Kurt G. Pechmann, a Madison, Wisconsin resident, discusses his experiences during World War II in the German Army's 7th Regiment, 62nd Infantry Division and in Prisoner of War camps in Illinois and Wisconsin. Pechmann was born in Kuhnern, a German town in Silesia (now Poland). Pechmann states he received an eighth grade education and attended trade school to become a stonecutter. As a boy, Pechmann describes participating in the Hitler Youth, which he characterizes as "nothing but the Boy Scouts." Pechmann touches upon Nazi government propaganda and how the public saw no alternative viewpoints. At age nineteen, Pechmann was drafted into the Arbeitsdienst, a semi-military labor force, where he dug ditches, reinforced riverbanks, and repaired roads. Pechmann explains that this training prepared the laborers for the military. Six months later, he was drafted into the German Army. Pechmann comments that he spent seven months in basic training in Saint-Avold, Alsace-Lorraine (now France). He describes at length his training for the ski patrol and mentions that his trainer, Kurt Reich, had won the gold medal in skiing in the 1936 Olympics. Pechmann also outlines the various types of machine guns and rifles used by the German Army. Pechmann analyzes relations between officers and enlisted men, addressing class divisions within the German Army. He feels regular G.I.s were treated "like dirt" and explains that soldiers with high school or college educations automatically became officers while working-class men had to show bravery on the front to advance in rank. Pechmann portrays enlisted men as having more respect for a working-class solider who worked himself up the chain of command than for officers from the upper classes. In 1941, Pechmann's regiment was shipped from Alsace-Lorraine to Kharkov (now Ukraine) on the Russian front. Pechmann describes harrowing weather conditions and surprise nocturnal attacks. He recalls how the Russians' frightening battle-cry caused confusion and a friendly-fire situation. Pechmann goes into detail about German soldiers' views of the Russian, British, and American armies. He feels the German troops respected the Russian Army's toughness but held the British and Americans in higher regard for their strategic and technological prowess. Pechmann supports the idea that the German Army was not prepared to survive the harsh Russian winter. He tells how he contracted frostbite in 1942 and spent several months in a hospital in Krakow (Poland). He details the hospital conditions and the treatment that saved his feet from amputation. After his recovery, Pechmann was eventually reassigned to the Italian front in 1943. Pechmann contrasts the guerilla warfare in Cassino (Italy) with the trench-like warfare in Russia. Pechmann tells more than one story of Russian and British attacks on German Red Cross workers, ambulances, and hospitals. In poetic language, Pechmann vividly describes an incident in Italy where a British soldier was blown up by an antipersonnel mine near an apple tree that Pechmann himself had narrowly avoided stepping on two days earlier. Pechmann discusses in detail his capture by the British on November 6, 1943. He describes his various emotions and recounts the dialog between himself and the British captain who interrogated him. During an exchange that Pechmann emphasizes repeatedly, Captain Hauptman asked him if he was a convinced Nazi, and Pechmann replied: "What would you do if you hear nothing but one-sided propaganda from the German government, you have to be convinced." Pechmann says the British captain accepted this answer and never mistreated him. A few days later, Pechmann was handed over to the American army and shipped from Naples (Italy) to Norfolk (Virginia). He describes poor hygiene conditions and attacks from German U-boats during the voyage. Once they reached America, Pechmann states he and other prisoners were astonished by the high standard of living they observed. Pechmann was sent to Camp Ellis (Illinois) and later Hoopeston (Illinois). He portrays his treatment in the POW camps positively, focusing on the clean barracks, the German-friendly guards, and the high-quality food. Pechmann describes being amused and surprised when President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an apology to the POWs after a flood on the Mississippi River delayed delivery of their rations. Pechmann touches upon American propaganda, saying the POWs were shown newsreels about Axis losses in hopes of demoralizing them. Pechmann highlights many aspects of life in the POW camp. In their free time, the prisoners participated in soccer leagues, musical groups, and card games like Skat. He indicates their resourcefulness, describing how he horded castaway socks and how the POWs built a shortwave radio to keep abreast of the news. Pechmann reveals that two prisoners successfully escaped from Camp Ellis through the toilets. However, he states he never attempted escape due to his comfortable living conditions and his fear of being court-martialed by the Nazis. Throughout their imprisonment, the POWs worked at factories and farms across Illinois and Wisconsin. Pechmann illustrates positive interactions between the POWs and German-American civilians. One farmer in Lodi (Wisconsin) was so impressed with the POWs' efficient work that he served them all a large feast. When the war ended, Pechmann was sent back to Europe and handed off to the French Army who forced him into farm labor. Pechmann feels this violated the Geneva Convention (because prisoners were to be returned to their home country) and speaks of his harsh treatment at the hands of a French farmer. Pechmann explains that in 1948, when he finally returned to his girlfriend in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse (Germany), he had already decided to immigrate to America. He describes how the commissioner of the American civilian government helped him get his visa to come to the United States. Pechmann explains that he and his wife immigrated to Lodi (Wisconsin) in 1952 and were sponsored by the friendly farmer Pechmann had worked for as a POW. Later, Pechmann moved to Madison (Wisconsin) and started his own granite-cutting business. He mentions that he and his wife took English classes at Madison Area Technical College. Pechmann speaks with pride about numerous war memorials he helped create. In 1986, Pechmann repaired (for free) a war memorial in Forest Hill Cemetery that had been vandalized. As it was the day before Memorial Day, his story attracted media attention. Pechmann recalls receiving recognition from the Madison Veterans Council and the Wisconsin Officer's Club, and a letter from President Ronald Reagan. As a result of this publicity, Pechmann was commissioned to fix or design several Wisconsin Veterans monuments. He talks most proudly about designing the Southeast Wisconsin Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Milwaukee. In addition, Pechmann mentions working on a Vietnam Veterans monument in Monticello (Wisconsin), a monument for the Wisconsin Congressional Medal of Honor Winners (at the welcome center on Interstate 90-94) and the Wisconsin Korean War Veterans Memorial in Plover (Wisconsin).
