WASHINGTON – Congressman Spencer Bachus (AL-6) is seeking proper recognition for a group of World War II veterans held as prisoners of war at an infamous Nazi labor camp.
Bachus has published in the Congressional Record a tribute to U.S. soldiers detained at the Berga camp in Germany in 1945. Wallace Carden, who now lives in Vestavia Hills, is one of the 13 remaining survivors of the ordeal.
“Their story is an integral part of the history of World War II, and their conduct under the most extreme and trying conditions an enormous credit to themselves and their country,” Bachus wrote.
A group of 350 American soldiers were deported to Berga after being captured during the Battle of the Bulge. They were poorly fed, heavily worked, beaten, and even killed. 70 soldiers perished during the death march to Berga. When Allied forces liberated the camp, they found many of their fellow soldiers in an emaciated condition.
“But confronted with such inhumanity, these American soldiers persevered. They gave each other support, equally shared what little food they had, held faith in their country and God, and never allowed their spirit to be consumed by the evil and hate surrounding them,” Bachus noted.
Bachus is a cosponsor of a congressional resolution (H. Res. 883) that has been introduced to formally acknowledge the sacrifice and service of the soldiers held at Berga.
Mr. Carden will be honored during the Blue Star Salute ceremony at The American Village on Memorial Day.
The complete text of Congressman Bachus’ statement in the Congressional Record follows.
CONGRESSMAN SPENCER BACHUS
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD
MAY 22, 2008
On Memorial Day 2008, let us take time to reflect on the courage and indomitable will of a special group of World War II veterans: the survivors of the Berga POW camp.
Wallace Carden of Vestavia Hills in Alabama’s Sixth District was one of the soldiers imprisoned in a cruel camp that simultaneously showed the worst of man’s inhumanity – and the transcendent ability of the human spirit to endure and ultimately triumph.
Berga was a German concentration camp. 350 American soldiers were sent there after being captured during the Battle of the Bulge. Some were exiled there because they were Jewish. Wallace Carden, then just 19 years old, was detained simply because Nazi officers thought he looked Jewish.
The soldiers were ill fed, heavily worked, and badly beaten; some were even killed. By day, they were forced to dig underground tunnels for weapons factories; by night, they shivered in squalid conditions, emaciated from hunger. But confronted with such inhumanity, these American soldiers persevered. They gave each other support, equally shared what little food they had, held faith in their country and God, and never allowed their spirit to be consumed by the evil and hate surrounding them.
Though physically separated from their brothers on the battlefield, the Berga soldiers honored America with their determination and will to survive. In the decades since, Wallace Carden and his fellow soldiers have provided important personal testimonials about Nazi brutality and prejudice, so that succeeding generations never forget the Holocaust and fully appreciate what it took for freedom to triumph during World War II.
Congressional Resolution H. Res. 883 rightly recognizes the service and sacrifice of the U.S. soldiers imprisoned at Berga, and I am a proud cosponsor. Their story is an integral part of the history of World War II, and their conduct under the most extreme and trying conditions an enormous credit to themselves and their country.
For my part, I want to thank Wallace Carden for his service to his community and country. Alabama is proud of him, and it is appropriate that on this Memorial Day due recognition is being bestowed on Mr. Carden as well as an entire group of American soldiers whose soaring spirit should continue to inspire all of us.