MACRs and "possibly" German “Reports on capture of members of enemy air forces”

[Daniel BASTIEN]

Hello, Doing some research on 8th Air Force MACRs of May 1944, I found on Fold3, in the MACRs section, several files similar to the one attached, untitled "Report on capture of members of enemy air forces" about 8th Air Force airmen KIA on May 27 1944. Typed in English, they look like MACRs but aren't.

To me, they look like files that had been originally written (or typed) in German language, by German Luftwaffe personnel based at the (French) Luxeuil Air Base occupied by them. The way I see it, is that those German files had been abandoned when the Luftwaffe left this Air base, and then, they were found there by US troops, and later translated into English, and used by the US military as complementary information to their own MACRs.

Does anyone know if this is the way things happened, or did the Red Cross play any role in giving the information gathered by the German on 8th Air Force planes crashes to the US Military ? Any other information on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Best
Daniel BASTIEN

 

[CATCH 22]

Hello, Doing some research on 8th Air Force MACRs of May 1944, I found on Fold3, in the MACRs section, several files similar to the one attached, untitled "Report on capture of members of enemy air forces" about 8th Air Force airmen KIA on May 27 1944. Typed in English, they look like MACRs but aren't.

To me, they look like files that had been originally written (or typed) in German language, by German Luftwaffe personnel based at the (French) Luxeuil Air Base occupied by them. The way I see it, is that those German files had been abandoned when the Luftwaffe left this Air base, and then, they were found there by US troops, and later translated into English, and used by the US military as complementary information to their own MACRs.
View attachment 561605
Does anyone know if this is the way things happened, or did the Red Cross play any role in giving the information gathered by the German on 8th Air Force planes crashes to the US Military ? Any other information on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Best
Daniel BASTIEN

Daniel, these are not abandoned files and I'm almost sure the Red Cross has nothing to do with it. I've been researching the 15-th AAF since years and many of the MACR's include pages with the names of captured airmen from German reports or even copies of interrogations by the Germans. I remember some pages in German too (copies of the original documents). These are captured military documents/archives. AFAIK the military intelligence was responsible for them and they have been collected (mostly) after the end of the war in Europe. Below a copy from a Dulag (Luft) report.

There are also translations of detailed German reports (see below) or any further valuable information about the missing aircrews. I believe I've seen translations of reports from other countries and authorities too.

 

[Daniel BASTIEN]

Daniel, these are not abandoned files and I'm almost sure the Red Cross has nothing to do with it. I've been researching the 15-th AAF since years and many of the MACR's include pages with the names of captured airmen from German reports or even copies of interrogations by the Germans. I remember some pages in German too (copies of the original documents). These are captured military documents/archives. AFAIK the military intelligence was responsible for them and they have been collected (mostly) after the end of the war in Europe. Below a copy from a Dulag (Luft) report.
View attachment 561662
There are also translations of detailed German reports (see below) or any further valuable information about the missing aircrews. I believe I've seen translations of reports from other countries and authorities too.
View attachment 561663

 

[Daniel BASTIEN]

Hello, Catch 22. I thank you very much for these detailed informations. Best, Daniel

 

[CATCH 22]

Hello, Catch 22. I thank you very much for these detailed informations. Best, Daniel

You are very welcome, Daniel!
If you have access to Fold3 (paid membership) you can go to the MACR reports and search with some of the common words like DULAG LUFT or STALAG and you'll find hundreds of pages from German interrogation reports. I'm attaching one of the German originals. If you check the top right corner these reports are always marked as "ME XXXX". ME is from the German word MELDUNG (report) and than the number of the report follows. In some of the MACRs you can find even additional post-war interrogations (on US soil) where former POWs (Americans) have been questioned about crew members included in the original German reports, to proof the statements in those reports.
Regards!

 

[Daniel BASTIEN]

Thank you Catch 22 for the extra information. I do have access to Fold 3 (paid membership) ; I will then proceed as instructed. Best regards Daniel

 

[Chris C]

Hi Daniel,
Here is more info on your question-

Military Agency Records RG 242

 

[Daniel BASTIEN]

Hi Daniel,
Here is more info on your question-

Military Agency Records RG 242

Thank you Chris C for this extra information Best regards Daniel