Soviet POW trench art from Norway

[Vegard T]

I thought I'd share my small collection of POW trench art I have gotten a hold over in the last couple of years.

These were items created by prisoners who were used as forced laborers in Norway. They would make these and give them away to the German guards in return for food(I have a story about this which I heard from a good friend and WW2 veteran. I will share it later).

They most likely all have a connection to my area, which had a prison camp not too far away.

The bird and the two first tins were given to me by my neighbor.





















This one was a nice surprise. My dad was out doing a job(Fixing an awning), and the couple living in the house just happened to be the one that had our house before us. He mentioned that I was very interested in World War 2, and it was very nice getting a phone call hearing that there was a surprise waiting at home for me after a rough day. He said that it came from the prison camp that was not too far away.

[Adrian Stevenson]

These are really nice items. Thanks for showing them.

Cheers, Ade.

[Wagriff]

I particularly like the bird. Very nice collectable!

[powtrenchart]

nice lot of pow cases ..i like them :O)

greets timo

[Panzer 3]

Hi,
You area a very lucky young man to be given these items, something to cherish and keep for years to came i love the bird. the work thats gone into it is fantastic. The other items i like as they are very well done, but the bird does it for me. thanks for showing them.
Dave.

[Vegard T]

I like the bird as well, just look at the detail of it!

[banksy]

Hello

These are extreamly nice items ! You are very lucky ...

Kind regards
Alex

[Vegard T]

The story I wanted to share:

This is a story which was published in a newspaper some years back. The veteran who was interviewed was a great friend of mine, he passed away in April 2010. Might make a thread about him in the future, since he meant a lot to me.

"Right after the liberation, I was standing near a tavern. A group of Russian POWs who had been used for forced labor and helped build a German airfield came walking down the street. One of them suddenly pointed at me and yelled "Du er en gut kommunist!- You are a gut(good in German) communist!".

He worked in NSB(Norwegian State Railways) as a stoker. He would often pass by the POW camp with the train, and throw out food to the prisoners, apples, bread and what little could be spared. If he could, he would stop the train and stick food through the fence. This was how the Russian recognized him. He remembered that some German guards were decent human beings. They would sometimes turn their back when the train stopped and the prisoners were flooding towards the fence. They would get half a slice of bread from his lunch pack. If they could, they would bring fruit, and sometimes vegetables in late summer and fall.

I am pretty sure all of my items link to that prison camp.

[Frundsberg]

Very nice trench art items!

[Vegard T]

Thanks They are very nice historical items. I just noticed some of the pictures were a bit crappy, if the weather holds up tomorrow, I'll see if I can get a few better ones up.