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You wouldn't think if you visited a National Cemetery in the United States you would find German Prisoner of War burials. Fort Custer National Cemetery in Augusta, Michigan has 26 such prisoners.
Fort Custer, Augusta, Michigan was a training camp during World War II. It also housed about 5,000 German prisoners from 1943-1946. During this time, 16 of the prisoners were killed when their truck was struck by a train. They had been returning to the fort from a work detail. The other 10 prisoners died of natural causes.
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The German Prisoners of War Buried at Fort Custer National Cemetery, Augusta, Michigan
(Headstones from Left to Right) (Date of Death Included)
1. Josef Ensgraber June 20, 1946
2. Rudolf Vogler November 24, 1945
3. Paul Beiersdoerfer October 31, 1945
4. Kurt Behring October 31, 1945
5. Heinz Bialetzki October 31, 1945
6. Karl Arzberger October 31, 1945
7. Kurt Bernock October 31, 1945
8. Rolf Arnold October 31, 1945
9. Ernst Ahrens October 31, 1945
10. Richard Ackermann October 31, 1945
11. Karl Acker January 1, 1920 -October 31, 1945
12. Anton Beckmann December 29, 1908-November 1, 1945
13. Norbert Berghofer October 31, 1945
14. Hans Becker December 12, 1907-October 31, 1945
15. August Baumgartner January 29, 1911-October 31, 1945
16. Ferdinand Auer October 31, 1945
17. Franz Allmer Ogefer November 16, 1914-October 31, 1945
18. Philipp Allmann October 31, 1945
19. Alois Wadler September 13, 1945
20. Kurtz Ludwig June 8, 1945
21. Wilhelm Marschollek May 10, 1945
22. Hans Rinde December 22, 1944
23. Johann Patsch October 16, 1944
24. Franz Janofzek October 1, 1944
25. Authur Aissen September 29, 1944
26. Johann Scheck June 22, 1944
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Posts
July 21, 2010 7:45 AM
Brenda, I thought this was quite interesting. Very nice of you to put up their names and the photos, as it is possible somebody is researching them.
July 22, 2010 9:16 AM
Thank you Barbara, I hope it will help someone.
August 25, 2010 3:37 PM
Brenda, Today my dad and I went to visit my brother's gravesite at Fort Custer National Cemetery. My brother died on Flag Day 2009 (June 14). As we were leaving we passed by the German Memorial, being curious and part German ourselves we stopped to see what it was about. Your blog answered some of our remaining questions. Thank you. Nicole
August 25, 2010 4:04 PM
I am sorry to hear of your brother's death. He is buried in a peaceful, well kept cemetery. I am glad my blog answered some of your questions.
September 16, 2010 10:54 PM
Wow, I was excited to see this information. My dad and I are researching this topic. His cousin, Rolf Arnold, was a German POW who was killed in the truck/train collision at Blissfield. Thanks to your info. we were able to view the actual tombstone with his name on it via the internet, and we've also been able to dig up alot more detail about the accident and the German POWs in general. One interesting tidbit, is that the German POWs buried at Fort Custer are listed as US servicemen. Rolf is classified as being in the US Navy with a rating of CSR3. This was probably done so that they qualified to be buried in a US military cemetery and so the public would not be horrified to find German enemies buried together with their servicemen relatives. History is fascinating isn't it. Thanks for doing this research.
September 17, 2010 5:21 PM
I am glad I was able to help you with your research. I appreciate the extra information you added here. Hopefully it will help others.
March 05, 2013 4:24 PM
Interesting post!
March 05, 2013 7:15 PM
Thanks, Lisa It is one of my more popular ones.