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  • Home
  • About Us
  • NEWS
  • Capital Campaign
  • Capital Campaign Donors
  • Friends Stock Acceptance
  • Monetary Donors Page
  • Donate
  • Artifact Donors Page
  • Our Partners
  • PHOTO GALLERY
  • Policies and Forms
  • FaceBook Posts

The May 2025 Oflag 64 Bulletin

2024 Annual Report

OFLAG DAILY BULLETIN EXTRA ISSUE 5 December 2024

Oflag Daily bulletin extra Issue 4 march 2024

Tin Store Renovation/Renderings Gallery

During Renovation

    Announcing the Tin Store (Museum)

    A Glimpse from the Past into the Future

    The Germans had a rule that no POW could have more than six tin cans, full or empty, in his locker. This restriction was because the guards were concerned the POWs would use the extra supplies for trading or bribing. They were also afraid the Kriegies would collect food for escape efforts since empty cans could be used to make an air ventilation system for tunneling, and full cans could feed them during an escape journey. 


    Because of the restrictions, many Kriegies took advantage of the temporary storage afforded by the Tin Store. POWs would deposit any extra tin cans of food in the store and then could withdraw them as needed. In addition, the Senior American Officer required that each man donate a small portion of his tins to build up a general food reserve in preparation for leaner times. The POWs kept meticulous records of deposits and withdrawals since food was so critical. 


    Kriegy R. Howard “Boomer” Holder tells us in his book, “Escape To Russia”, The Tin Store was popular in Oflag 64 “because it was closely connected with food.” The Tin Store “was a storage arrangement for storing food we didn’t want to keep in our lockers. We used it also for tidbits we got in our packages from home which we always saved for the big ‘bashes’ on special occasions.”  

    The opportunity to use this same storage facility some 78 years later for artifacts seems appropriate. The grounds of what was once Oflag 64 have been part of the campus of a reform school since the end of World War II. Recently, the school’s Principal offered the Foundation the opportunity to rent space in one of the remaining Oflag 64 buildings as a much-needed storage facility for the artifacts that have been donated by Kriegy families for the future museum.

     

    Thanks to this supportive offer, the Foundation will also be able to use the space to exhibit artifacts until the Tin Store is completed. And, thanks to funding from Friends of Oflag 64, the necessary renovations have been completed. 


    The Foundation oversaw the many improvements such as the addition of a new restroom, heating system, and security system. These improvements have created a beautiful space suitable for proper artifact storage and exhibition functions. As the project progresses toward establishing a formal artifact exhibition, the Polish-American Foundation for the Commemoration of POW Camps in Szubin will be continuing to fulfill its stated mission: “To contribute to the knowledge of World War II by studying and commemorating the experiences of Allied prisoners-of-war held in German captivity. In addition to the history and operations of the German POW camps, its projects will focus on the thousands of POWs who the Germans incarcerated in Szubin, Poland, and the brave Polish citizens who assisted those prisoners.” Photos of the renovation process are provided below. 

    Parcel Hut

    Within the internal organization of Oflag 64 was a division called the “Parcel Hut” whose responsibility was to receive, inventory and distribute the parcels to each of the Kriegies.  Since the Germans restricted the number of tin cans of food each Kriegy could possess, POWs would deposit any extra tin cans from their parcel in the Tin Store and then could withdraw them as needed.  Meticulous records of deposits and withdrawls were kept since food was so critical. 

    Tin Store Location on Oflag 64 Grounds

    The Oflag Daily Bulletin Extra June 2023

    The Tin Store museum is becoming a reality!

    COPY OF OUR APPEAL LETTER TO OUR SUPPORTERS

    june 2022 Oflag 64 bulletin

    GOOD NEWS

    TIN STORE RENOVATION

    Kanaya Funeral Service

    This video of Kriegy Jimmy Kanaya's Funeral Service is an excellent example of the reverence and respect afforded every veteran buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

    Oflag 64 Daily Bulletin Issue 1

    Oflag 64, A POW Odyssey

    Kriegy Thompson's Capture and Family's Donation Story

    Accomplishments to date

    Artifact Committee Request

    Valentine's Day 1943 Remembered

    February 14, 2020

      

    On Valentine’s Day 1943 (77 years ago) Kriegy Bill Sharpe (above with daughter, Cindy) was captured at Faid Pass near Kasserine Pass in North Africa. He was a “guest” of the Germans in a POW camp in Szubin, Poland until January 1945.  Nearly 1500 American officers joined him there and together they shared their skills, talents and zest for life establishing a patriotic community. Due to the uniqueness of the camp and its prisoners, we are seeking to build a museum on the site to commemorate and preserve their experiences for generations to come.

    Szubin, Poland 1943

    2Lt Wilbur B. Sharpe Jr. posing for his POW identification card.  

     

    Bill was merely 20 years old at the time of his capture and "celebrated" his 21st birthday in Oflag 64 on June 24, 1943.  He relates that there was no cake with candles that day. 

    Indianapolis News Newspaper article

    Indianapolis News Newspaper article

    This excerpt from an article published in the Indianapolis News in December 1944 was clipped by his mother, Mrs. Olive Sharpe and kept in her personal scrap book.  Note the reference to Col John Waters, General Patton's son-in-law.

    NEWS

    Friends of Oflag 64

     Update

     501 (c) (3) nonprofit EIN:  84 -1889226 

    Friends of Oflag 64 has been officially recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a nonprofit on August 19, 2019 and is listed under the Guidestar website with the NTEE code A54, History and Museums! 


    The Board of Directors: 

    Cindy Burgess (daughter of ex-Kriegy Wilbur Sharpe) Chairman 

    David Weinstein (Nephew of ex-Kriegy Leonard Feldman) Secretary 

    Pat Thompson, Treasurer 


    The Artifacts Committee: 

    Dave Stewart (son of ex-Kriegy Don Stewart) 

    Marianne Merriam (daughter of ex-Kriegy  Eugene Liggett)

    Rosa Lee (daughter of ex-Kriegy Vincent Di Francesco)                 

    Ann Rogers (niece of ex-Kriegy Frank Aten)

    Elodie Ellsworth Caldwell (daughter of ex-Kriegy Reid Ellsworth)



    Copyright © 2019 Friends of Oflag 64 - All Rights Reserved.


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