London, Aug 29 (ANI): A trove of Second World War memorabilia from soldiers of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps has been discovered from a wilderness camp where the British captivated them.
During an archaeological dig, Red Cross tins, old letters, photographs of their time as prisoners of war (PoWs), uniform buttons and mess tins were found at the Whitewater Camp in Manitoba, Canada, where 500 Wehrmacht soldiers were held after their defeat by the British in the western desert in November 1942.
And now, the evidence from the site suggests that the Germans were happy at the camp and glad to be out of the war.
"The Whitewater Camp is unique in the history of the Second World War," the Scotsman quoted Adrian Myers, one of the archaeologists involved in the dig, as saying.
"They volunteered to come here on the understanding that they would agree to work hard once they arrived," he said.
Former inmates have been traced back to Germany by the researchers, and much of the digging has centred on the rubbish pits of the prisoners.
"What really surprised us is the number of personal grooming and hygiene articles we have found. These 500 guys lived deep in the forest, miles and miles from any women, and they were keen to look and smell their best at all times," Myers added.
Klaus Meyer, a pensioner living near Cologne, who was held there, told the archaeologists that though 'it was hard work but the fresh air and the vast open spaces, these impressions' have been with him ever since.
"Escape was impossible. So we made the best of it. The treatment was very good on the whole. We weren't die-hard Nazis; we were young soldiers who got caught and wanted to go home when the war was finished," he added. (ANI)
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