April 23, 2018. In trying to tell the story of Camp Ohio and its residents, we also can’t forget about the military and civilian staff that managed the camp and were responsible for the safety and well-being of the residents. Over the years, we’ve tried to go through war diaries, military unit histories, newspaper articles, and records from the United Nations for more information. One of the shining lights for information is found in the records and reports written by Captain W. LITTLE. (Readers of this blog may recall that he wrote several of the reports about the incident in Camp Ohio with the Soviet Liaison Officers. See The Soviet Liaison Officers – Part 3 and The Soviet Liaison Officers – Part 4)
After taking over No. 3 DPACS from Major R. J. McNicol (who was demobilized) on June 21, 1945, Captain W. LITTLE, R.A wrote the war diary for his unit and this has advanced our knowledge of what happened in Burgdorf. (Source: File WO 171 8162, from National Archives, Kew). NOTE: DPACS is an acronym for Displaced Persons Assembly Centre Staff. A diligent record keeper, he noted four Allied officers were attached to the Unit as follows:
- May 15, 1945 – Second Lt. J. N. DESCHAMPS of the French Army joined as an Interpreter and Liaison Officer
- July 22, 1945 – Lt. S. KORT of the Belgian Army joined as Liaison Officer
- July 22, 1945 – Lt. VAN DE WALL of the Dutch Army joined as Liaison Officer
- July 22, 1945 – Lt. J. R. FOUQUE of the French Army joined as Liaison Officer
In addition, he noted that as of July 28, 1945, the DPACS staff consisted of:
- 4 Class II Warrant Officers (2 of which were considered surplus)
- 2 Quartermaster Sergeants
- 1 Sergeant (and he made a request for another one)
- 14 Privates, Guardsmen, Fusiliers
While the complement of a DPACS Unit and the addition of Allied officers to a British Unit is relevant and important information in our understanding of the situation during this period right after the end of WWII, it was the description of what happened in Burgdorf that was most enlightening. Captain Little noted that on the morning of August 4, 1945, “We were sent to Burgdorf to 94th Field Regiment R. A. (43 Wessex Division) to assist them with administration of DP camps in Kreis Burgdorf. There were nine camps in the area and I split my unit up between them and established a headquarters office at Burgdorf with R.H.Q. 94 Field Regiment R.A.
The camps were:
- Colorado I – Hänigsen – Polish – Capacity 1,500
- Colorado II – Hänigsen – Polish – Capacity 200
- Georgia – Burgdorf – Polish – Capacity 400
- Ohio – Burgdorf – Empty – Capacity 1,000
- Garibaldi – Burgdorf – Italian – Capacity 200
- Churchill – Lehrte – Italian – Capacity 1,500
- Roosevelt – Lehrte – Transit – Capacity 1,500
- Texas – Lehrte – Italian – Capacity 500
- Truman – Lehrte – Polish – Capacity 400”
The story of the 94th Field Regiment was told in an earlier blog posting (See Allied Troops Set Up Camp Ohio in 1945 – Part II). As explained in that posting, R.H.Q referred to Regional Headquarters. A Kreis is similar to a county. Burgdorf referred not only to the town, but also to the county of Burgdorf.
Before the arrival of the 94th Field Regiment, US troops from the 9th Army entered Burgdorf on April 11, 1945. In a posting about their arrival (See Allied Troops Set Up Camp Ohio in 1945 – Part I), the war diary for May 21, 1945 indicated that the Detachment “secured 2 large camps in the town of Burgdorf and these were immediately filled and organized into separate nationalities.” At the time the posting was made, the assumption was made that the two camps mentioned were what we know as Camp Ohio I and Camp Ohio II. Based on what Captain Little wrote above, this is incorrect. The two camps were Georgia and Garibaldi. These were NOT the camps later known as Camp Ohio I and Camp Ohio II.
Captain Little’s War Diary entry continued, noting that as of August 9, 1945, “The repatriation of Italians was in progress. Camp Texas was emptied first and closed down in the middle of August. Then a large number of Ukrainians and White Russians arrived and Camp Ohio was opened up to accommodate them.”
In a journal kept by Bohdan KOWAL, he noted that he arrived in Camp Ohio on August 6, 1945 as part of a group of 200 Ukrainians. He recorded that when they arrived, “In the camp lived Poles (50 men), then Letts were brought here, about 300 men, and about 200 Romanian men. The Romanians were former military prisoners. In addition, about 40 men were in the camp who had been exiled from Russia.” Captain Little doesn’t mention the Poles, Letts, or Romanians. (Letts are a Baltic Ethnic group, native to the whole territory of present-day Latvia as well as southern Estonia.) The 40 men exiled from Russia would be the White Russians referred to by Captain Little. Since Captain Little doesn’t mention the Letts or the Romanians, it appears, from Mr. Kowal’s reference, that they arrived later.
Captain Little’s entry for August 9, 1945 goes on to explain that “As the work was rather heavy for one Unit another was called in, namely 69 DPACS, with Commander H. V. WILKES commanding. It was decided by the CO (Commanding Officer) of 94th Field Regiment that 69 DPACS should take the northern half, ie the Burgdorf, and we should take the southern part (Lehrte), with 69 DPACS running the HQ (headquarters) at Burgdorf.No. 3 DPACS concentrated on Camps Roosevelt, Churchill, and Truman. The HQ office of 3 DPACS was set up at Camp Roosevelt.”
Now we are on the hunt for the war diaries of 69 DPACS! If you have a copy of these diaries, or are able to make a trip to the National Archives, Kew in England to look them up and make a copy, we would be very grateful.
If you recognize any of these names mentioned by Captain Little, happen to know what happened to them, or have a photo of anyone mentioned, please let us know. If you were in No. 3 DPACS during the period described in 1945, we want to hear from you! Do you have any anecdotes to share about Camp Ohio? Comments can be made on this blog or by sending an email to dariadv@yahoo.ca. Don’t forget to check out the photos on our website at http://www.dpcamps.org/burgdorf.html.
© Daria Valkenburg
Camp Ohio Research Project 