Hawkins, G A
Private George Albert Hawkins
George Hawkins was a POW at E 72 the Hohenzollern Coalmine in Beuthen, now Bytom, from September 1940 until marched out on his birthday 23rd January 1945, apart from a spell at Stalag IIID Genshagen, where POWs were sent for ‘a holiday’ but in reality the Germans were trying to recruit them to fight against the Russians.
The Hohenzollern mine was, before the war, one of the most modern and efficient coalmines in Europe. In 1929 the distinctive brick built winding gear tower was constructed. This is the only part of the mine to survive.
The men worked a 13 day shift, with one Sunday in two off, cleaning their clothes in the shower on the last day. George described the work:
‘The coal face was 3m x 3m and 1m was blasted off by explosives inserted into the face by drilling approx. 1 m holes. On our way to the face we collected clay from stone bins for plugging the explosive holes. Morning and afternoon shifts moved 2m of coal and the night shift extended the rutsche (shaker) by two metres ready for the next day shift.
Coal was shovelled onto what dad described as a shaker, (he couldn’t remember the proper word), and was then fed onto a conveyor belt that ran to fill the empty wagons which overhead cables hauled to the shaft.
There were rats down the mine but no gas. Had electricity throughout and bright lights.
Seams 18m deep, dug out in three layers, and then filled with sand. It was OK doing the bottom layer, standing on rock, after that working on sand. They were told never to try and hide in the pit, pumps were working all the time or it would flood in 24hrs.
Miners would always warn ‘vorsichtig’ – take care, would listen for sounds of collapse. No one died in the mine, or at the camp, only in hospital.
During the winter the POWs were often pleased to go down the mine out of the cold. They could only play football if off duty guards would come and guard them.
There was one particularly brutal German guard, Unterofficier Engleskirche, known to the POWs as ‘John the bastard’. He shot at least two prisoners and was wanted for war crimes after the war, but he was never found.
After the war the mine foreman Spaniol was tried for war crimes and convicted to seven years imprisonment in September 1947, but this was revoked in December 1951.
George was marched out of the mine on his birthday, 23rd January 1945. They were given two days notice to prepare for the march out. No-one went to work. They were told to leave blankets and collect 3 Red Cross parcels. They left in the evening and marched all night and all the next day. The marched for many days: https://www.lamsdorflongmarch.com/
He was liberated by the Americans on 24th April 1945 in Roding, Bavaria.
Christine Parry
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