Need help with POW"s diary

[Uncle Paul]

Hello All,

Someone has offered to sell me a diary, drawings and various papers from an American POW incarcerated in a German Stalag during World War II. I have no idea what to pay and would appreciate any thoughts you might have on the subject. I wish I had more information regarding content, but I know nothing further. Many thanks for your help.

Uncle Paul

[Wagriff]

Well...it's difficult to estimate without knowing a wee bit more about the diary. Is it extensive-how many pages-what date to what date? Does it give good details of camp life, or does it merely deplore the lack of fresh meat for mess hall? Is the camp a famous one? Is the author someone known? All these things are pretty much essential to know. It could be anywhere on the low side from a few hundred dollars of routine boring diary entries to a few thousand for spectacular info.

[Uncle Paul]

Thanks for your help, Wagriff. I bought the "diary" for $40 and as it turned out it wasn't a diary. Instead it was one of the Wartime Logs distributed to POWs by the YMCA. My copy belonged to Army Corporal Ray Poe from Sidney, West Virginia who was captured in North Africa in 1943 and sent to Stalag lllB in Furstenburg, Germany. The book is filled with poems, drawings, and ephemera and I have attached some of the pages to this post. Of particular interest are pages showing a drawing of the Stalag, six examples of Kriegsgefangenen Lagergeld, Poe's identity card, a manuscript of a Frank Stebbing poem set to music, pinups, Red Cross package receipts, and a POW newspaper printed in Germany called O.K. or The Oversea Kid.

[Wagriff]

Fascinating stuff and worth a ton more than 40 bucks, for sure! What a great pick up! Nice find!

[Woodsman]

Uncle Paul.. Sent you a PM about the creator / original owner of these items.. I hope to hear back..