The Interrogaters-Dulag Luft

Discussion in 'Prisoners of War' started by canuck, Sep 3, 2011.

  1. canuck

    canuck Closed Account

    This is a fascinating website with excellent information on the personalities and techniques of the officers who interrogated Allied air crew.

    The Interrogators
     
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  2. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Canuck

    Many thanks for the link.

    Fascinating !

    Ron
     
  3. Harry Ree

    Harry Ree Very Senior Member

    A first class historical site.

    Aidan Crawley's work "Escape from Germany" as commissioned by the Air Ministry Historical Branch fits in well in support of this website.

    Crawley was a RAF POW who ensured the safety of his material, written on scraps of paper which he conveyed in a pram (exchanged with a German mother for chocolate) on the 3 week long forced march westwards to Lubeck as the war reached its final stages.
     
  4. canuck

    canuck Closed Account

    I'm reading Over the Wire by former RCAF Lancaster pilot Andrew Carswell.

    He spends a great deal of time describing his experience in Dulag Luft - Oberursel. I have read many other short accounts from airmen who passed through this facility but not a broader description on the effectiveness of German interrogators. Hanns Scharff was regarded as the best of the group.

    Like many others Carswell was surprised by the degree of knowledge the interrogators possessed on bomber operations. Does anyone know a case where an Allied flier was prosecuted for cooperating with German intelligence?

    Excerpts from the book "Kriegie" by Kenneth W. Simmons, published 1960.
    "At Dulag Luft each prisoner was studied by several psychologists in order to learn his likes, dislikes, habits and powers of resistance. The method of procedure was then determined, and the machinery was set into operation to destroy his mental resistance in the shortest possible time. If the prisoner showed signs of fright or appeared nervous, he was threatened with all kinds of torture, some of which were carried out, and he was handled in a rough manner. Others were bribed by luxuries. They were traded clean clothes, good living quarters, food and cigarettes for answers to certain questions. Those who could neither be swayed nor bribed were treated with respect and handled with care in the interrogator's office, but were made to suffer long miserable hours of solitary confinement in the prison cells.
    Nothing was overlooked by the German interrogators. They studied the results of each interview, and devised new methods to gain the desired information. Allied Air Corps Intelligence started a counter attack against Dulag Luft by training every flier in its command on how to act as a prisoner of war. Every method used to gain information from prisoners was illustrated with films and lectures. (see our Documents page for examples) Interviews between prisoners and their interrogators were clearly demonstrated to bring out the tactics of the German interrogators. Name, rank and serial number became the byword of the counterattack. Men were drilled and trained by Intelligence until they knew exactly what to expect and what to do. Patriotism and loyalty were stressed, and American airmen were shown the results of information the Germans had secured from prisoners at Dulag.
    The camp was built on level ground. There were large white rocks that covered the length of the front lawn forming the words "Prisoner of War Camp". The same identification was painted in white letters across the roof of nearly every building. Dulag Luft was of great importance to the Germans and they knew the Allies would never bomb it as long as it could be identified from the air. The camp was estimated to cover about 500 acres, The boundaries of the camp were formed by two parallel fences ten feet apart and they stood 12 feet tall, with trenches and barbed wire entangled between them. Watch towers were spaced around the camp at one hundred yard intervals. Trained dogs prowled the outer boundaries and heavily armed pill boxes were scattered beyond the barbed wire."
     
  5. alieneyes

    alieneyes Senior Member

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  6. canuck

    canuck Closed Account

    Thanks for that

    Carswell describes encountering a phony Red Cross official, which he had been warned about in standard briefings, and had to be quick witted to avoid disclosing that warnng during further interrogation. He came to recognize that anything beyond name, rank and serial number, no matter how innocuous it seemed, could draw one into dangerous conversations and inadvertently providing important details.
     
  7. Harry Ree

    Harry Ree Very Senior Member

    Allied personnel were always trained to disclose name, rank and number only, according to the Geneva Convention when captured.

    However the interrogators built up a picture of the POW's unit,gear in use,the squadron commander name and other aspects of unit life, the geographical surroundings and social aspects from POWs disclosing information in general conversation with the captors that should have remained confidential.

    This information as it was disclosed to incoming captives by the interrogators must have shaken the captives' confidence that the Luftwaffe had knowledge of a unit as if the Germans had inside information.It seemed that the Luftwafffe were aware of the local drinking dens.Some captives carried the anxiety of being taken prisoner and were unsure of the what the future beckoned and as such were compliant.

    Completion of the The Red Cross form which asked for information further than that laid down inn the Geneva Convention was a common ploy carried out on the unwary.

    There was another airman who had an elicit association with the enemy.This was WO/AG Sgt M J Joyce,a nephew of William Joyce who collaborated while a POW.He became aPOW on the night of 26 August 1940 out of Hemswell in a Hampden of No 61 Squadron which was detailed to raid Merseburg.The Hampden ran out of fuel on the Dutch island of Vlieland and landed on a sandbank.The aircraft was intact and flown off the sandbank into Germany.Apparently Joyce had been awarded the DFM at some time which was annulled when he was liberated...remembered by veterans who had served at Hemswell on the Hampden squadrons.
     
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