German POWs Were Served Coffee on an American Train. Most Forgot Their Anti-American Feelings.

In January 1944, a German sergeant named Reinhold Pabel came ashore at Norfolk, Virginia, and was marched to a railroad station. Like most of his comrades, he had always been moved by the German army in boxcars. Instead, he found upholstered passenger coaches and a porter handing out coffee and sandwiches. Pabel later wrote that most of the men forgot their anti-American feelings. For years, a line attributed to Hermann Göring claimed that Americans could build refrigerators and razor blades, but not weapons. Yet six of the ten factories that built the M4 Sherman were locomotive or railcar companies, and the Sherman reached 49,234 tanks. In 1945, Göring told an American interrogator that he had warned Hitler how easy it would be to convert factories to war production. Chapters 0:00 The Country of Razor Blades 2:42 A Sergeant From Münster 4:22 The Coach 6:21 Whose Seats Were These? 8:04 From Locomotive to Tank 10:46 What Berlin Knew SOURCES uboat.net, "German POWs in North America: The Journey to Prison Camps," quoting Reinhold Pabel, Enemies Are Human (1955), and Arnold Krammer, Nazi Prisoners of War in America. Pabel's arrival at Norfolk on January 2, 1944, the march to the railroad station, the upholstered coaches, the porter, the guards, the washroom rule, and prisoner complaints to the Swiss authorities. Reinhold Pabel, Enemies Are Human (1955), as described in local history material on his escape from the camp in Washington, Illinois, and in bibliographic notes on the book. Pabel's service in the 115th Panzer Grenadiers, his capture in 1943, his escape on September 10, 1945, eight years in Chicago, and his arrest by the FBI in 1953. Warfare History Network and Westword, articles quoting Arnold Krammer, Nazi Prisoners of War in America (1979). Prisoner journeys in passenger cars, including Pullman cars, and the scale of the camp system (almost 400,000 German prisoners). The National WWII Museum, "Becoming the Arsenal of Democracy." The remark attributed to Göring about refrigerators and razor blades, Hitler's public view, American steel output and national income in 1938. HistoryNet, "Lost Prison Interview With Hermann Göring" (interview of July 25, 1945, by Maj. Kenneth W. Hechler). Göring's statements about American war potential, converting the automobile industry, and the speed of Kaiser shipbuilding, with the editor's caution that he may have been catering to his interrogators. "M4 Sherman," Wikipedia. The list of ten Sherman manufacturers, the first production Sherman at Lima in February 1942, the total of 49,234 tanks, and first combat at El Alamein in October 1942. "Troop sleeper," Wikipedia. Pullman's sleeping cars carrying troops in spring 1943, the late-1943 contract for 2,400 troop sleepers and 440 troop kitchen cars, and the separate beds with daily-changed linen. "M7 Priest," "Pressed Steel Car Company," "Standard Steel Car Company" and "Lima Locomotive Works," Wikipedia. M7 and M7B1 production, the October 1940 British order for 501 M3 tanks, the 1934 Pullman-Standard merger, and Lima's military production. The Clio, "Lima Locomotive Works (1869-1981)." Lima's M4A1 output by September 1943, its military locomotives, and its 1944 workforce. Sources & Archives U.S. National Archives Internet Archive Wikimedia Commons Periscope Film Archival Footage Archival footage: U.S. National Archives, Prelinger Archives, Ford Motor Company collection, Die Deutsche Wochenschau; some scenes use illustrative footage of the period not the people named. How This Episode Was Made Original research and script by WWII Desk. Archival film, photographs, documents and other historical material from the U.S. National Archives, Prelinger Archives and other collections are re-edited to match the narration and combined with our own maps, document reconstructions and graphics. Some scenes use illustrative footage of the period to represent locations, events, equipment and environments described in the narration and are not necessarily footage of the specific people named. Sources are listed above.