Evening star., 1945-02-22
BY WRIGHT BRYAN.

the Red Army from Nasi prison
camp IN Poland on January 22.)
By WRIGHT BRYAN.
Ostriouted By the Associated Press Copy
right, 1e45, By the Atlanta Journal.
SAUBIN, Poland, Feb. 20 Ode
AyeO.-Liberation for at least on
group Of American war prisoner
who had been held here by, the Ger
mans came within eight days afte
the Red Army had launched it
offensive.
Although the number of pris
oners released here was relativel,
few, there is hope that many other
OF all Allied forces may be close tt
freedom if they have not alread.
achieved it. Several of the larges
war prison camps were located II
this region and German efforts Il
remove them at the last minute ma.
have been thwarted by the speee
of the Russian advance.
In this little Polish Corridor town
q half hours train ride southwest
OF Bromberg, was camp where
most of the American ground force
Officers captured in Africa, Sicily
Italy and Western Europe were Iv.
ing behind barbed wire, waiting i'm
patiently for the end of the war ol
tor an opportunity to escape.
A little more than a week age
fhAyy any-onI GaryJ1Qn rOm-
munique Of the Russian attack be-
ginning more than 100 miles east
ward.
Those Able to March Evacuated.
On Saturday, January 20, the Ger
man garrison warned the American
prisoners to prepare for evacuation
Of the camp on foot at any time
without further notice. Prisoners
certified by German doctors as UNFIT
to march were told to ready them
selves to leave Immediately when
TRANSFORMATION became available.
All that day a continuous stream
of civilian refugees moved in wagon
carts, bicycles and afoot along the
highway passing the camp. Sunday
morning the American war pris-
oners held their last formation
under German supervision on the
camp assembly area and the men
marched out the gate in column
of threes, escorted by German
guards.
Transportation being unavailable
for hospital patients and others un-
able to walk, they remained behind.
This group, including a few doc
tors and orderlies to care for them,
numbered 81. I was one OF the
group because of a slight bullet
wound in the left leg which still
was not entirely healed.
Until the last minute we did not
know whether guards would be left
with us Of whether transport might
yet be obtained to take us back
into the German interior. But
when our marching friends moved
out of sight down the highway,
they were followed in a little auto
mobile by the last German officers
and soldiers in Szubin.
Keys Given to Chaplain.
As they left, the German omcers
handed the keys of the camp to
Chaplain Stanley Brach of Newark,
N. j., and we were once more under
full command of American officers.
Quickly we painted large Red
Gross flags to hang on all sides and
the roof of the hospital, not know
ing whether any Germans were left
In the vicinity or where the ap-
preaching Russians might be.
Rumor placed the Russians about
so miles away but we had no way
Of confirming this.
Father Brach, captured in Africa,
had been prisoner since November,
1912, and had been through this
once before. In Italy he had been
In a camp abandoned by Italian
guards on the surrender of their
government, but had been retaken
by the Germans before Allied pris-
oners could be evacuated. He said
mass Sunday in the hospital ward
and told us to be confident, this
time we would be free, and to pray
for our friends and comrades
marching through snow and sub
freezing temperatures.
The senior American officer re-
manning in camp assured us we had
adequate food and fuel supplies for
several weeks and "the Russians will
be here either tomorrow or the next
day, or next week, or next month
We don't know when-but they will
be here"
Saw American Built Trucks.
All that day we watched through
barbed wire festooped with snow
tcicles-barbed wire no longer cov-
cred on all sides by vigilant Ger
man machine. gunners-barbed wire
which no longer held us in, but
which now kept unfriendly intruders
outside the camp. All day wagons,
some open, some covered, plodded
along the highway outside the camp.
And through the night we could
hear a few muff1ed explosions in
the distance.
Monday morning we looked out to
the deserted highway and wondered.
Then some one saw two American
built, six-by-six military trucks and
. light tank go by. They did not
pause, but spirits in our camp lifted.
Just after 10 O'Clock q vehicle
stopped between two principal Ger
man barracks across the street from
the hospital and heavily armed men
scattered to search the premises
From hospital windows we could not
tell by their snow-covered winter
uniforms whether they were Ger
man rearguards or Russian advance
units. When the vehicle turned we
recognized it as an American built
three quarter ton reconnaissance
car and when officers came to our
gate we saw they were Russians.
An artillery captain was the first
Russian officer into our camp. He
was the drst of three groups OF Rus
sian officers who visited us during
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