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FBI Search for Three German POW’s IContinues; 1 Escaped from DemingRy ROBERT CRATERft?rlrj*-Ho*»ni 91*If WriterWASHINGTON —During World War II 3B0B of the 430,-000 German and Italian prisoners brought to this country escaped. All but three Germans have been recaptured.The FBI assumes these three still are in this country, “prisoners”* inasmuch ai they haven't been able to return to their homeland.The search for Charljr King, Kurt Rossmeisl and Georg Gaertner goes on.King, now 34, was captured by the British Eighth Army at Lucca, Italy, Sept. 7, 1944. On March 23, 1945, he escaped from the Prisoner of War Camp at Ruston, La; A- day later he sought food awl water at the home of Mrs. John Harrell in Arcadia, La.Mrs. Harrell gave him a glass of water, grabbed her husband’s pistol and made him ait in a chair until the sheriff arrived and took bim into custody.On Aug. 18, 1945, King escaped again, this time from Camp Bastrop, La.He's still at large.Engaging PersonalityKurt Rossmeisl, now SO, hadan engaging personality- So much so that he lulled guards at Camp Butler, N. C., into thinking he wouldn’t try to escape.Actually, Rossmeisl we*’ a rabid Nazi when he was captured by the Allies in Normandy. Fellow prisoners at Camp Butler complained about his zeal for Hitler and he was removed to another compound.. Here he turned on his charm. Speaking almost perfect English with a British accent, he regaled guards with tales of Russia, Germany, Holland and Dutch East Indies. One night he vanished.Rossmeisl has a Dutch wife. The FBI does not know whether she is still waiting for his return. It may be that he's inthe South. H« always Wanted to be a plantation overseer.George Gaertner waa captured in Tunisia in May, 1943. His home, -Silesia, k now in-behind the Iron Curtain.Gaertner has a habit when he talks of leaning forward and cocking his head to one side. This may lead to his capture one day. FBI agents are watching for men with that characteristic.Made DraftsmenA high school graduate and master of English as well as German, Gaertner was made a draftsman in the Post Engineer’s Office at the Prisoner of War Camp at Deming. N.M.He wriggled under a barbed-wire fence to freedom the night of Sept 21, 1945. Post engineers hated to lose him. They said he was an expert at his job. He proved equally adept at remaining free. FBI agents are still looking for him.FBI files have many accounts of these PW escapes and captures.Young, blond Gottfried Hobel of the famed African Corps, for instance, played on thg love-hungry emotion* of an 10-year-old Michigan girl to escape In the summer of 1944.Hobel was taken with his colleagues to work at a canning factory near Owoeso. Here he was segregated from other employes, but managed to strike up a romance with Kittie Case. They exchanged notes in passing, including one arranging for a meeting by a large tree outside the prison camp at 11 p.m.Cherished PictureThe FBI said Kittie and Gottfried spent four hours “necking and pettLng.” Gottfried told Kittie about his family. He gave her a picture of himself in a flashy uniform. She cherished it.night after night without de- j tection. But he did, and he talked Kittie, completely in- j fatuated by now, into helping , him escape in her family car one day. Another German prisoner and Kittie’s young girl friend went along.They were captured after hiding out all night in the . woods. Kittie was sentenced to ! serve 15 months. The court aaid she was lucky to gel off with a short sentence, but It reason-she wasn’t guilty of treason— ! just romance. 1Franz Josef Baoher, a native of Bucharest, Romania, loved i Old Vienna, mostly because he i was an artist. War was ugly i and being a prisoner in the 1 U«S. ^vas worse. He yearned to « paint landscapes again. He escaped. • ; (Hid in Central Park Franz made his way from the camp in New Hampshire to New York City and hid out in Central Park for 30 days. Nights he spent burrowed deep in a clump of shrubbery, eating frugal meals to sustain himself while he painted city scenes during the day. He sold them to passersoy for §4.Figuring Franz's love of art J would lead him to an artist j supply store, the FBI alerted salesmen. He was arrested trying to buy more paints.Franz was philosophic when the handcuffs were snapped on . his wrists. He quoted Goethe.‘'Freedom,” he sighed, “is a golden thing.”Cited for SpeedingG. T. Carlisle, 20, of Man-zano Base, was taken to San-dia Base Hospital yesterday for treatment of a bruised che3t and leg after his car collided with an auto driven by L. G. Gonzales, 54, of 537 San Pablo NE, at Coal and Sixth SW. Police said Carlisle was cited for speeding.Guards afterward couldn’t explain how Gottfried manng-i ed to continue his courtship
Newspaper Details
Albuquerque Tribune
Albuquerque, New Mexico, US
Tue, Sep 25, 1956
Page 2
Full Page
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USA 14 Apr 2019
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