German POW-made Shaving Kit

[M422A1]

Hi! Its the new guy again. Attached are some photos of a shaving kit that my step-father gave to me when I was seventeen (1975). My step-father was in the 50th Armored Infantry Bn. during WWII. After the war ended, he remained in Germany for awhile and was in charge of taking German POW's on work details. He could speak German so he had no problem communicating with the prisoners. He actually became friends with some of them, especially one named Boosmann (not sure if I spelled that right). Boosmann gave my step-father this shaving kit as a going away present shortly before he rotated back to the U.S.
He made it himself in the POW camp. The painting on the front is signed "PW Boosmann 1945". Again, I'm not sure I am spelling the name correctly. Maybe some of our German members might know what this name should be.
The initials on the back are "JCS" for John C. Snyder, my step-dad.

[bikerboyzx6r]

Great story that mate, Nice personal item!
Dan

[Adrian Stevenson]

I agree, great to know the history behind the item. The workmanship of some of these POW items is amazing especially given the circumstances and materials available to the prisoners.

Cheers, Ade.

[M422A1]

I agree, great to know the history behind the item. The workmanship of some of these POW items is amazing especially given the circumstances and materials available to the prisoners.

Cheers, Ade.

I remember Johnny telling me that he had no idea where Boosmann got the paint for the picture on the front. The zipper is a Talon which I think is a U.S. zipper.
Johnny told me that Boosmann was the biggest and strongest German he had ever seen. One day when they were unloading potatoes from a truck, Johnny said he decided to have a little fun with Boosmann. The potatoes were in 100 lb. sacks and each POW was carrying one sack from the truck to the warehouse. When Boosmann came up to get another sack, the Germans in the truck put a sack on his shoulder. He started to walk away but Johnny stopped him and motioned for the guys in the truck to put another sack on his other shoulder. Boosmann started to walk away again and Johnny stopped him again. Johnny told the guys in the truck to put a third sack across the other two, behind Boosmann's neck. So they did and this time Johnny let him go. Johnny said Boosmann never said a word and carried the 300 lbs. of potatoes to the warehouse! When he came back for another load, Johnny said they all had a good laugh over it.

Best Regards,
Mike

[ironcross1]

Awesome , great piece and story to go with it , cheers Raymond