Major Liebegott--German POW in America

[siege1863]

I know this is a long shot but can only try! Hope to fully identify the man referenced below.

I recently acquired a book that belonged to what appears to have been a German officer held as a POW in the camp at Clinton, Mississippi. It is marked accordingly inside the cover and shows that it passed the camp censor. Written in pencil is "Maj. Liebegott, POWC, Clinton, Miss."

Through my many years of research on the camp, I have collected several inspection reports listing the officer prisoners. However, Liebegott does not appear on any of them. He could be one of a number of men who came in and out of the camp between inspections, although officers were moved less frequently than enlisted men. Could "Maj." be a shortened first name and Liebegott an enlisted prisoner?

Any help is appreciated.

[lwd]

Interesting question. If you don't get an answer here you might want to try posting on either the axis history forum or the wwII history forum. There's a lot of overlap but enough people who don't that you will sometimes get answers one place you won't at others.

I do remember my mother (she turned 18 in 45) talking about seeing German prisoners occasionally during the war. She lived in Oxford Miss at the time. Probably from a different camp though.

[John W. Howard]

Hello:
I think the meaning of "POWC" is critical; given the large number of Americans with German names, is it possible Major Liebegott was an American officer stationed at the camp?? Best wishes.

[siege1863]

POWC is the abbreviation for "Prisoner of War Camp." It is used in official documents, publications, etc. The censor stamp and camp official initials inside the cover were required on any books made available to the prisoners through the POW library or in their personal possession.

There is no question the book belonged to a prisoner. It was acquired in Germany, no doubt brought home by the man following his repatriation.

[John W. Howard]

Thanks for the clarification, Siege. I have no idea how common a name "Liebegott" is in Germany, but there used to be an on-line German telephone directory, which might give you an idea, while also providing possible off-spring of your Liebegott. I wonder if a written request to Wast outlining your research might help; A list of Liebegotts who served in the war might help you narrow down a few possibilities. I am not sure who you could contact about pension records in Germany, but most likely Liebegott was getting one for his military service. Just some thoughts. Please keep us posted on your progress. Best wishes.

[siege1863]

Just a follow-up to this post. I was looking through some additional records for Camp Clinton, that is transfer orders, and found Major Martin Liebegott! He was at Clinton for only about a month and a half before being sent on to another camp. Consequently, he was not present to be included in the official inspection reports done periodically.

I have had no luck in further identifying Maj. Martin Liebegott. He came in a large batch of officers that included General Botho Elster, the man who surrendered some 20,000 of his men. Could Liebegott have been on his staff or one of his unit commanders? These officers came to Camp Clinton in November 1944.