Gunner Bellas POW Vol.4

November 15th 2005. This is a part of my Father`s journal that he secretly kept when he was a POW at Stalag 4C in Decin, formally Bodenbach in what is now Czech Republic. He was captured after the surrender of Crete in May 1941, he was a gunner in the Royal Artillery. This journal was written in secret and it took me a while to arrange the entries in chronological order. The Journal also had other comments and descriptions, poems, jokes etc, which I have not included. I would like to state that the language and some of the terms used is in the idiom of the times. My Father was a well-read man and his grammar was usually perfect. Any deviations from this standard have to be because of the situation at the time it was written. I am sure he could have been in trouble if the Nazi guards had found it. Some notes were obviously written in cryptic haste. He never really talked much of his ordeal until late in life and then only small amounts. I have remembered the tales and have noted them, but they are not included here. The words you read are all his, written at a time of great stress. I feel it is a lasting testament to him, and the thousands of other POW`s who suffered the same uncertain daily routine. In the summer of 2004 I went by train from Prague to Decin, where he was incarcerated. I went to the local Museum and all my enquiries of where exactly the camp was located were met with a blank denial of any camp being there, I called it a collective amnesia. If anyone else would like to discuss this with me I would be happy to share this experience, it unsettled me and left me with more questions than answers. Please contact me and I will be happy to reply. Michael.J.Bellas. son of 1557472 Gunner Leonard Bellas.

January 1944
I wonder??? 22 G div. Reported finished at Smolensk. Cowboy do here on New Years Eve.

From South African POW captured in Tobruk and trans to Italy 5 days before we re-took town. Free for 5 days when Italian invasion started. Germans came to Stalag and rounded up. Fired wood pile, Machine gunned and burned a hospital and bombed sumps.

February 1944
60 Russian men arrived and 7 Frogs gone to Aussig. Russians all ages 16-68 here. Very different to what I expected, sturdy — intelligent & clean looking. Badly fed — less bread than us and no meat. Don’t think much of Communism or Stalin. Most from Nicopol area around which Joe and Jerry are now fighting. Plenty of snow these two weeks.

Feb.1944.
Can’t understand German attitude. To us Officially (vide the “Camp”) it is conciliatory and full of propaganda re. the establishment. Good relations between the two countries after the war. Yet the letters from German newspapers in it are full of threats to us for “unlawful war” after the war. The truth of the matter I think is they try to make us believe they are good to us (through the camp) but their treatment of us personally is as near the bone as possible with the exception of work hours as to which they break all agreements. They only keep agreements if they are agreeable to them.

Salon Whites in - Niggers out.
Cyp. box . Why for you make horrible. ?
You speak other men.

Batt re Commissars
Shot for smiling during demonstration.
Sentenced to death for throwing sand under wheels.
?? intervened and altered to 8 days clink.
P (?) stoned in streets.
Finish Sept. or Oct. according to Winnie`s speech.
Pigram to Stalag for repatriation.

March 1944
Borys made a mangle at work. Guard carries snouts for us owing to fear of search. More Russians here. Some soldiers — been prisoners for 2-1/2 years in Ukraine In Russia, German prisoners lightly guarded. One escapes and shot.

April 1944
Bapty had a small union jack in his cap and chef saw it, whipped it out and told him it was forbidden. Russian caught today stealing flour. Other Russians told me later they had been shot. Czechs left this week. Jaraslov Malik also.

Easter? 1944

Murrys others out all night. Guards sell stacks white bread.

May 1944

No news for 2 weeks. Everybody on edge for invasion. Strong rumour about parachutes dropped locally.
Tick tock at Wilsdorf and whistle. 1000 men.

May 1944
Jameson left (Irishman) for unknown reasons. Barnes on blink again. First talk of invasion today (14th) Adriatic coast and Greece. Air raid Thursday.

June 1944.
Swiss Commissioner here. Sgt. Battle said they said end this year. Treat Free corps as joke. Bother re. complaints. Cyps said Britain put none in. 2 blokes here from 8b. tells of bloke left in France after war. Got married and had kids. Captured in 1943. Ill so was being repatriated. Wanted to sell his repatriation ticket to G.Rolls. First news of invasion from G.Warr about 1:30 on June 6. All sorts of rumours about.

June 16 Battle re Rockets.
Some indecipherable text possibly Check.

July 7th 1944
J.Brown shot dead and Taff Jones wounded last night. Nailed tongues. Prague political prisoner who was a professor before war aged 32, looks 70.

Aug 26th 1944
Rumours Paris fallen 2/3 France ours. Nearing Rhine. Bulgaria and Rumania Russian. Jerries in Greece cut off. Fighting in East Prussia. Past Warsaw
Worked 2 Sundays together.

Sept 10th 1944.
Rumours. Von Pappen in England. Ribbentrop in Lisbon talks to British Minister. War over in a few days. English gives Germany 5 days to capitulate or 40 planes b 5 ling and 60 Germany. Crete evacuated. Bulgaria capitulated. Rumania finished. Aachen and Metz captured. Fighting near Dusseldorf and Koln.
Lamsdorf 8b Silesia Dog torn in 2 Dead men’s rations. Typhoid.(?)

Sept. 15th 1944 Rumours broken Siegfreid Line on 4 places, Aachen taken. Rumoured. Driven out of Siegfreid Line. Rumoured fighting in Siegfreid Line with tanks and flame throwers.

Sept 24. Rumour Goering in prison. Leaflets dropped yesterday in raid.
Bloke at Tetschen died after being ref. Adm. To hospital.

Oct 1944. Maurice Chevalier killed in Paris. Came to 4b in 1941.Old prison camp in last war. Captured Russian General has asked or ordered all Russian in Germany to join German forces. New war promised on Oct 16. Fighting between Aachen and Cologne. Cologne burned down with fire bombs. Germans threat to flood Holland. All German boys over 13 to go behind front line building bunkers.

Oct 25th 1944
Strong doubts now about war finishing this year. Rumoured civil war in Spain. Goebbels asked for ½ coal and ½ gas in return promised) new weapon. Churchill said would endeavour to finish war this year. Saw leaflet that said SS drove Jerry’s into action shouting get on you dogs. Warwick’s diary taken from him. All told to expect something on the 28th. (Czech Independence day) Lot of blokes from factory gone into army, including Ernst. Lot of old men pensioners coming back.

November 1944
Real little Spiv guard here, knows all the Hotcha tunes and plays to the lads on a mouth organ. Russians in a bad way; queue up for our gash soup and almost fight over odd spuds. Stay up until midnight for NS soup. Titch Sutton nearly grabbed and eaten one night! They search wagons for bits of corn etc. Reminds me of us at Salonika etc.

Nov 5th. 1944
Bags of planes over today. Boy 16 ???? rather than join up.
Next sentence hard to read. Churchill says war over by Easter.

Nov 12th 1944
Met Hindle the M of C from Oswaldtwistle said he met some Arnhem POW’s who weeks ago had been on the Rover`s ground. 50 English, 7 South African and 2 New Zealand brothers killed at Br??? in air raids.

Nov 25th 1944
J.Dean caught out last week. Captain said we should go collecting for wreaths for him now. Asked why he wasn`t shot on return. push on now across Rhine in places, Cologne taken. Lot of new prisoners in Stalag. Asking for old shoes for them. Still betting on before Christmas.

December 1944.
Cologne fallen. Surtz(?) invaded by us. Churchill says English too confident and war will not finish until midsummer. Late Churchill says big offensive in 5-8 days will sweep through Germany as we swept thro` France. Padre here today. Tales about Officer`s escape committee.

December 1944.
Joe 70 kM into Austria. Joe 70 kM from Austria.

December 1944
J. Locke in air raid at Aussig. Women left prams and posten left Locke. No news this week.

1945

Dec 1944
Cologne fallen Surtz(?) invaded by us. Churchill says England too confident and war will not finish until midsummer. Later Churchill says big offensive in 7 days will sweep through Germany as we swept thro` France. Padre here today. Tales about Officers Escape Committee.
Xmas 44
3 raids X-mas eve and X-mas day. SS searched Corporals camp. 1 Cypriot boy and 1 Cypriot shot at Aussig. Killed cold and frosty(?) News. Going back in Holland and Italy. 300 kM in Holland. Work stopped on AR shelter.

New Year 1945.

Attempted assassination of Churchill in Athens. German Air Force begins action again. Yanks driven 112 Kms back. V2 bombs m/6. Extract from a German newspaper says war will probably last until 1947. Everyone rather despondent. Doubts as to war finishing in 1945
January 7th 1945.
Parson here. 8 killed by air raid at??? Prepared for SS search, rumours of moving from here.
January 14th 1945
Budapest taken by Russians then retaken. Eisenhower kicked out, 2 Brit Generals court marshalled, Montgomery put in charge.
Jan 21st 1945.
2 Yank prisoners in Wilsdorf. Red McMichael from Michigan and 1 from Minnesota. Joined army in March and captured in small German village in Front of Cologne in November. Thought war was nearly over as Jerry were throwing arms away. In hospital with frostbitten feet owing to working as platelayers near Stan Schonau with pantoffels bus from 6am to 8pm. When captured had complete kit but were stripped and given Russian clothes. Fed on coffee morning and noon and spoup and a poece of bread at night. They hope they are not retaken by Russians as they say “hard things have been said by the Allies about the Russians recently” They say men on front wear electrically heated suits and are equipped with flamethrowers with 100 yard range. Say no Negro’s in Yank AF. Front waist deep in mud. Think politics not military holding up war.
U/O read notice that 2 Yanks sentenced to death for striking a German U/O.
News: Konigstaken. Big Russian attack, Budapest taken 110,000 German dead.
Reputed announcement on German Radio.
Russians broken through in 6 places and drawing towards River Oder and Breslau. Cannot stop tanks. England pressing on.

Rumours.
Krakow and Warsaw fallen. Volksturm rushed from Berlin to Breslau. Busses and schools stopped. Monday No leave from front. We retreating on Strasbourg front. Russians 75 miles from Breslau and dropping paras on Danube region. New talk by boys of war ending early spring. I don`t know!
January 28th 1944
Breslau being shelled from 38 Kms. All Holland captured and advance 40 km along coast into Germany. All Norway captured by Russ and 2/3 Denmark by us. Germans throwing away arms and retreating everywhere. Russians advancing on Vienna, Breslau And Oppeln(?) fallen. Saw myself evacuees From East (some say Bres) Rumor 135 km from here. Say war finished in 3 weeks. 25 German Divisions cut off in Danzig area.
Breslau Last night. Joe 100-150 miles east of Berlin. 30 miles from Danzig. Severe winter in England. Coal bad to get. Devon being made good after war practice.
Joke cartoon in camp. Girl hugging and bloke eating.

© Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.