Artifacts - Wallace Carden

Letter sent home to Wallace F. Carden’s parents on January 9, 1945, during his imprisonment at the Bad Orb P.O.W. camp. He wrote that he was being treated well and he has a “warm place to sleep.” Even though conditions were poor, Carden knew that in order to reach his family, he had to write something positive about the prison camp, or his letter would have been censored or thrown away.

Reverse side of letter sent home to Wallace F. Carden’s parents on January 9, 1945, during his imprisonment at the Bad Orb P.O.W. camp. The U.S. censor’s stamp can be seen in the lower left corner.

Letter sent home to Wallace F. Carden’s parents on January 16, 1945, during his imprisonment at the Bad Orb P.O.W. camp. He wrote that he was being “treated well.” Soon thereafter, Carden was chosen to be sent to the Berga Slave Labor Camp, which Carden described as a “terrible place.” The prisoners were expected to work digging rock for twelve hours a day in below-freezing weather.

Reverse side of letter sent home to Wallace F. Carden’s parents on January 9, 1945, during his imprisonment at the Bad Orb P.O.W. camp. The U.S. censor’s stamp can be seen in the lower left corner.

Letter sent home to Wallace F. Carden’s parents on January 24, 1945, during his imprisonment at the Bad Orb P.O.W. camp. He wrote that God had “taken care of me.”

Reverse side of letter sent home to Wallace F. Carden’s parents on January 24, 1945, during his stay at the Bad Orb German P.O.W. camp.