Great Escape Forger: The Work of Carl Holmstrom—POW#221. An Artist in Stalag Luft III

By Susan Holmstrom Kohnowich

Carl Holmstrom’s superb artwork depicts life as a ‘kriegie’ in a unique manner. But, more than that, he spent the major part of his captivity in Stalag Luft III Prisoner of War Camp, famous for ‘The Great Escape’. The audacity of the 76 escapees was only matched by the callousness of the Nazis who murdered 50 after recapture. As well as skillfully recording camp life, Carl forged invaluable official documents. He also sketched his fellow prisoners and encouraged others to take up drawing as hobby. Remarkably he saved over 200 examples of his work by carrying them on the appallingly arduous 1945 winter march from Poland into Germany. Post war, Carl Holmstrom said, “The drawings were made during imprisonment and represent a sincere effort to portray to the American people and especially to the relatives of the prisoners, intimate glimpses of Kriegie life.” His words proved to be prophetic. An expansion of his earlier self-published Kriegie Life, this superb book honors Carl’s exceptional artistic gift. This book has strong claim to contain the finest collection of POW art to emerge from Nazi-occupied Europe.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Sep 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9781526767998

Book preview

Great Escape Forger

Great Escape Forger

The Work of Carl Holmstrom – POW#221

An Artist in Stalag Luft III

Susan Holmstrom Kohnowich

Assistance with manuscript preparation by Marilyn Jeffers Walton

First published in Great Britain in 2022 by

Pen & Sword Military

An imprint of Pen & Sword Books Ltd Yorkshire – Philadelphia

Copyright © Susan Holmstrom Kohnowich 2022

ISBN 978 1 52676 798 1

eISBN 978 1 52676 799 8

Mobi ISBN 978 1 52676 799 8

The right of Susan Holmstrom Kohnowich to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing.

Pen & Sword Books Limited incorporates the imprints of Atlas, Archaeology, Aviation, Discovery, Family History, Fiction, History, Maritime, Military, Military Classics, Politics, Select, Transport, True Crime, Air World, Frontline Publishing, Leo Cooper, Remember When, Seaforth Publishing, The Praetorian Press, Wharncliffe Local History, Wharncliffe Transport, Wharncliffe True Crime and White Owl.

For a complete list of Pen & Sword titles please contact

PEN & SWORD BOOKS LIMITED

47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2AS, England

E-mail: [e-mail]

Website: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk

Or

PEN AND SWORD BOOKS

1950 Lawrence Rd, Havertown, PA 19083, USA

E-mail: [e-mail]

Website: www.penandswordbooks.com

‘Everyone here in this room is living on borrowed time. By rights, we should all be …dead!

The only reason that God allowed us this extra ration of life is so we can make life hell for the enemy! Three bloody deep, bloody long tunnels will be dug: Tom, Dick and Harry. One will succeed!’

Quote of Mastermind of The Great Escape, Squadron Leader Roger Bushell

Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction: ‘For You the War is Over’

Photograph of Second Lieutenant Carl Henry Holmstrom

Foreword: ‘The Life of a Kriegie’

Map of Prisoner of War Camps in Germany: Second World War

Sketches of Oflag XXI-B

Buildings Identified in Oflag XXI-B

Hospital and Senior Officer’s Building

Hospital and ‘The White House’

Cook House and British Food Parcels

Small Kitchen

Barracks of Oflag XXI Showing Combines

Washroom of Oflag XXI

Sketches of the ‘Great Escape Camp’: Stalag Luft III

Stalag Luft III Background

Prison Camp Surrounded by Barbed Wire

Barracks of Stalag Luft III

Designed for Downed Airmen

Later Escape Attempts

Map of Stalag Luft III Buildings

Daily Life of Stalag Luft III

Introduction to Life as a PoW

Breakfast with Ersatz Tea

Black Bread Recipe

Cooking Duty

Cooking Challenge

Bashes

Second World War Red Cross Package Contents

German Rations Food List with Calories

Cooking Equipment

Cooking Utensils Made of Barbed Wire and Tin Cans

Pancake Turner and Pitcher

Cleaning Clothing and Barracks

Daily Duty Roster

Fetching Water with a Lead Keintrinkwasser

The Dobie Stick

Limited Clothing

Washing Clothes

Washing Clothes with a Buddy

Clothing Repair

Laundry Drying Outside

Issued by the Third Reich

Poor Quality Brooms and Brushes

Cleaning Was a Team Effort

Kriegie Carries His Essential Belongings

Wooden Clogs

A Kriegie’s Private Time

A Bunk of Warmth

Not All Were Sack Artists

A Kriegie’s Own Bunk

Reading and Libraries

Wartime Logs

From Double to Triple Bunk Beds

Parcel Day

Censors and Letters

Bull Sessions

Kriegies Perform in Theatres

Tunnel Sand Disposal and the Theatre

American Pride at Stalag Luft III

Forged Documents Produced at Stalag Luft III for the ‘Great Escape’

Sketches of Workers and Guards at Stalag Luft III

Honey Wagon Man and Gardens

Improvements to Latrines by PoWs

Goon Boxes

Baiting the Goons

Strollers Patrol Barbed Wire

Ferrets and Weasels

Guard Dogs: Wachhunds

The Infamous 52-Mile Forced Evacuation March

Map of the 52-Mile Evacuation March

Packed and Ready to Go

The Forced Evacuation March Begins

Blizzard Conditions

Overcoat and Newspapers for Warmth

Varied Views of the Evacuation March

Into the Frozen Night

Caravans of Fleeing Refugees

Heading Towards Spremberg and Box Cars

Moosburg and Liberation

Carl and Fellow PoWs at Nuremberg

Rats, Mice, Bedbugs, Lice and Fleas at Stalag VII-A

Tent Camps at Stalag VII-A

Overcrowding at Stalag VII-A

Cooking on our ‘Kriegie Burners’

Negotiations for Surrender

Liberation!

Life after Liberation

Assorted Colour Drawings

Flight Lieutenant Henry A. Picard Biography

Portrait of Second Lieutenant Carl Holmstrom by Henry A. Picard

Bird’s Eye View of Oflag XXI-B

Hospital at Oflag XXI-B

‘There I Was’ Cartoon by Second Lieutenant Joseph B. Boyle

Shower Room and Cobbler Shop at Stalag Luft III

Prison Camp Latrine at Stalag Luft III

Roll Call or Appell

Lunch and Tea Time at Stalag Luft III

Cooking in Our Barracks at Stalag Luft III

Latrines and Kohlrabi

Honey Wagon Crew at Work at Stalag Luft III

Goon Boxes, Barbed Wire and Searchlights

Unknown PoW Portrait #1

Unknown PoW Portrait #2

Second Lieutenant William E. ‘Bill’ Gravins, Jr., Richmond, Virginia, USA

Portraits of PoWs

Second Lieutenant Carl H. Holmstrom, Branford, Connecticut, USA

Second Lieutenant Daniel J. Barberis, North Bergen, New Jersey, USA

Second Lieutenant William J. Billig, South Miami, Florida, USA

Second Lieutenant Joseph B. ‘Joe’ Boyle, Teaneck, New Jersey, USA

Lieutenant Colonel Albert P. ‘Bub’ Clark, San Antonio, Texas, USA

Second Lieutenant Jack W. Daniel, Humble, Texas, USA

Colonel John C. ‘Bucky’ Egan, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, USA

Second Lieutenant Don H. Eldridge, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Second Lieutenant Paul Leo Fauerso, The Dalles, Oregon, USA

Second Lieutenant Francis J. Finnegan, Buffalo, New York, USA

First Lieutenant Fred D. Gillogly, La Grange, Illinois, USA

Colonel Charles ‘Rojo’ Goodrich, Augusta, Georgia, USA

First Lieutenant Raymond Kite Grim, Olympia, Washington, USA

Major ‘Hal’ Houston, Dundalk, Maryland, USA

Captain Bill ‘Casey’ Jones, Parkton, Maryland, USA

Second Lieutenant Henry H. ‘Hank’ Keller, New Kensington, Pennsylvania, USA

First Lieutenant Harold Korger, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA

Second Lieutenant Alexander Kramarinko, Chicago, Illinois, USA

First Lieutenant Thomas E. Logan, Wichita, Kansas, USA

First Lieutenant Russell K. Lyons, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Pilot Officer Irven Granger McDaniel, Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA

First Lieutenant Robert C. Miller, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Second Lieutenant Woodrow ‘Woodie’ Moore, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

First Lieutenant Frank M. ‘Tex’/‘Hoss’ Newton, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Second Lieutenant Clifford H. Pearson, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Sergeant Angelo Spinelli, The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA

First Lieutenant Alvin ‘Sammy from Alabamy’ Vogtle, Alabama, USA

Second Lieutenant Alfred G. Wade, Crofton, Kentucky, USA

Sergeant Jack Godding Cameron, Toronto, Canada

Rhys ‘Taffy’ Jenkins, Wales

Unknown PoW

Pilot Officer John B. Locke, Middlesex, England

Sergeant Eric N. Neilson, England

Earle Milton Nelson, Australia

Frank Sasling

First Lieutenant Ayton Richardson ‘A.R.’ Whitaker, Maidenhead, Berkshire, England

Kazimierz ‘Kazik’ Zakrzewski-Rucinski, Jablonna, Poland

Polish PoWs at Stalag Luft III

Portraits of the Staff

Koziol Juliusz, Honey Wagon Man – Poland

Oberfeldwebel F.E. Eidmann, Guard – Germany

Obergefreiter Dufour, Guard – Germany

Obergefreiter Dufour, Guard – Germany

Unknown Obergefreiter, Guard – Germany

Unknown Portrait

Glossary

Acknowledgements

The inspiration for this updated version of my father’s original PoW sketchbook was my father’s great talent and love of art. The quality and detail of the drawings he created as a PoW with limited materials provides an historic visual image that precisely portrays the life he lived while in captivity. My quest was to save and preserve this remarkable artwork that he carried through war-torn Germany on his eventual road to freedom so that it was not lost to time. My family and I feel that the drawings are his best work.

I would like to thank my brother John Holmstrom, and my sisters Elizabeth Holmstrom and Anne Shumate. This book could not have been done without their support and contributions.

I would also like to acknowledge the help I received from Marilyn Jeffers Walton, whose father was also a PoW at Stalag Luft III and a friend of my father. She and I have spent countless hours over the past five years exchanging emails and working on the narratives for each picture. With her many connections to veterans groups, I was able to create the biographies of most of the men in my father’s portraits. Their backgrounds help the reader understand what an extraordinary group of men they were.

This book could not have been completed