POW Interrogation Reports at the AFHRA

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'clock High!:

Mike Wenger
POW Interrogation Reports
Wed Jul 5 20:54:46 2000


All,

I have been told that Luftwaffe POW interrogation reports exist in the Air Force's files in Montgomery. I would like to explore this material for possible use as a
resource for a book manuscript.

How extensive are the holdings?
How are they organized?
Can I order them on microfilm?
What is the contact info (I have not used the Air Force material before)?

I am not asking for anyone to do the reseach for me, but rather, to point me in the right direction.

I can be contacted directly at: wengerm@mindspring.com

Regards,

Mike Wenger
Raleigh, NC

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'clock High!:

Terrence Daniels
Where do you find loss records?
Sun Jul 16 00:52:05 2000


Those of you who have posted info about a/c loss records, I'm curious. I've found loss listings for Norway online, but that was special-interest. Is it possible to
purchase computerized records of such things? For example, a CD with a list of loss records for a certain time and place? I know that such things aren't published by
official government sources, but have private interests done the research and made specific kinds of records available for a price? Or rather, is it that your records have
been gathered personally at places like the Bundesarchiv, etc.?

Sorry if I am asking a question about confidential matters.

[Richard T Eger]

From TOH!:

Nick Beale
Loss Records
Sun Jul 16 23:13:44 2000


The short answer: any damn' place you can!
The long answer: the Lw. Quarternmaster General's aircraft loss records are in the Bundesarchiv at Freiburg, microfilm copies (which can be purchased at great
expense) are in the Imperial War Museum, London (Dept. of Documents). 1944 and bits of 1945 are famously missing and much sought after. Personne loss records
are in the Deutsche Dienststelle in Berlin ... and you can't see 'em, thanks to a privacy law of 1991, unless you are a veteran or family member.
Other loss data can be pieced together from Allied PoW interrogation reports (Public Record Office, London or USAFHRA, Alabama), reports on crashed and captured
enemy aircraft (ditto), aircrew logbooks, veterans' memories, the Red Cross, gravestones etc., etc. None of these sources is neatly arranged to cover a given time or
place, you just have to put the work in yourself in the end.

[Richard T Eger]

From within a thread on 12 O'Clock High!:

Nick Beale
German
Sat Apr 6 22:09:40 2002
212.159.1.4

Being able to read the German language to some degree is a BIG help in studying German units,especially if you plan to produce original information for your website.

If you're aiming to do more than reproduce existing published material, possibly the best English-language source would be the interrogation reports of captured pilots which are held in the USAFHRA..