A Mosquito Mishap There were several prisoners that tried to escape from Camp Lakeview for various reasons. George Kunz tried to escape on Sunday, August 13, 1944, before Monday when he would have to return to work at Heinz. He gave himself up after roaming around the Allegan forest for about 24 hours. Officials noticed he was missing after he and other POWs were enjoying a swim in Lake Allegan. After his escape was realized, all roads and highways were blocked to make sure he could not get too far away. Officials weren’t too concerned because they knew the mosquitos in the creek would stop him... and they did. Kunz stopped at the Wall’s farm in Allegan. The officials believed he may have been trying to reach his brother who was being held in another camp in the west, or he could have been trying to reach his wife and two and a half-year-old son in Germany. He could not speak much English. He was returned to Camp Lakeview, and the morning after his return, he was taken to Ft. Custer. The M-40 Mistake Another escape attempt was stopped by Sheriff Louis A. Johnson in 1944. Arthur Kaufmehl, 23; Egon Burger, 22; Heinz Fluecher, 19; and Herman Leucke, 20--were picked up after getting a tip from Grover Anderson who had seen suspicious men walking south along M-40. They escaped under a heavy fog through the fence. They were brought to jail and returned to the camp where military authority later removed them. The Traitor-To-Be In 1945, Josef Mets tried to go to South America. He was picked up by authorities the following afternoon. Mets tried to escape because he realized he would be returned to Yugoslavia where his home was located. He feared being called a traitor for joining Hitler’s Army in Austria. Courtesy of the Allegan News from Friday, August 18, 1944; Friday, August 25, 1944; Friday, June 29, 1945; The Sentinel, Allegan Gazette from Thursday, August 17, and Holland Happenings, Heroes, Hot Shots by Randall P. Vande Water
Escape Attempts
Flucht!

German word for “escape”

Guards made up stories of  wolves and bears to try to stop the prisoners from thinking of escape.

Of the 350,000 POWs in America, only 1,500 tried to escape, and those who did escape were recaptured, most of them within 24 hours.

Courtesy of Allegan Historical Society

Courtesy of The South Bend Tribune from Sunday, January 8, 1978

Fun Facts!