Escaped POW Around Union City - 1944
In late July 1944, Union City and Pennsylvania state police as well as county law officers were searching Wattsburg and the surrounding area and the highways leading into Union City for an escaped prisoner of war.
Army details were also involved in the search for Heinz Tolze who had escaped early Tuesday morning, July 18, 1944, from the Army's prisoner camp in North East, Pennsylvania. Tolze had previously escaped from Camp Pickett, Va., and had arrived at the North East camp about the second week in July.
Heinz Tolze was 23 years old. He stood 5 feet 7 inches tall, and weighed about 130 pounds. He had blonde hair, a ruddy complexion and a short and stocky build. He was wearing a prisoner's uniform with a large letter "W" on the back. There was also a letter "W" on one pant leg and a letter "P" on the other. Tolze's serial number 3WGH 145.
Army officials in charge of the camp at North East said that Tolze had fled about 3:30 in the morning. They admitted that he was the first of the Germans bought to North East for harvest work on fruit farms and in the processing plants to make a getaway.
After a few days, the Army authorities called in the FBI. After more investigations, the FBI agents discovered that Tolze had attempted to persuade six other prisoners working in the same group with him at the Sunshine Packing Company plant to make the break with him. Tolze told the other prisoners that he wanted to escape because he didn't want to be returned to Germany after the war.
The FBI agents theorized that Tolze was either hiding out in some secluded section of Union City or Corry or that some area resident was sheltering him. The F.B.I. sternly warned that any person who intentionally harbored an escaped prisoner of war or aided in his escape in any manner faced charges of treason and a possible death penalty.
People who even innocently assisted escaped prisoners faced penalties and people who withheld information about the escaped prisoner of war from the authorities could face a seven year prison sentence or pay a $1,000 fine.
A truck driver traveling Route 426 leading from North East toward Corry spotted Heinz Tolze on the morning of July 18, 1944. He called the police and the police, the F.B.I., and military units from North East searched the roads leading through Wattsburg, Union City, and Corry.
The search through Union City didn't turn up any trace of Tolze, although quite a number of boys combed the back roads and the main highways for him. None of them had ever seen a real prisoner of war and they wondered if he would be shot on sight. They wanted to be sure they would be on hand to witness his capture and its aftermath.
The Union City boys didn't get to witness either Heinz Tolze's capture or its aftermath. On Monday July 24, 1944, Tolze tried to steal a ride on a coal freight train in Oil City picked him up. Oil City and Union City children were disappointed at this tame ending to the story. The Oil City children had gathered in the city building to see Heinz Tolze shot.
Oil City Police Chief Joseph W. Daman reported that someone told the Oil City children that someone was going to shoot German Army veteran and prisoner of war Heinz Tolze and they wanted to see the action. The rules and regulations about prisoners of war and the fact that prisoners hadn't been shot in the United States for years, Chief Daman and his men had to disappoint the children. They simply turned Tolze over to the military authorities.
Army officials from Camp Reynolds came to Oil City to return Tolze to the prisoner camp.
German speaking citizens including Mr. Menocher and Mr. Bartholme from Union City helped question Tolze. He told them he had been trying to work his way back to Camp Pickett, Virginia, because he preferred the prisoner of war camp there to the one at North East.
The Union City Times didn't report that Heinz Tolze escaped again, or that he had been returned to Germany after the war. Heinz Tolze provided some war time excitement to Union City the short time he spent there.
Army details were also involved in the search for Heinz Tolze who had escaped early Tuesday morning, July 18, 1944, from the Army's prisoner camp in North East, Pennsylvania. Tolze had previously escaped from Camp Pickett, Va., and had arrived at the North East camp about the second week in July.
Heinz Tolze was 23 years old. He stood 5 feet 7 inches tall, and weighed about 130 pounds. He had blonde hair, a ruddy complexion and a short and stocky build. He was wearing a prisoner's uniform with a large letter "W" on the back. There was also a letter "W" on one pant leg and a letter "P" on the other. Tolze's serial number 3WGH 145.
Army officials in charge of the camp at North East said that Tolze had fled about 3:30 in the morning. They admitted that he was the first of the Germans bought to North East for harvest work on fruit farms and in the processing plants to make a getaway.
After a few days, the Army authorities called in the FBI. After more investigations, the FBI agents discovered that Tolze had attempted to persuade six other prisoners working in the same group with him at the Sunshine Packing Company plant to make the break with him. Tolze told the other prisoners that he wanted to escape because he didn't want to be returned to Germany after the war.
The FBI agents theorized that Tolze was either hiding out in some secluded section of Union City or Corry or that some area resident was sheltering him. The F.B.I. sternly warned that any person who intentionally harbored an escaped prisoner of war or aided in his escape in any manner faced charges of treason and a possible death penalty.
People who even innocently assisted escaped prisoners faced penalties and people who withheld information about the escaped prisoner of war from the authorities could face a seven year prison sentence or pay a $1,000 fine.
A truck driver traveling Route 426 leading from North East toward Corry spotted Heinz Tolze on the morning of July 18, 1944. He called the police and the police, the F.B.I., and military units from North East searched the roads leading through Wattsburg, Union City, and Corry.
The search through Union City didn't turn up any trace of Tolze, although quite a number of boys combed the back roads and the main highways for him. None of them had ever seen a real prisoner of war and they wondered if he would be shot on sight. They wanted to be sure they would be on hand to witness his capture and its aftermath.
The Union City boys didn't get to witness either Heinz Tolze's capture or its aftermath. On Monday July 24, 1944, Tolze tried to steal a ride on a coal freight train in Oil City picked him up. Oil City and Union City children were disappointed at this tame ending to the story. The Oil City children had gathered in the city building to see Heinz Tolze shot.
Oil City Police Chief Joseph W. Daman reported that someone told the Oil City children that someone was going to shoot German Army veteran and prisoner of war Heinz Tolze and they wanted to see the action. The rules and regulations about prisoners of war and the fact that prisoners hadn't been shot in the United States for years, Chief Daman and his men had to disappoint the children. They simply turned Tolze over to the military authorities.
Army officials from Camp Reynolds came to Oil City to return Tolze to the prisoner camp.
German speaking citizens including Mr. Menocher and Mr. Bartholme from Union City helped question Tolze. He told them he had been trying to work his way back to Camp Pickett, Virginia, because he preferred the prisoner of war camp there to the one at North East.
The Union City Times didn't report that Heinz Tolze escaped again, or that he had been returned to Germany after the war. Heinz Tolze provided some war time excitement to Union City the short time he spent there.