The Largest Axis POW Escape on American Soil: The Great Papago Escape (1944)

[@oslonorway547]

The kayak guys and the dude who badly needed to do his laundry made me laugh.

[@melburns4378]

A good story, told well.

[@dawndickson2156]

Can just imagine their faces upon reaching a dry river bed! All that effort for nothing! Fascinating piece of history. A German accent is hard to hide. Especially in the dessert. Thank you for your research and sharing with we history buffs. Greetings from Pennsylvania.

[@simunooi5306]

Reminds me of Oberleutnant Franz von Werra, a Luftwaffe pilot shot down over Britain and transferred to a POW camp in Canada. He was the only POW to successfully escape back to Germany during the war. There was a movie made about his exploits called The One that Got Away.

[@HoH]

Hi Simun, a while back you suggested a story about Arthur Chin - I just finished editing it and it should be online next week! This is another great suggestion

[@martinsparrow150]

A good movie

[@simunooi5306]

@@HoH wow! Thank you so much.

[@coling3957]

it didn't do him much good. though he got back to do some more fighting for Hitler he was killed late in 1941 at Vlissingen... his plane crashed and his body was never recovered.

[@typxxilps]

@@coling3957 Who cares about that ? If you made it home to germany you had no choice cause every POW was under military duty in the second of return ... And the story of his escapes (the 3rd was finally successfully) are worth to be told for sure. Not a lot POW made it ever home by escape so that is a story that deserves to be told on a history channel - at least when you cover the unsuccessfull attempts. I hope to see the story of "Baron Franz von Werra" being told like the story of "Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen", better know as the Red Baron of WW 1.

[@DaveMurrow]

Cool history! I just biked around Papago Park this past weekend, and drove up 62nd St from the Park up to Thomas Rd., without knowing what I drove past!

[@arizonaalchemy7572]

I am here in Arizona. A history buff I decided to go explore the old Papago P.O.W. Camp grounds. Bits and peices of the camp still remain on site. Read all of the local details of the camp's history. Started a search on here for vlogs. Thank you, Sir. Your version is more concise than what I have read here. Well done.

[@lepkeb2252]

The very good treatment of German pows on American soil was a bone of contention with the American public that referred to these POW camps as the fritz Ritz. The pows had better food than most American civilians at the time who were subject to rationing. The last German escaped POW did not turn himself in until the 1980s.

[@BatchelderPatrick]

So many Americans have no idea of these stories. If only I had known to ask my mother about them before she - and that generation - died. Some German POW's in Texas were simply set free after the war, married local women and spent their lives here - as if the War had never happened. Your videos should be shown in American history classes in schools.

[@HoH]

Thank you! It is exactly what I intend my videos to be: bring to light forgotten history.

[@Idahoguy10157]

If a POW married an American woman he’d have a better chance of staying in the USA. There was a lot of this with Italian POWs. During the WW2 German POWs were hired out as laborers. Often in agriculture. With so many American men serving overseas these romances did happen

[@arizonaalchemy7572]

agreed.

[@mbryson2899]

I had no idea the U.S. kept POWs in Arizona. Good place for it, especially in the 1940s.

[@HoH]

The location certainly did the trick. None of them managed to escape the desert - and it wasn't for lack of trying.

[@mbryson2899]

@@HoH , I've done day hiking, easy stuff, in the Phoenix area. That some of them made it so close to the border speaks volumes about their determination.

[@HoH]

@@mbryson2899 it probably helped the US didn't use a 'shoot first, ask questions later' policy, like the Allies faced in German-occupied territories or Germans faced in the Soviet Union.

[@NathanDudani]

Gotta work those cotton fields

[@thomasswafford250]

I was reading about some of the P.O.W. camps in my home state of Tennessee. One German prisoner was a fan of Country Music (not me). He escaped to go to the Grand Ole Opry and came back. One morning he was standing at the front gate waiting to be let inside.

[@DardanellesBy108]

I’ve only heard the story in general, this is the first I’ve heard the interesting details. Thanks! The part about the street cleaner meeting the last escaped POW made me think of Hollis P. Wood from the movie “1941”: “Jesus Palomino, a Nazi!” And that part about the Arizonian definition of a River can also be applied in parts of California. Too bad, how sad for those kayak guys. They tried so hard.

[@j1st633]

Your narrative is always educational, and entertaining. Thanks.

[@HoH]

Thank you kindly!

[@bradkempton7905]

I live about 120 miles out roughly 3 hours East of where Papago prison is (its now a park and zoo). The terrain the escapees had to cross to get to Mexico is worse than you can imagine. It's only about 150 miles, but it's 150 miles of pure Arizona desert where everything is either trying to bite you, poke you, or sting you. That's on top of the horrific heat which routinely reaches 115° F during the summer and below freezing during the winter. My hat goes off to the POWs just for attempting it.

[@ftdefiance1]

Papago Park was located about 4 miles from downtown Phoenix and close to the towns of Scottsdale and Tempe.

[@bradkempton7905]

Being from Arizona, i always forget how hard it is to pronounce the different names of places here. Most of the names aren't pronounced anything like you would think looking at the spelling. The Gila River for example is pronounced as "Hela" instead of the Gi sound is should make. Tucson which is s city is pronounced as Tooson. The names are a mixture of Spanish and Native American languages. Marly Apache in the South and Navajo in the North.

[@randyalanko4903]

Late to the party, but my father was on the last victim of the U162 Capt Wattenberg. When the Star of Oregon was sunk, the U boat drew near the life boats and asked for the Captain. The sailors said he went down with the ship., so Wattenberg asked about the ship, cargo, etc. Finally he indicated the direction to land (Trinidad) and said "Have a good voyage, boys"!

[@laurakuhn8743]

I live in Phoenix. FYI Tucson is about 90 miles South of Phoenix. Mexico is about 90 miles further South. Tucson is pronounced Two son Gila River, Gila is pronounced : He lah Piestawa Peak was then known as Squaw Peak

[@maitaimik]

But for a German native he speaks good English, local and native English pronunciation is notoriously difficult for Germans, see war time UK pronunciation tests, with words like Gloucester, Worcestershire or Bicester. Even Americans have difficulty pronouncing certain British names, e.g. the recently departed HRH Duke of Edinburgh which I have heard massacred on US media from Edinborg to Edinberg to Edinburr to Edinboro but rarely thee correct Edinburrah.

[@laurakuhn8743]

@@maitaimik You are quite correct.

[@goonigal7758]

Thanks for this story! He would have never found a train station in Phoenix. We don't have one 🙂 It’s in Maricopa 60 miles south. Argh, snakes are enough to keep me from hiking, here. They had to escape at New Year, that's the coldest time here. Yep, good old Gila River is mostly dry river bed. The desert is the reason, security was not rigid. Great story.

[@Spiff99]

To be fair, the Phoenix Union Station was operating at the time. It opened in 1923 and is located around 3rd Ave between Jefferson and Lincoln. Used to have streetcars in Phoenix back then too. AmTrack stopped service to the Phoenix Union Station in I996 and it was only used a few times since as a station. Then it was turned into a data center by Sprint. Think they sold it off and it is not currently in use, though the building is still there and on the NHRA. Kinda crazy how have to go to Maricopa to catch the train 😒

[@TheLittlered1961]

​@@Spiff99 I think trains have been running there before then. My great grandfather visited Phoenix in 1912. He came from the Midwest as a traveling salesman. His hotel was surrounded by a bunch of drunk Indians.

[@amaccama3267]

Even though you know how it's going to end I still found myself hoping that one would make it. 👍✊👍 Great story.

[@user-lw7om1sg1m]

Very interesting stories many thanks

[@benwilson6145]

I have done some more research into the escape some of the Graf Spee from Argentina. and can add this Chapter XIII. ESCAPE OF INTERNED ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE OFFICERS FROM SOUTH AMERICA After the scuttling of the Admiral Graf Spee, Wattenberg was brought to Buenos Aires on December 18, 1939, for internment with 1,054 officers and men. The officers were required to give their word of honor not to leave the city without written permission from the police authorities, but refused to do so. The German Embassy attempted to have the Graf Spee survivor's declared "shipwrecked" to avoid internment, but the fact that the Germans had made arrangements for vessels to pick up survivors before the Admiral Graf Spee sailed for the last time caused the Argentine Government to insist on internment. By March 16, 1940, 31 officers and men had escaped; it is believed that Wattenberg escaped on April 16. At the end of July 1942 the number had risen to 120. The German Embassy provided forged passports, and other false documents were procured by a German resident of Buenos Aires named Alfonso Haun, who later confessed his participation to Argentine police. The exact route taken to Peru by Wattenberg is not known, but planes, busses, and horses for crossing the Andes were used by various other prisoners. At Callao, Peru, he embarked on the S. S. Rakuyo Maru, a Japanese steamer, which stopped at Los Angeles on June 12, 1940. Spanish and Japanese vessels, as well as German blockade runners, were used by escaping prisoners. Wattenberg reached Germany without further incident, and before long it was reported that he had joined the U-boat arm. In other research I have found is that many German national's returned from Japan to Germany via the Trans Siberian Railway.

[@freebirdw6187]

What a story! This played out like a reverse Hogans Heroes episode.

[@TheLittlered1961]

I am going to over look the pronunciations since many have called you on that. The mountain that the captain escaped to, I believe was Squaw Peak. They may have renamed it since I was there. I was caught doing, let's say adult activities on the road up to it by the cops. 😂😂😂 As far as the largest man hunt in AZ history, I do not think so. I believe that was in 1918 hunting for the Powers boys. Over 5000 people hunted for them. I have been to the cabin where the shoot out took place. BTW, I have ridden a bike to Papago park and Squaw peak from my house. I didn't know about the history that those places held. For that I thank you.

[@darrellsmith4204]

Good effort on pronouncing all those desert southwestern names. You missed some of them, but to this day I still refer to the WW1 battles at "Wipers".. lol

[@lepkeb2252]

I think he mispronounced Tucson.

[@negativecharisma7583]

As an arizonan i can confirm we have a frighteningly liberal definition of a "river"

[@AmericanDefender]

I've lived in AZ my entire life and never knew this!

[@samuelmaltry6727]

Phenomenal story.

[@SuenosDeLaNoche]

Tucson (pr. TOO sahn) Gila (pr. HEE lah) I appreciate your video. It's a fascinating story. Thank you.

[@typxxilps]

You have missed to tell the story of Wattenberg before the outbreak in the camp in the homicide of his comrade Werner Drechsler, who deserved to be mentioned what he had done for the americans. Drechsler had been beaten and hanged by 7 comrades for being a spy for the americans which he had been before. Wattenberg was the leader of the camp and an other officer "Ritter" had like other before complained that he is a Nazi leader putting other under pressure by accusing them being a spy like Ritter. Papago Park was the US camp for all german navy officers and men so it was tough for Ritter as officer to get out of there into another prison camp. You might look up the whole story of Wattenberg and tell the rest of the story based on the court trial against the comrades and Ritter's story who had been twice in prisoncamps with Wattenberg where he had feared for his life and accused Wattenberg. You can find out more about Werner Drechsler in the english wikipedia where the description is rather short and then use the link to the german one which you most likely can read too. The american military was aware about the risks Drechsler was opposed and had made a mistake later cause Drechsler never should have gotten in contact with other navy comrades. But they had thrown him into the hell of a pure german navy camp. This story shows the other side of Wattenberg cause this story till now is more or less a hero like refugee escape story - but Wattenberg was quite the opposite: a convinced Nazi Guggenberg is another figure to talk about cause his boat U513 was sunk 100 km away from brazils coastline which was found in 2011 or by a private campaign of a brasilian searching the sub. The german TV station ZDF had made a 45 minute documentary about the U513, its fate and Guggenberger who became a rear admiral in the Bundesmarine in West Germany after being trained in the Newport at Naval War College. He became commander in chief of the allied forces in north Europe AFNORTH. Assuming you might understand german too you can find this on youtube if you search for "Das Geheimnis von U 513" and might activate subtitles. The english translation of the title might be "The secret of U513" and was one documentary in a series of "Secrets of the 2nd WW" ... I guess there might be an english version too cause usually these are produced for the international market too.

[@typxxilps]

There is an english book about the story of Werner Drechsler that tells the whole story and how the investigations about the homicide ended successfully. All 7 men were hanged after WW2 cause when the germans became aware of the court decision they promised to kill 7 american POW . Therefore the hanging had been postponed and executed long after the capitulation. You can read excerpts on google books ... Booktitle: Death at Papago Park POW Camp Another source for free pictures is uboatarchive net if you search for U-118. You will find a lot of further details like his heritage and (copyright free) pictures of arrival and during transfer in a bus.

[@sid2112]

Good story, your English isn't terrible, I could figure it out easily enough. Hehehe I gotta hand it to them, a bunch of navy boys escaping into the desert. I've been to that desert, I've walked those lands. That would not be an easy thing to do.

[@JMark-zk5pj]

Not sure how "comfortable" it really was, Phoenix in the summer with no AC is no joke.

[@oslonorway547]

3:09 Stalin be like: My gulags can fix that.

[@davidelack8809]

Two of the barracks from papago park pow camp are in the back of the City of Tempe city yard on Priest and the river bottom. Purchased by a former mayors mother with the idea of creating a musuem. Alas there they sit rotting away

[@downloadgoblin]

6:23 “tuck-son” 🤣

[@ekesandras1481]

San Agustín del Tucsón

[@kenttucson2830]

Tucson is pronounced Tuson, but no worries. Great video.

[@derekbury7262]

How did they cut such a perfect opening through concrete with only a shovel?

[@The105ODST]

German efficiency at their finest.

[@BHuang92]

Not all concrete hardens evenly. Some can be brittle by the environment or was not cured well when applied.

[@Davey-Boyd]

slowly

[@farginbastage805]

They returned after the war and founded Haus Murphy's restaurant in Glendale lol

[@fatcatscooter2584]

I go by the monument every once in a while (Near the Arcadia part of town). Not the best area any more, full of homeless. One thing you did not mention is how freakin' cold it is in December here in Phoenix. It may be nice during the day, but the temps drop super fast at night. And if it's raining in December, it SUCKS! That's why they loss the war! :-)

[@typxxilps]

If someone considers that something like shuffling a tunnel is impossible then it will be a challenge for germans to proof that they can. What can you loose in a prison camp ? Not to forget: many had relatives on american soil ... same roots, same blood so this was their chance number #1 to find support.

[@blitzy3244]

Never knew about this

[@sherirobinson5112]

Tucson is not tuck-sun, it's too-s-on...

[@coling3957]

Tuc-son is pronounced TWO-son .... :D

[@HoH]

Thanks! As a non-native speaker some pronunciations are quite surprising!

[@typxxilps]

@@HoH I had written a comment above about the other stories of Camp Papago that happened before the escape like the fact that the men had killed or hanged a comrade for being a spy. And Wattenberg was accused to be the commander who had given that order that "a person should never be heard again". It is a longer comment ... about that camp and its most known inmates story like the fate of U-513 commanded by Guggenberger.

[@HoH]

@@typxxilps For some reason I cannot find the comment/ it doesn't show up in my notifications

[@coling3957]

@@HoH its all thanks to country and western songs... :) thanks for a great video.

[@coling3957]

@Scumfuck McDoucheface depends on who is singing a c&w song about how their pickup truck broke down and their dawg died :P son and sun are pronounced the same in English..

[@brianrajala7671]

"The Great Escape", but without the murder of escapees. Who knew?

[@benwilson6145]

I am very curious of how he got from Argentina to Germany, I am sure its an interesting story. The interesting story I read was about his pet pig Douglas which swam from a sailing ship Florence M. Douglas that he sank.

[@noobster4779]

Propably Spain Argentinia->Spain->Occupied France As Argentinia had a big german immigrant community and spain was facist anyway it shouldnt have been to hard to get a ride on a boat for a german. And ones in Spain you could go to the german embassy and get a train ticket home

[@theodorecardenas2889]

Tucson is pronounced TOO-sawn

[@TrueBlueKing]

i can only imagine it from their perspective. mannnnnnnnn, every vid you got is H. A. M.,

[@HoH]

I hope that's a compliment!

[@TrueBlueKing]

@@HoH H. A. M. very good compliment, binge watching your channel. man, great vids perfect explanation, man, you got it. love your channel.

[@HoH]

@@TrueBlueKing Many thanks! 😀

[@NNN_613]

This was not a "great" escape. They hiked around the desert for a few days and were put on bread and water rations as punishment. Not exactly dramatic consequences.

[@jovanweismiller7114]

Tucson is pronounce 'Too-sahn'.

[@cshamble]

What I can't work out is if the tunnel was that narrow, how the hell did they get the kayak through it? Clever people these germans :)

[@ericsimpson1176]

I had read they just had some boards ,that might explain it

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

I read it as pepega...

[@Vetriot6971]

gila is pronounced with an h

[@Neuroguy1]

OK, not being mean but Tucson is pronounced Too soan. Gila is Spanish the G is pronounced like H. Hila Don't feel bad. If you are not from the Southwest it would be difficult.

[@jimmyyu2184]

Tucson is pronounced Two-song or Too-song. =)

[@HoH]

Thanks!

[@ekesandras1481]

only in English

[@AllenSymonds]

Tucson is pronounced too-sawn not tuck-sun. You really need to correct this oversight.- House of Geography