This book's table of contents appears below; references to Camp Hearne occur on pages 3, 12-15, 27, 40, 51, 67, 69, 74-75, 82, 83, 88, 89, 91, 96-103, 124-125, 127, 134-135, 143, 145, 146, 148, 156, 157, 167, 181, 187, & 188; passages containing significant information about Camp Hearne are excerpted below.

Table Of Contents

"For those prisoners whose interests did not run in the religious, musical, or intellectual vein, there were other pastimes to pursue.  For example, between each POW barrack formal gardens were planted, some with reproductions of German castles in miniature.  A POW constructed a concrete water fountain and a sundial to grace one of the flower gardens; others used a woodworking shop, which they constructed from scrap materials."[IV-33]

Did the POWs at Camp Hearne complain about their living conditions and problems relating to their captivity?  According to Professor Walker in the same chapter on page 83:

"Perhaps the most widespread complaint from the prisoners regarded items they claimed were stolen from them by American personnel.  Many prisoners at Camp Hearne protested that valuables had been stolen, one claiming that 23,000 francs were taken from him and never returned or credited to his account. . . ."[IV-60]

In Chapter V: Nazi Activity, on pages 96 - 103, Professor Walker writes about the murder of one POW at Camp Hearne and the problems surrounding the Camp Hearne mail facility:

"From the days of the earliest arrival of POWs to Camp Hearne, tensions between political groups existed.  the prisoners divided into two rival factions known as the Democrats (anti-Nazis) and the Nazis.  In the summer of 1943, the two cliques engaged in a struggle for control of the internal affairs of the camp.  in order to attain leadership, the Nazi element on the night of 21 august 1943 attacked the anti-Nazi compound.  During the assault, the Nazis went on a rampage; one barracks was set afire; several other barracks were wrecked; and a number of the anti-Nazis were severely beaten.  A result of this outburst was that Cpl. Klaus Bork (8WG-4468), described by the camp commander as being deceitful, arrogant, and prone to make 'agitating speeches,' Sgt. Will Stader, Seigfreid Kalkbranner, and Ewald Niesward, described as 'arrogant and persistent Nazi agitators,' were transferred to Camp Alva, Oklahoma."[V-25]

"Transfer of known or suspected Nazi agitators did not, however, bring peace to Camp Hearne or end the violence there; nor did it end Nazi rule in the compounds.  During the fall and winter of 1943, there were continuing clashes between the two factions which resulted in several beatings, forced suicides, and other forms of terrorism carried out against the anti-Nazis.  An example of this reign of terror occurred in December 1943.  Cpl. Hugo Krauss was born in Germany in 1919, moved to the United States with his parents in 1928, and his family settled in New York City.  In 1939, as a result of friendship with a member of the German-American Bund, he returned to Germany, joined the army, was sent to North Africa, and was captured there by the Americans.  After his capture, he was imprisoned at Camp Hearne, where he served as an interpreter for the camp officials.  American authorities regarded him highly, and they always considered him very cooperative.  Krauss was openly critical of the German government and its conduct of the war and freely admitted to other prisoners his intention of returning to America after the war.  He likewise supplied American officials information regarding Nazi activity within the camp and identified the Nazi leaders."[V-26]

"The Nazis, therefore, considered Krauss disloyal and a traitor to their cause.  Thus, on 17 December 1943, after lights out, a group of about ten pro-Nazis armed with clubs left their barracks, cut a hole in the fence of the compound where Krauss was held, invaded his barracks, and administered a severe beating to the 'traitor.'  Krauss screamed for help, but none came.  His skull was crushed, both his arms were broken, and he was beaten from head to foot.  Krauss, who never regained consciousness, died as a result of injuries seven days later."[V-27]

"Nazi control and influence continued at Hearne throughout the war and was partially encouraged when in February 1944 the camp was designated as a non-cooperative NCO camp, one of three in Texas.  After receiving this classification, pro-Nazi and generally uncooperative NCOs from throughout the 8th Service Command were sent here.  For their own protection, the anti-Nazi prisoners were either transferred to other camps or kept carefully segregated  from the pro-Nazis.  Thus, because the un-cooperatives were in such a majority, Nazi influence remained strong."[V-28]

"But Nazi influence at Camp Hearne transcended the barbed wire surrounding the prisoner compounds.  Indeed, the most serious breach of security in the entire United States prisoner of war program was perpetrated by the Nazi faction at Camp Hearne.  These prisoners skillfully established a nationwide Nazi intelligence network among German prisoners to coordinate Nazi activity throughout the country and to reach into other camps to punish those of other political persuasions.  The means for accomplishing this feat was the German Postal Unit, established at Camp Hearne in March 1944."

"The efficient delivery of prisoner mail was a major problem faced by American officials.  As more and more prisoners were sent to the United States, and prisoner mail subsequently increased in volume, American officials sought a solution for a speedy and accurate system of mail delivery.  By January 1944, the problem had become so acute that the Provost Marshal General worried that unless the prisoners were allowed to send and receive mail efficiently and quickly, German officials would retaliate and prevent American prisoners from receiving mail.  Steps were therefore taken to reform the system of handling prisoner mail.  By February 1944, a huge backlog of over 1,2500,000 letters and 65,000 parcels had developed at the Office of Censorship, where all POW mail was sent.  To relieve the backlog, the PMGO decided that instead of examining all POW letters, the censorship office would actually select at random only about 5 percent for censorship.  Also, from that time forward, the camp commanders would examine POW parcels and thus relieve the office of Censorship of that responsibility.  Finally, the PMGO established a central location to which all German POW mail would be sent for sorting, routing, and forwarding to the addresses.  Consequently, on 8 March 1944, the German Postal Unit was established at Camp Hearne."[V-29]

"The German Postal Unit was to give directory service to all mail received from abroad addressed to POWs in the United States.  Similarly, after censorship by camp commanders, all mail sent by prisoners within the country to other POWs was to be sent to Hearne for sorting and forwarding to the addressee.  The Post Unit employed about 300 prisoner NCOs, and two American officers and about ten enlisted men supervised it.  The Post Unit certainly served its primary function, for between 1 June 1944 and 1 June 1945, the unit dispatched 7,757,868 letters and 32,555 bags of parcels."[V-30]

"The content, no the volume of the letters and parcels, however, eventually concerned the American officials.  The Americans should not have been surprised that some prisoners might attempt to sabotage the security of the mail system, but what was incredible was the length of time that it took those officials to take action to halt the violations of army policy and public law."

"Three months after the German Postal Unit became operational, the camp commander, Col. John L. Dunn, reported to the PMGO that he had determined that prisoners working at the facility were regularly opening letters to other POWs and illegally slipping notes into the envelopes.  Since the letters already bore a censorship stamp, the contraband notes were sent directly to the address without inspection.  Dunn was fully confident that this action did not happen often, and he vowed to correct the abuse."[V-31]

"Within the PMGO papers, however, are numerous examples of contraband notes to indicate that the practice was excessive, and Dunn's optimistic prognosis was not shared by his superiors.  In July 1944, Maj. Gen. Archer L. Lerch, the Provost Marshal General, and Brig. Gen. Louis F. Guerre, chief director of Internal Security and Intelligence, 8th Service Command, came to Camp Hearne to inspect the postal unit personally.  Their recommendations regarding the operation of the facility could not be found in the records; however, in addition to the contraband notes continuing to be slipped into POWs letters, other violations of security were uncovered."[V-32]

"In August 1944, one month after Lerch's inspection, it was reported that the POWs at the Hearne unit had learned to counterfeit return labels.  By manufacturing these labels, the POWs at Hearne had an ingenious system by which they could communicate with other prisoners without detection.  POWs at Hearne, after manufacturing a supply of the labels, sent them to the co-conspirators by slipping them into their letters.  The recipient of the label could then mail a package or letter to any address, leaving off the return address, but attaching a 'return label.'  Any mail with a return label automatically went to Hearne as mis-sent or undeliverable mail.  Because the correspondence had no return address, even if intercepted by the American authorities, it could not be traced."[V-33]

"Most of the NCOs who worked at the Hearne Postal Unite were Nazis.  Because they had a master list showing the camp address of every POW in the United States, and were informed when transfers occurred, they found it rather easy to locate any prisoner.  Thus, they kept a blacklist of all anti-Nazis known by them, read their mail, informed fellow Nazis in other camps of transfers of any-Nazis, and actually destroyed or delayed mail for selected prisoners."[V-34]

"Weak leadership and poor administration contributed to a continuation of known abuses.  An inspection was made of the facility in October 1944.  The officer in charge of the unit, Capt. Henry H. Turner, admitted to the inspector that 150 prisoners could handle the mail instead of the present 300 being utilized, and that the latter amount was too large a group for Turner and his men to watch.  The commanding officer of Hearne was asked about reducing the workers to 150, and he replied that he could not reduce the work force because the prisoners would strike if he attempted to do so.  'They have me over a barrel,' the commanding officer replied, 'and I think they know it.'  Significantly, no change in personnel was made at this time, and the work force was not reduced."[V-35]

"Three months later, still another investigation was made of prisoner abuse at the Hearne Postal Unit.  The investigation resulted in a special report on activities at the facilities.  The investigator, after a two-day visit, recommended that the German Postal Unit be abolished as presently constituted at Hearne.  He found that the NCOs who handled the mail were 'tough and hard boiled' and 'definitely subversive.'  He also reported that commanding officers at camps throughout the United States and the Intelligence Division of the 8th Service Command had complained repeatedly about and described the types of abuses perpetrated at Hearne.  The investigation report noted that the 300 NCOs employed at the Postal Unit had all been classified as non-cooperative, and that a large number of them openly wore the traditional skull design ring indicating SS membership."[V-36]

"Regardless of their non-cooperative designation and the open display of their rings, the vast majority of the unit's employees had never even been screened by camp officials.  The investigation also found that Captain Turner, the officer in charge of the unit, was unqualified and 'too prone to give the German prisoners of war the benefit of the doubt.'  Turner explained that he and the four American enlisted men assigned to him could not possibly effectively monitor the activities of all POW personnel assigned to the Post Unit because the unit was scattered in fifteen different building.  Moreover, none of the American personnel could read or speak German and therefore had no idea what the German POWs wrote on the letters they handled."[V-37]

"This investigator concluded that the German NCOs, who ordinarily refused to work, had jumped at the chance to work in the Post Unit only to establish an intelligence network among the POWs in the United States, and especially to keep track of the anti-Nazis.  He also confirmed that the unit's employees regularly sent contraband letters to their comrades, that they maintained a blacklist of anti-Nazis, that they forged postmarks and return address labels, and that they even were able to forge censorship stamps.  He concluded the report with the hope that since the camp commander had been removed that month for tolerating these abuses, the new commander would reorganize the unit and its personnel."[V-38]

"Significantly, even after this report was made and concerned officials notified of the condition at Hearne, no major reorganization occurred.  Instead, in February 1945, the Provost General Marshall ordered still another investigation.  The PGM reported that the original reason for establishing the German Postal Unit at Camp Hearne was because the NCOs incarcerated there refused to work, and authorities believed that if these prisoners were allowed to handle POW mail, they would gladly work because it would benefit their fellow countrymen."[V-39]

"Instead, the POWs at Hearne used it for their own gain.  They were able to break down the censorship system, locate prisoners' camp addresses, send letters without censorship, counterfeit various stamps (including the censorship stamp), and, in a word, compromise the security of the POW program in the United States.  Therefore, the PMG recommended that the entire operation at Camp Hearne be terminated, and the German Postal Unit, minus the personnel, be transferred to Camp Fort Meade, Maryland.  But, even after numerous complaints, which uncovered and detailed the abuses at Camp Hearne, the Postal Unit was not moved to Camp Fort Meade until July 1945."[V-40]

"After the unit was moved, the Provost Marshal General admitted that allowing the uncooperative NCOs at Camp Hearne to handle and distribute the mail was done at the 'price of complete lack of security' and was accompanied 'by numerous violations of mail regulations.'  He further conceded that the POWs employed at the unit were able to secure 'all the vital information necessary to maintain an intelligence system for their own prisoners of war in this country.'  The Provost Marshal General put it mildly.  But, the important question was why, in the face of the overwhelming evidence, the Post Unit was allowed to continue to operate at Camp Hearne when the security of POW mail, and perhaps the security of the entire POW program, was compromised."[V-41]

"Extensive research in the PMGO papers indicates that an overwhelming concern of those involved in the POW program was to maintain extreme caution in handling controversial questions involving the German prisoners in order to ensure that nothing was done which in any way could be used by Germany as an excuse to mistreat American prisoners.  The Provost Marshal General had impressive statistics showing that regardless of what else the Hearne NCOs may have done regarding POW mail, they did handle a huge volume of mail rather efficiently.  Thus, one factor explaining the slowness of reacting to the situation at Camp Hearne was fear of German retaliation."

"Another was simple naivete  and poor judgment.  How a facility as potentially sensitive as a Postal Unit would even be located at a camp which had previously been designated as 'non-cooperative' is inconceivable.  The Provost Marshal General seemed to confuse this to mean 'non-working.'  The Geneva Convention clearly stated that NCOs were not to be required to do any sort of work, which was their right under the terms of the Convention.  But, this camp was home for non-working, non-cooperative prisoners; that is, they were strongly pro-Nazi or at the least obstructionist prisoners.  To give prisoners of that type positions of authority over something as sensitive as mail, and then lightly monitor their activities with an inadequate number of untrained personnel, invited trouble."

"The Provost Marshal General had made the decision to locate the German Postal Unit at Hearne, so he was hesitant to admit his mistake.  The PMGO was responsible for an efficient mail delivery system for the prisoners of war in the United States, and the Hearne Postal Unit, regardless of its subversive activities, was an improvement in efficiency.  Unfortunately, the price of efficiency was the loss of security."

"What made the postal sabotage at Hearne so significant was that it was the only example of Nazi success over their captors in the entire POW program.  However, it should not be implied that Nazi abuse was halted in other camps. . . ."

In Chapter VI: Troublesome Inmates, Professor Walker writes on pages 124 and 125:

"In August 1944, three industrious prisoners escaped from Camp Hearne.  They made their way to the Brazos River, where they set about to construct a boat which they hoped would take them to the Gulf of Mexico.  After ingeniously fashioning a boat out of raincoats, canvas, and wood, they launched their apparatus.  As they floated down the river and probably dreamed of freedom, they were spotted by a fisherman who sounded the alert which let to their capture."[VI-38]

In the next paragraph of the same chapter on page 125, Professor Walker indicates that:

". . . Four POWs from Camp Hearne left the farm on which they had been assigned to work. . . ."[VI-39]

Though the phrase "politically incorrect" has gained popularity in recent years, its roots are obviously deeply planted in American history.  On pages 134 and 135 of Chapter VI, Professor Walker writes:

"Nor was it clear what sanctions camp officials at Camp Hearne received for giving into POW demands for the sake of a public relations goal.  On 4 July 1944, camp officials hosted a July Fourth celebration for the wives and officers of the camp and invited civilians from Hearne.  The celebration included a concert by the prisoner orchestra and a dance in the officers' club.  By late afternoon, the 400 guests had gathered, the orchestra arrived, and the concert was about to begin.  The POW orchestra leader announced, however, that he would not begin until a large American flag was removed from the stage.  Apparently not wanting to disappoint the civilian guests, and suffer a public relations defeat, the commanding officer ordered the flag removed.  The guest were reported to have enjoyed the concern as well s the dance held afterward; however, the event provoked editorial comment in area newspapers.  Senator Tom Connally even wrote to the War Department inquiring about the episode.  The PMGO assured the senator that 'appropriate action' had been taken to prevent a recurrence of such an act.  It was not clear what 'appropriate action' was taken, but obviously such behavior on the part of the POWs could not be tolerated any more than it was acceptable for a commanding officer to comply to such a request."[VI-67]

In Chapter VII: Prisoner Of War Re-Education, Professor Walker writes of Camp Hearne on page 145:

". . . Some of the base camps in Texas possessed rather extensive holdings in prison libraries.  In January 1945, soon after the re-education program started, Camp Hearne had a 3,6000-book library; by August of that year, the number had risen to over 7,000. . . ."[VII-22]

On page 146 of the same chapter, he states:

". . . The assistant executive officer at Camp Hearne discovered that about 3000 books in the main prison library were written by Nazi authors.  As soon as these objectionable works were discovered, they were seized and removed from the shelves over the vocal objections of prisoners.  The documents did not explain how the pro-Nazi works came to be placed in the prison library, but future periodic 'raids' were necessary to keep the shelves purged. . . ."[VII-23]

Still in Chapter VII, on page 148 Professor Walker writes:

". . . Some of the large prison camps in Texas did indeed regularly publish newspapers written by and for the local prisoners.  Camps Hood, Hearne, Fannin, and Huntsville, for example, all published POW newspapers. . . ."[VII-29]

Some U.S. citizens were critical of the seemingly good treatment afforded POWs in this country.  Some even referred to the German camps as the "Fritz Ritz."  In Chapter VIII: Civilian Reaction, Professor Walker states the following about Camp Hearne on page 167:

"A Dallas resident expressed concern and annoyance that the prisoners at Camp Hearne were being provided an auditorium.  In protest to this 'pampering' of the prisoners, he wrote his congressman, criticizing the military's treatment of the POWs at the camp and arguing that they were treated much too nicely.  How he knew the prisoners at Hearne were being treated so 'nicely' he did not say, but perhaps he should have known that the auditorium was built by the POWs at no cost to the government."[VIII-16]

Several Robertson County farmers availed themselves of POW workers.  In Chapter VIII on page 181, Professor Walker states:

". . . Fred Ferrara and Leo L. Roffino, both from the Hearne area, expressed their pleasure with the prisoners' demeanor and found them to be good, cooperative workers. . . ."[VIII-52]

What has happened to the Camp Hearne site since the war?  In the first paragraph of the conclusion to his book, on page 187, Professor Walker writes:

". . . The Hearne municipal airport now sits where Nazi non-commissioned officers were incarcerated.  Camp Hearne's only remaining building still located on its original site now belongs to the local chapter of the American Legion, which uses it as its headquarters building. . . ."

PLEASE CONSULT THE SOURCE TO VIEW ENDNOTES