etc etc

Assemble to them a small grocer. They have little sugar and greases. Do not forget the cigarettes, the tobacco for the smokers and their comrades. I would never have believed that the deprivation of tobacco was so painful to support. That irritations dissipated by a good pipe… and some books of reading… besides the books of work that they ask you.

That supposes many parcels. The reasonable principle for France is that of a parcel of one kilo per week and correspondent, plus a parcel of 5kg per month when one puts the substantial one or linen. Which is the prisoner who does not have several correspondents? Not to forget that all is shared; the officers of the occupied zone should not suffer from the lack of supply.

Letters

DS. I will say similar thing for the dispatched letters of France. The German censures had adopted this measure with our camp, I think. I received for my part, by week, 5 or 6 letters or charts of different correspondents. I believe that those which did not have any that one received from them only one or two.

The prisoners of Oflag XB did not have charts - notice of receipt. They must devote part of their mail to it. They should be excused if they do not thank all their shippers for parcel.

In theory, since January, the German authorities had promised to let leave 4 correspondences per month: 2 letters and 2 charts. They held word.

Postcard (Postkarte) addressed to the mother of the captain Draper.

DS. It is necessary to be at ease with the prisoners in their writing. Not to say riens. Of course they know that you like them, do not forget them. Give them news of your family, your commune, city, France, news of their army pals, etc without sentences. No the lies which raise false hopes. Tell them your faith in France. You can send photographs with your address to them, without inscription in the letters.

Photograph memory of the capitane Draper

Photograph memory of the occupants of room 4, hut 6.

Modification of the size of the image

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On the photograph: (to locate a person on the photograph, pass the mouse on its name)

ROBITAILLIE

DRAPER

THEQ

BALLEUX

DAVOINE

RICHARD

OUVRARD

BOURLARD

TELLIER

MAERTEN

RAYNAUD

RICHELET

The moral one

DS. Your letters can to maintain it much with the high level which is it his usually. It is delicate to make a general assessment in this matter, whereas the officers are so numerous and extremely restricted. On the other hand the figure of those which one can know. However I do not believe to mislead me, I am sure that over there all think in French. Thanks to the conferences, with the courses, the walks, the charts, there are not time to be bored and ruminate his sorrow. The crises of “cockroach”, the nostalgia which follows the reading of a letter, the contemplation of a photograph, cannot last, so much are clever the comrades to help you to remove you from the “animal” mortal.

Of course, it disabled there, there are young people, the hesitant ones, but as a whole, the mass, made officers of career, engineers, catholics, of French, sees and thinks just and French.

There are the news by the German newspapers and the “hyphen”, this newspaper in French printed in Germany, which is distributed free in all the camps 2 times per week. They now have the French newspapers of the occupied zone (official journal, the illustration, the Sheaf, the Morning, Paris-evening), of the Belgian newspapers. One does not understand large thing with the events of France. One knows what occurs to Africa.

One likes Pétain, the legitimate chief, the saver of France. One is held and the heart remains hot to be liked France. Ah! the long glances which I surprised, often posed on the photograph of the mother, the wife, of the children, the evening before falling asleep. That it is large, that it is beautiful men like these, these true interdependent comrades in the hunger and abundance, rounding the angles unceasingly, so that they do not want to be left any more when the rooms should be loosened.

The religious worship

DS. Much, to support the test, has the force of the religious helps. There is a very enthusiastic group protesting: about thirty officers meet around two pastors (the Gothie captain and the Bost captain). As of the beginning they had very facilitated; the camp being in Protestant country and the German colonel ordering Oflag being it too.

For the catholics, the organization of the worship was slower to come in spite of the number of priests to the camp (70). At the beginning, not of mass as a public: only one daily mass in the room of the military chaplains. One had then the mass Monday, every fifteen days, called by Mister the priest of Nienburg. After August 15th when we pumes to sing the French mass, the mass was weekly. Finally one comes to the currently perfect organization: daily mass accessible to all. Two masses Sunday with songs and sermon. Being given the shortage of wine, the priests could say the mass in January, only once every 5 days.

RP Rimaud of the “studies”, specialist in the scout and teaching questions, took in hand, as of the beginning, the spiritual direction of the camp RP Doyere, police chief of the navy, Benedictine of the Abbey of Nisque, must succeed to him. There were courses of theology for the seminarists and the laymen. By talks, individual conversations, it does a work of deepening in the already Christian hearts, a deliberation at much of others, which gave results already.

The catholic Scout-truck drivers, full with energy, creating in the camp a merry young atmosphere, render much services and knew to gain many comrades with the movement.

Typist script

Typist script of 12 pages, of unknown origin, whose the texts are extracted from this document. (Collection Jacques Draper). He was written by an officer, prisoner in Oflag XB, between on May 29th, 1940 and on January 1st, 1941.

And the life continues

DS. The prisoners have an ordinance for two rooms; it waxes the shoes, lights the stove, sweeps, makes the crockery at the ones, sometimes at the others, goes seek the “juice”.

Every ten days, they touch balances it, a sum fixed as of the beginning, proportioned with the gallons, exceeding to it final balance for those which made a complete assignment of pay. All will be to readjust. They do not spend the third of what they touch. They leave in deposit at the German military command the surplus and can send it in France. They do not require that money is sent to them.

Behind the barbed wires, they turn in round, the wearied eyes of the same flat, dull landscape. Where thus is it the French sky, the charm of the Pyrenees, the sun of Provence? Hardly one sees this protesting bell-tower which takes shape over there in the west, with the top of the trees, on the right of the barracks. The large wings moving of a windmill stare at one moment. One stops listening to the cawing of hundreds of corbels. Towards the east dark mass of the forest, on the hill, a little, especially inattentive with the same white task that one sees there (stone quarry). One is delayed to look at passing the trains while going along the barbed wires of north.

Up there, in its watchtower with machine-gun and projector, the “Posten” types foot. Let us return quickly in the room. “Pipe” shouts everyone… I announce to you that everyone leaves tomorrow. Colonel Klein said it to a French officer who makes his portrait.

Alas, no one does not know when they will return. They aspire only to that but in the honor. That Pétain does not buy them to the detriment of France. Can they return soon there to work with its rectification in the freedom and the joy of the found family.

Currency used in Oflag

The captive officers continued to perceive their balance. But the greatest part was sent to the family: the “assignment of pay”. The remainder was versed for them, but not in the form of true tickets (some could have made economies, to facilitate their escape…). From where these “tickets”, in ReichMarks and Pfennigs, which enabled them to buy some supplements of food or the various objects. I remember to have received a box of colored pencils “stabilo”, gift of my father for Christmas 1941. (Jacques Draper)

Commission of Wiesbaden

In the convention of armistice signed on June 22nd, 1940, between France and Germany, it is expected that is created a German Commission of armistice in charge of the application and control of signed convention.

Located in Wiesbaden, in Germany, this commission is put under the authority of the German High command and is directed by the general Carl Heinrich von Stülpnagel. A French delegation, directed by the Huntziger general (named by the French government), is charged to deliver her opinion then to receive and make apply the decisions taken by the commission.

This commission regulates all the details related to the stop of the engagements: leaves the prisoners, demobilization of the French Army, controls French industries of the armament, etc

Invisible ink of the captain Draper

Jacques Draper: During his captivity my father addressed some letters in any discretion to us, by using an invisible process of ink (or almost). The controller of the mail of the oflag, naive, at least at the beginning, suspected nothing (or perhaps it is rotten completion).

But people speak… the noises run and spread themselves in the oflag… the controller awakes, finds the trick astute; he laughs severely: ah! ah! ah! … And my father finds himself punished little glorieusement: one or two months private of mail. We received an opinion of the commander of the oflag which pleasantly informed us.

Process

One soaks a sheet of paper in water. One poses it on a hard surface, kind glazes or freezes. One poses, over, another dry sheet and one writes on this one with a pencil, while supporting well. The wet sheet preserves the print of the writing, kind makes in filigree. One makes it dry and one sees nothing any more, or almost.

One makes use of it then to wrap something, for example the band of sending of the newspaper: the Hyphen. The recipient, smart, who is with the current, soaks the sheet in water and, ô miracle, the filigrees reappear. One arrives at reading… painfully. JM

Before putting this document on the site I tested the process. It functions. RC

Warning

The typist script of 12 pages, whose extracts are presented to you in this document (in bold characters, Italic, located by “DS”), was written neither by the Mercier captain nor by S/Lt Boursat. It is of unknown origin (unknown of the son of the captain, which holds it in its personal records). It was written by a captive officer between on May 29th, 1940 and on January 1st, 1941. This last writing this text intended for families of captive officers. We will regard this document as a rough testimony and will not thus make any comment as for the value judgments which mark out it and which could be prone to polemics. (ER Cima)

Note: one can think that many captive officers, at least until 41-42, were more or less favorable to the Vichy government and especially to Pétain. Bottom of their oflag, it could read only the French newspapers of the occupied zone and the “Hyphen” (published in Germany for the prisoners), this last frankly Nazi! No the radio, of course, therefore not of news of De Gaulle. (Jacques Draper)

Extract of the “Hyphen”, N° July 3rd, 1940. French newspaper, printed in Germany and distributed free in all the camps.