Identity documents and ephemera of Sgt. Gerald McDowell, U.S.A.F. as prisoner of war in Stammlager XVII B [Stalag 17B], Krems, Austria, 1943-1945 by (World War II) - 1945

[Krems, Austria, 1945. 4to and smaller. Some toning, overall very good. 4to and smaller. STALAG 17B. Identity documents and ephemera of American Air Force tail gunner Sgt. Gerald McDowell (1923-2002). McDowell and the flight crew of the B17 nicknamed Hell's Belle survived being shot down over Germany in 1943 and were interned at Stalag 17B in Austria. At the war's end, the camp guards marched American prisoners west to meet the U.S. Armored Division at Braunau and avoid the Soviet troops occupying eastern Austria. McDowell wrote a memoir of his war experiences, A Tail Gunner's Tale (1991). Stalag 17 gained notoriety from the 1953 Hollywood film of the same name staring William Holden.

Comprising:

1. Camp identification document for Gerald McDowell, no. 100478, with two photographs (side and profile, with chalk board identity number). Old fold (splt repaired on verso). With corresponding stamped metal badge. Illustrated at p. 114 of his book

2. [Broadside:] Kgf.-M.-Stammlager XVII B. Teillager der Luftwaffe. Lagerführung. Gneixendorf, June 11th 1944. Warning ! 1.) Any P.o.W. touching or crossing warning wire during day-time will be fired upon immediately. [...] Stencil printed, signed in ink by "E-" above stencil legend: Hauptmann and 1st Lageroffizier. Old folds. Tipped onto card. Illustrated at p. 90 of his book. Of extreme rarity.

3. BATCH, D.B. [Pencil portrait of Gerald McDowell] Signed and dated lower right, D.B. Batch, P.O.W., 13/1/45, Krems, Austria. 9 x 6 inches. Tipped onto card. Framed.

4. Recipes for "D-Bar Spread", "Chocolate Cream Pudding", "Gallop", and other P.O.W. dishes, using D-Bars, C-Rations, "Jerry" sugar, etc. 5 small cards, closely written on versos of typed prisoner ID fiches (4 x 2 inches). Tipped onto card. Toned.

[with:]
5. PHELPER, Ben H. Kriegie Memories [title from cover]. Photographs and handwritten text. [64] pp. [Aurora, Illinois: Printed by Barker printing Co., 1946]. Blue leather grained cloth, upper cover titled in gilt. OCLC: 85169189 (4 copies). Inscribed by the author on the first blank, "Jerry: May you always be free and happy. Good luck, Ben". Rare privately printed account of experiences inside Stalag 17B, by "Luftgangster No. 113204," with photographs of camp life and of the march towards liberation in May 1945. With a dozen annotations by McDowell, usually in red ink, indicating himself or other fellow inmates in the photographs, including a picture in the "Cardboard Playhouse" of McDowell in a dress, captioned in the text "a glamour shot of one of our boy actors ... Some of the lads sure did look good when they made up as a girl." Presentation copy of an astonishing illustrated narrative

6. MCDOWELL, Gerald. E. A Tail Gunner's Tale. [Vantage Press, 1991]. Review copy, as new.