Erwin & the Pope
| Friday, April 30 2010 @ 08:58 AM BST | Contributed by: Steve Reed | Views: 382 |
What does Joseph Ratzinger (the current Pope - Benedict XVI) appear to have in common with Erwin Stahlberg of Wellington? Why was Erwin still a prisoner of war in 1948? Hemyock Men found out the answer to the first question, during their breakfast at the Catherine Wheel last Saturday (24th), but the second question continues to elude even Mr Stahlberg.
Both the Pope and Erwin were reluctant members of Hitler Youth it appears. To gain a simple apprenticeship or attend university in Hitler's Nazi Germany, teenagers had to sign up. Erwin recounted many of his experiences as a Christian in those difficult times when the press was censored and people living outside the country knew more of the truth than those within it. Captured in Brussels in 1944, Erwin took his listeners through parts of the Geneva Convention, which he said were not applied to his fellow POWs and himself. These included the lack of letter writing facilities, access to a priest, and some idea of their release date, which should have happened once hostilities ended. No one seems to know why Britain retained POW's till 1948.
