Between 20 August and 19 October 1944, 168 Allied airmen were held prisoner at Buchenwald concentration camp. Colloquially, they described themselves as the KLB Club (from German: Konzentrationslager Buchenwald).[1][2] Of them, 166 airmen survived Buchenwald, while two died of sickness at the camp.[3][4]

Background

As Allied air forces took control of the skies over Europe in the summer of 1944, Adolf Hitler ordered the immediate execution of Allied flyers accused of committing certain acts.[4] The most common act was to be captured in civilian clothing or without their dog tags by the Gestapo or secret police.[5] These airmen had been shot down mainly over France, but also over Belgium and the Netherlands and were turned over to the Gestapo and secret police – by traitors within the French Resistance – while attempting to reach England along escape routes such as the Comet and Pat lines.[6] A notable traitor within the French Resistance was Jacques Desoubrie, who was responsible for betraying a significant number of Allied airmen to the German authorities.[3][5][7]

These captured airmen were given the name "Terrorflieger" (terror flyers), and were not given trials.[4][8] The German Foreign Office however, expressed concern about shooting prisoners of war (POWs) and suggested that enemy airmen suspected of such offenses not be given the legal status of POWs. Following this advice, the Gestapo and security police informed these captured Allied airmen that they were criminals and spies.[2][4] Using this justification, 168 allied airmen from Great Britain, United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Jamaica were taken by train – in overcrowded cattle boxcars – from Fresnes Prison outside Paris, to Buchenwald concentration camp.[9] After five days in the boxcars, they arrived at Buchenwald on 20 August 1944.[1][3][8]

Buchenwald

Nationalities of the 168 airmen[1][10][11]
United States 82 American
United Kingdom 48 British
Canada 26 Canadian
Australia 9 Australian
New Zealand 2 New Zealander
Jamaica 1 Jamaican

Buchenwald was a forced labour camp of about 60,000 inmates of mainly Russian POWs, but also common criminals; religious prisoners, including Jews; and various political prisoners from Germany, France, Poland, and Czechoslovakia.[12] For the first three weeks at Buchenwald, the prisoners were totally shaven, denied shoes, and forced to sleep outside without shelter in one of Buchenwald's sub-camps, known as "Little Camp".[12] Most airmen doubted they would ever get out of Buchenwald because their documents were stamped with the acronym "DIKAL" (Darf in kein anderes Lager), or "allowed in no other camp".[13] After the war some of the airmen recounted that officers of the German Air Force had visited Buchenwald a few days after an Allied air raid on Weimar in late August 1944 to assess the damage inflicted upon the armament factory adjacent to the camp. According to these recollections the German officers talked to the airmen and saw that they were transferred to the POW camp.[14] Years later veterans identified Johannes Trautloft from photos as one of the officers and credited him with saving their lives.[15] Until now it was not possible to verify this story with archival records. In his war diary Trautloft does not mention the events.[15] The Gedenkstätte Buchenwald stated that a visit by Trautloft or other officers might have happened and that this might have influenced the decision making process of what to do with the airmen. However, there might have been no connection whatsoever, because the decisions were not made by a single officer like Trautloft.[15]

To address the constant stress, long appells (roll calls), boredom, insecurity and apprehension, it was decided amongst the 168 airmen to hold formal meetings to give them a sense of purpose and order.[3] Thus, the exclusive KLB Club came into existence with several chapters; Canada, United States, Great Britain, and Australia-New Zealand.[2] Elected representatives of each nationality held separate meetings to collate the previously scattered efforts of those who had proposed address lists, meetings after the war and other pursuits. The meetings at Buchenwald displayed the 168 airmen's militariness and solidarity, forming a bond that brings them together more than 60 years after the liberation of Buchenwald.[2][3]

At one meeting, it was agreed to design a club pin. The winning design, put forward by Bob Taylor from Great Britain, showed a naked, winged foot, symbolising the airmen's barefoot condition while in the concentration camp. The foot is chained to a ball bearing the letters KLB, with the whole mounted on a white star, which was the crest of the Allied invasion forces.[3] Canadian airman, William Arthur “Willie” Waldram, also wrote the poem titled, A Reflection, about Buchenwald[1] (see below). On the night of 19 October, 156 of the 168 airmen were transferred from Buchenwald to Stalag Luft III by the Luftwaffe. Two airmen died from sickness at Buchenwald, while the remaining 10 were transported in small groups, over a period of several weeks.[1]

In the book 168 Jump Into Hell, the purpose of the KLB Club was described as being to perpetuate the comradeship already shown by the flying personnel of Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, United States and Canada, by the interchanging of pamphlets, ideas and visits.[1] More than 30 years later, in 1979, four Canadian KLB members made the first serious attempt to trace all club members.[7] At that time, of the original 168 members, only 28 had not been located or accounted for.[1]. All have now been traced, and information about each individual airman, including service history, is now being posted at www.buchenwaldairmen.info. As of June 2021, three of the airmen were still alive (Booker, Hilding, and Bauder), however the last surviving airman, Ret. 2Lt. Russell Hilding, died on November 7, 2021, aged 100.

Members

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kinnis & Booker 1999.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 McDonald, Joanne (2005), "POW survives horrors of Buchenwald concentration camp", The Flamborough Review, retrieved 18 August 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Burgess 1995.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Army Air Forces Victims of the Holocaust, National Museum of the US Air Force, archived from the original on 15 October 2012, retrieved 29 July 2010.
  5. 1 2 Childers, Thomas (2004), In the Shadows of War, New York: Henry Holt & Co, ISBN 0-8050-5752-8, OCLC 50559805.
  6. ↑ Prisoners of War in the Second World War, Veterans Affairs Canada, archived from the original on 25 June 2009, retrieved 29 July 2010.
  7. 1 2 Harvie, John (1995), Missing in Action, Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, ISBN 0-7735-1350-7, OCLC 34558799.
  8. 1 2 Moser, Joe (2008). Buchenwald Flyboy: Chapter 8. Retrieved on 24 July 2010.
  9. ↑ Moser & Baron 2009.
  10. ↑ Recognizing and commending American airmen held as political prisoners at the Buchenwald concentration camp (PDF), 105th Congress, 1997, archived from the original (PDF) on 8 May 2010, retrieved 11 January 2009.
  11. ↑ Stein, Harry (2004), Buchenwald Concentration Camp 1937–1945, Wallstein, p. 171, ISBN 3-89244-695-4, OCLC 61263627.
  12. 1 2 Marshall, Bruce (2000), The White Rabbit, London: Cassell, pp. 193–94, ISBN 0-304-35697-2, OCLC 59575058.
  13. ↑ Bard, Mitchell (2004), The Complete Idiot's Guide to World War II, Alpha, pp. 259–60, ISBN 1-59257-204-9, OCLC 43803305.
  14. ↑ Burgess, Colin (1995, p. 133). Destination Buchenwald. Published by Kangaroo Press, Kenthurst NSW. OCLC 35019954. ISBN 0-86417-733-X; Moser, Joseph and Baron, Gerald (2009, p. 122). A fighter pilot in Buchenwald. Published by Edens Veil Media, Bellingham, WA. OCLC 311551716. ISBN 978-0-615-22111-3; Kinnis, Arthur and Booker, Stanley (1999, p. 176). 168 Jump Into Hell. Published by Victoria B.C. OCLC 43390724. ISBN 0-9684198-0-1
  15. 1 2 3 Biskup, Harald (12 March 2014). "US-Piloten im KZ Buchenwald: Letzter Kampf für den Retter" [US-Airmen in Buchenwald Cconcentration Camp: Last Fight for the Rescuer]. Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger. Cologne. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  16. ↑ "A flier is remembered", News, RNZAF, no. 93, June–July 2008, retrieved 26 September 2010.
  17. 1 2 Lancaster LM575, UK: Lost Bombers During World War II, retrieved 17 October 2010.
  18. 1 2 Halifax LV880 Information. Lost Bombers During World War II. Retrieved 16 October 2010
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Part 5, Chapter 7: Anzac POW sent to Buchenwald", ANZAC Prisoners of War, archived from the original on 3 November 2013, retrieved 26 September 2010.
  20. ↑ "Keith Cyril Mills", The Daily Mercury (obituary), Legacy, retrieved 27 February 2012.
  21. 1 2 3 Lancaster ND424 Information. Lost Bombers During World War II. Retrieved 16 October 2010
  22. ↑ "Leslie Faircloth – Evasion from France 1944", History: WW2 People's War, BBC, retrieved 29 September 2010.
  23. ↑ Redpath, Laura (May 2010), "Air Jamaica celebrates for the last time", The Jamaica Gleaner, retrieved 29 September 2010.
  24. 1 2 Halifax LK866 Information. Lost Bombers During World War II. Retrieved 17 October 2010
  25. ↑ Harold Bastable, The Memory Project Digital Archive, archived from the original on 10 July 2012, retrieved 27 February 2012.
  26. ↑ Crawford, John, AOC. Together We Served. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  27. ↑ "Obituary – Edward 'Ed' Carter-Edwards Obituary" Archived 25 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  28. 1 2 Lancaster LM621 Information. Lost Bombers During World War II. Retrieved 17 October 2010
  29. 1 2 3 4 5 Lancaster KB727 Information. Lost Bombers During World War II. Retrieved 17 October 2010
  30. 1 2 3 4 Halifax LW120 Information. Lost Bomber During World War II. Retrieved 16 October 2010
  31. ↑ Halifax LW123 Information. Lost Bombers During World War II. Retrieved 17 October 2010
  32. 1 2 Halifax LW582 Information. Lost Bombers During World War II. Retrieved 17 October 2010
  33. ↑ Lancaster ME668 Information. Lost Bombers During World War II. Retrieved 16 October 2010
  34. ↑ "Canadian war hero Arthur Kinnis spent life fighting for veterans", iPolitics News, 6 February 2011, retrieved 2 December 2011.
  35. 1 2 3 4 Halifax LW143 Information. Lost Bombers During World War II. Retrieved 16 October 2010
  36. ↑ Crew of Lancaster KB727. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  37. 1 2 Lancaster ME805 Information. Lost Bombers During World War II. Retrieved 17 October 2010
  38. ↑ Lancaster LM480 Information. Lost Bombers during World War II. Retrieved 16 October 2010
  39. ↑ "TH Blackham", Obituaries, Central Flying School Association, retrieved 26 September 2010.
  40. 1 2 3 Halifax MZ630 Information. Lost Bombers During World War II. Retrieved 17 October 2010
  41. 1 2 Halifax LV790 Information. Lost Bombers During World War II. Retrieved 16 October 2010
  42. ↑ Lancaster ND533 Information. Lost Bombers During World War II. Retrieved 16 October 2010
  43. ↑ Blundell, Nigel (7 November 2011). Sacrafice [sic] of Britain's Bomber Boys. The Daily Express. Retrieved 10 November 2011
  44. ↑ Blundell, Nigel (11 November 2011). Sacrafice [sic] of Britain's bomber boys. The Express. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  45. ↑ Robb, Ian (16 May 2009), Own Story, QMUL, retrieved 3 December 2011.
  46. ↑ Lancaster ND921 Information (2009). Lost Bombers During World War II. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
  47. ↑ Splinter Adolphe Spierenburg (PDF) (in Dutch), NL: Planet, pp. 5–8, retrieved 25 September 2010.
  48. ↑ "Plymouth man still does his own shopping at 105 years old". 29 December 2019.
  49. ↑ "Bill to compel rail firms to admit Holocaust role advances", The Los Angeles Times, retrieved 5 June 2011.
  50. ↑ Elmer C. Freeman (obituary), Tributes, retrieved 6 January 2013.
  51. ↑ Oppmann, Patrick (2009). World War II vet honored 60-plus years later for bombing mission CNN International. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2010
  52. ↑ Michael R. Petrich Obituary. Legacy.com. Retrieved 19 January 2015
  53. ↑ Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 119. Retrieved 19 January 2015.

Bibliography

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