Memories of a German soldier in the Médoc, 1940-1942

by Catherine di Constanzo

 

In April 1990, Jakob Fleck, a German man living in the town of Sinsheim in the Lower-Rhin, wrote a letter with several accompanying photographs to Bruno Prats, owner at the time of  Châteaux Cos d’Estournel and Marbuzet in Saint-Estèphe, along with his brothers.

His letter and photos showed the stark memories of a young German soldier back in 1940 based in the Médoc at Trompeloup, a site located between the communes of Pauillac and Saint-Estèphe.

It was while watching a TV broadcast in 1990 by the German national channel ARD about wine and châteaux that Fleck’s memories of his youth came flooding back to him, giving him an urgent desire to share them, and you feel his emotion when reading the letter. He recalls some good memories but all in very difficult times.

In 1990, I had the fortune to start my own professional life at Cos and Marbuzet, both truly prestigious châteaux. Having had these documents in my hands from the Prats family, I made a copy of them with the hope that one day I might be given an opportunity to bring them to light for others to share.

Thanks to several testimonies over the years from many locals, supported by some others already collected, Fleck’s memories are now anchored in local history and provide us information on many details of local life as well as the military activities that took place in this part of the Médoc during the war. This is testimony from somebody who lived through the events and that offers us the opportunity to look back at the period of the beginning of the Occupation and gives us a unique perspective that has been little explored until now – that of the relationship between the occupier and the occupied.

In order to add more material to these documents, I first tried to trace Jakob Fleck or a member of his family by sending a letter to the address in Germany indicated in his mail. This remains unanswered to this day. In this increasingly challenging quest to find witnesses of the time, I was fortunate enough to meet Etienne Dufort, a Pauillac man born in 1927, whose memories of his youth are as vivid as his desire to tell them. His testimony helped to flesh out Jakob Fleck’s documents. He was 13 and a half years old in 1940, an apprentice carpenter in Saint-Estèphe and lived in the village of Mousset, which adjoins the Trompeloup site. He was on the same site as Jakob Fleck, which suggests that they may have crossed paths.

Trompeloup and the defense of the Estuary

“On the banks of the Gironde we also had guns, because there were Italian submarines”.

On September 3, 1939, France and England declared war on Germany. During the night of June 19-20, 1940, the Luftwaffe bombed Bordeaux and on June 21, the Trompeloup lazaretto. The armistice came into effect on June 22. On the 25th, the first Germany boots entered Bordeaux. On June 29 and 30, the initial wave of German troops entered the Médoc. On July 14, the Germans occupied Pauillac, installed flak batteries all over the town and requisitioned many buildings and outhouses.

Jakob Fleck was only 20 years old when he arrived in Pauillac that summer of 1940. He remained there until 1942 before being moved to another part of France. He was then deported to Canada as a prisoner of war and returned to Germany in 1945. Fleck was a soldier attached to the Wehrmacht’s air defense unit, called the Flak. His unit was likely attached to one of the batteries of the DCA 999, the only real light formation for the protection of the Gironde estuary sector. “We were stationed between Pauillac and the refinery, where the tank depots were located in the middle of the vineyards”: this was Trompeloup, a sensitive area in these times of war because of the location of the oil refinery and its position as the outpost port for Bordeaux.

Located to the north of Pauillac, with an extension into the neighboring commune of Saint-Estèphe, the site has been an industrial placement since 1893, when it became a wharf for the port of Bordeaux, before becoming an oil depot and then later being used in 1931 for the petroleum activities of the Jupiter refinery. Before the war, in 1934, the plant processed 450,000 tons of oil per year. Major expansions in 1938 saw it increase capacity to 630,000 tons. This processing and storage capacity made it one of the three major oil complexes in the whole Gironde zone. Oil was essential to the Germany war machine. Thus, the reservoirs were of primary interest to the new occupying forces and their ever-increasing supply needs. Moreover, the site benefited from an important infrastructure with the vestiges of the original lazaretto, vast buildings as well as a naval air base built back in 1918 by the American Army.

Trompeloup, located on the edge of the Gironde, was therefore a highly strategic location. In order to protect themselves from a foreign invasion, the occupying forces turned the coast into a real fortress by erecting numerous concrete fortifications with barbed wire and mines fields but they also put the estuary which was a supply route, under close surveillance from the beginning of the conflict. As a first-rate access route to Bordeaux and its port, the estuary has always been controlled and defended in times of war, with the difference this time being that the occupier was now defending it.

In 1940 and 1941, during Fleck’s time at Trompeloup, an Allied landing was not yet on the agenda; therefore, the protection of the estuary was predominantly aimed at protecting trade through the port of Bordeaux as it was threatened by a British blockade and the Allies’ sea-borne mine fields. In the summer of 1941, the Kriegsmarine built its new submarine base for its U-Boats in the Bacalan docks. The shelter included 11 cells with a capacity of fifteen submarines. To secure the estuary, the Kriegsmarine used minesweepers, the Sperrbrechers, whose mission was to open a channel to submarines and blockade runners. The Germans had to ensure not only the safety of their submarines during their journey to the mouth of the Gironde, but also the defence of the oil tanks and the supply of goods. “On the banks of the Gironde we also had cannons, because there were Italian submarines,” wrote Jakob Fleck. Thus, by choosing Bordeaux as a naval base to house the Italian submarines, the occupying power made Trompeloup one of its key military outposts. The activity report from the port of Pauillac in 1941 provides information on the surveillance of the increasingly frequent movements at the Trompeloup wharf: aircraft carriers, submarines moored in or leaving for Bordeaux, torpedo launchers, docking and undocking of ships as well as the surveillance of German ships and the comings and goings of submarines were all highly sensitive military operations.

It is understandable that the situation was very “tense”, to use Private Jakob’s words. Moreover, in August 1940, the estuary was subjected to Allied air attacks in the form of mine drops, ship attacks and multiple bombing raids. On the night of August 15, 1940, English bombers struck the Trompeloup refinery, destroying the gasoline tanks. Fortunately, the local population had time to take cover and there were no victims. The tanks burned for many days, releasing a thick black smoke that spread over all the surrounding villages. Firemen from Bordeaux and the surrounding area, with the help of the Germans, took several days to bring the fire under control. Then again on August 28 and 29, bombs fell on the factory. Etienne Dufort, who still lives in the village of Mousset, very close to Trompeloup, remembers perfectly :

I was so scared that I remember it very well. Two bombs fell on the tanks, there was smoke that lasted for several days. These gasoline or bitumen tanks were located at the top of Trompeloup at the edge of the vineyards, not far from the village of Mousset. When the first bomb was dropped on the tank, there was a blast and a terrible heat. I was just across the road, we fled higher up into the hut in the middle of the vineyards between Pouyalet and Château Lafite-Rotschild, from there we could still feel the heat.

In spite of the major damage, which included the destruction of the Trompeloup station and part of the railway line, the factory adapted, its port was rebuilt and activity was restored with a floating dock and the Chantiers du Rhin. It was the bombings of 1944, which were much more intense, that later completely destroyed the Jupiter refinery. To counter these attacks and to protect the estuary and the Trompeloup site, the Germans had several batteries of flak. On one of the photos provided by Fleck (see figure 1), we can see the anti-aircraft defense post that he occupied along with his comrades. The gun of the anti-aircraft gun hidden behind the embankment can be clearly seen, in the background a long wooden fence and in the middle a gun. The anti-aircraft protection consisted of light, rapid-fire guns and allowed for precise retaliation against Allied bombers. The hat shapes in the background of the photo are the roofs of the Trompeloup oil tanks. This clue left no doubt in Etienne Dufort’s mind that the site was located between Trompeloup and the village of Mousset where he lived during the war. To reinforce the defense of the site, a patrol left every evening from the lazaretto, then passed through Pouyalet, went across Pauillac and then returned back to the lazaretto.

There were also heavy machine guns and observation posts installed on roofs. Etienne Dufort specifies that at Trompeloup, the Germans had installed a searchlight on one of the three water towers: “There was a 37 mm cannon in the vineyard with a peg to fire it and another cannon on a house whose roof had been razed.”

The author gives another detail about the military organization within his unit: “The office of the commander of the place [Trompeloup] and the Train were installed in your château [Marbuzet].” We do not know which station Fleck is referring to. There were three stations north of Pauillac, the Trompeloup station used as a stopover, the maritime station located near the wharves and blast furnaces and an SNCF building next to the Gahet channel used by the Société des Consommateurs de Pétrole. It is likely that the station mentioned by Fleck is the ferry terminal, which offers an important infrastructure link between the Médoc railway and the estuary. Its proximity to the wharf facilitates the loading and unloading of goods. Archive relating to the bombings mention that the Trompeloup station was badly damaged by the bombings of August 15, 1940. But Fleck does not provide any further information on the military organization of the Trompeloup site, nor on his role as a soldier in his DCA unit, preferring to evoke more pleasant memories.

“Happy as God in France”

Glücklich wie Gott in Frankreich: this expression, which originated in the 19th century, was popularized by the Wehrmacht soldiers who flooded the roads of France in the summer of 1940. They called themselves “Happy as God in France”. Jakob Fleck’s recollections confirm what we already know about the Germans’ attraction to French culture. For many Germans, the first phase of the war was experienced as if a dream. They were under the spell of the country of love, gastronomy and good wine. They marvelled at the riches of a France that embodied a certain idea of happiness and that, in 1940, was overflowing with everything that Germany had been deprived of for three years. In a documentary entitled Le vin sous l’Occupation (Wine under the Occupation) broadcast on Arte in 2004, director Albert Knechtel met with former German officers of the Wehrmacht who all had fond memories of their time in France, where they were able to enjoy wine and good food, but also often to improve their pay by working in the black market.

The context was favorable with the strong devaluation of the French currency to 20 Francs for 1 Reichmark. This advantage gave the soldiers of the Wehrmacht exceptional purchasing power, allowing them to spend without counting the cost. The Germans could thus afford the most beautiful bottles and enjoy the best French products. This was especially true in 1940 when they arrived in a France that was still functioning well and with stores that still had stocks. The Médoc, like other wine regions, was in a deep crisis after several years of poor sales due to requisitions and heavy regulations put in place by the French government as part of the war effort. In the specific case of wine, this economic situation experienced an unexpected reversal with the arrival of the Wehrmacht.

The strong purchasing power of the occupying forces led to an increase in the price of wine, which then resulted in the development of a black market. Several testimonies report the good behavior of an occupying army that did not plunder but instead paid without begrudging. The long-term interest in the Bordeaux wine culture may well have had something to do with this. Before the conflict, Germany was one of the preferred destinations for Bordeaux wines, being the second largest customer in 1938 with an export of 44,000hl. The wine world therefore actually saw an interesting economic opportunity in its relations with the occupying power. Fleck makes no mention of these economic facts of life under the Occupation. Did he, too, as a soldier, benefit from the advantageous economic conditions that made the occupying forces’ stay in the Médoc so, well, pleasant?

To this situation, we should add the feeling of an apparent tranquility in 1940 and 1941. If the Allied attacks became more and more threatening, those of the Resistance in the Médoc did not really become active until after 1942. Fleck was just 20 years old in 1940. We do not know if his arrival in the Médoc was his first experience in the Wehrmacht army. On the other hand, we know from testimonies collected that many suffered from having to leave the Médoc to join the Eastern Front, which exposed them to much greater dangers and hardship.

Two pictures taken at Château Marbuzet show Luftwaffe officers. On one, a dozen officers are seen chatting over a drink on the terrace overlooking the estuary, and on the other, like Dukes in a conquered land, they proudly pose in their uniforms on the steps of the château. Close to the river and the Trompeloup site, this Saint-Estèphe vineyard was occupied, as Fleck explains, by the officers of the Kommandantur of the Trompeloup site and its station.

We know that the Germans, in their urgent need for lodging, requisitioned many châteaux but also regular homes that were large enough and had several rooms. Through testimonies, it seems that the first two years of the Occupation, 1940 and 1941, were the most important years for the requisitioning of housing for officers. Many officers left for Russia after May 1941. The owners were not evicted, but were asked to leave one, two or three rooms at the disposal of the occupying forces. Fleck writes: “My unit had built a wooden house for comrades who could not go on leave because of the tense situation. They were allowed to rest there for a week. I too had the pleasure of spending a week there.” From the sight of the deckchairs and window boxes, the hut gives the image of a welcoming place where it must have been good to rest up. Built in the style of a pretty Tyrolean chalet, this cabin, with its symbolic French rooster perched on the roof, was dismantled by order of the château’s owners in the 1960s.

In Saint-Estèphe, several other châteaux were occupied by the German army. This is the case of Calon-Ségur and Cos d’Estournel whose cellars were even transformed into dormitories to serve as barracks for the soldiers. Château Montrose and Château Tronquoy-Lalande were also occupied by the Germans as well as Château Lafon-Rochet. At Château Palmer in Margaux, graffiti preserved on the walls of the attic and the cellar bear witness to the soldiers’ passage: Fern von Kampf doch jetzt in der Garnison wünscht der Landser seinen Lohn: Ruhe! Die Vten, “Far from the battle, but still in garrison, the soldier wishes his reward: calm. Signed the Vth Battalion!”

As soon as the occupying forces arrived, they set up a logistical system to organise housing, supplies, meal preparation and the storage of goods. Château Pomys, occupied by the Kommandantur, housed a large garrison. The sheds adjoining the chateau were converted into stables. François Arnaud, a resident of Saint-Estèphe, who was 4 years old in 1940, remembers the many horses that the soldiers used to brush down with great care every morning. The Germans had built and equipped three large barracks with showers and washbasins to the north of the estate, along the fence wall, with a capacity of at least a hundred soldiers.

The passage concerns a young girl named Jeannette, whom Jakob Fleck helped by intervening on her behalf so that she could come and work in the kitchen of Château Marbuzet. It is further enlightened by the testimony of Etienne Durfort: “There was a kitchen in Marbuzet, where they cooked for all the Germans in the area. It was the girls from the village of Pez who did the cooking”. How many were there in Marbuzet? How many soldiers were cooked for? According to Etienne Dufort, Marbuzet served as a central kitchen for the preparation of meals for all the units in the area. We have no information that would allow us to put forward a number.

Etienne remembers the trucks coming to load the tall pots to supply the troops who remained at their posts: “I used to go to Marbuzet on my bicycle to pick up and bring a bowl to a German soldier. Two soldiers came to work in the carpentry workshop in Saint-Estèphe where I was an apprentice. There was a Polish man who had been forced to join the German army and a German. I used to go to Marbuzet to fetch his lunch box, and he taught me how to cut dovetails”. These soldiers made cupboards and other furniture. They used the carpentry workshop to make what they needed but did not place orders with the workshop. They worked for themselves. “The boss [Mr. Cocureau] supplied the wood to the Germans and was paid by the collection office at the prefecture of Lesparre. They worked well.” Other places were used for the preparation of meals. Such was the case of the large house on rue du Commerce, located opposite the café in the village of Saint-Estèphe. Still in the village of Saint-Estèphe, the building near the presbytery was used to store foodstuffs reserved for the Germans.

“In the autumn of 1940, we helped with the harvest”.

This well-established organisation apparently left time for some moments of leisure. It was this that Jakob Fleck and his comrades, “as happy as God in the Médoc”, participated in the grape harvest in 1940. One may wonder whether there was any particular motivation for this help. We know that the vineyard was badly suffering from a lack of male labor. It also suffered from a lack of everything, from products for treatment, notably copper and sulfur, to wood for the barrels. On this subject, the Château Latour archives inform us: “The year 1940 was marked by war, defeat and the armistice, with all their sad consequences. Poor cultivation, makeshift cultivation personnel reduced by a third in quantity, by more than half in yield, only the old folk remaining; teams diminished in the same proportions and moreover, disunited and mismatched; lack of raw materials, lack of spare material, lack of craftsmen; such was in short the environment in which Latour’s picking had to take place, with the aggravation of successive occupations, one of which was particularly heavy.”

Could Jakob Fleck’s participation be explained by a genuine concern for a sector in need of manpower? Or was it because Germany wanted to support the war effort? Because the Reich has every interest in ensuring that wine production was assured. It is true that wine played an important role in the conflict – in many ways it would almost be the success of the war. The Nazi authorities, with the ambiguous support of the Vichy state, encouraged wine production, which never ceased during the four years of occupation, in order to meet the ever-increasing demand. Considered by the Berlin authorities as a highly strategic product, essential to maintain the morale of the troops in battle, to supply the German civilian population and to feed the Reich’s social circles, wine was genuinely a spoil of war.

But far from these economic, ideological and political concerns, it is very likely that Fleck’s participation in the grape harvest was simply due to his empathy for the peasant world to which he belonged as a son of Rhine wine growers. Many of the German soldiers came from the countryside and, as good farmers, did not hesitate to lend a hand. The warm atmosphere of the harvest is printed in black and white on three pictures that illustrate this memory. Smiling faces of Medocains sharing a moment of complicity with the photographer. On the photo with the young girl carrying in her mouth what seems to be a bunch of grapes, one can distinguish in the background on the right the water towers and the tanks of Trompeloup. These details leave no doubt in Etienne Dufort’s mind that it is the vineyard plateau of the village of Mousset that can be seen on the left.

In 1940, this plateau located between the refinery and the village of Mousset consisted of several plots of land that did not belong to châteaux but instead to private individuals. Fleck and his fellow soldiers stationed there probably naturally offered to help them pick their grapes. The two men in the photograph were apparently not yet requisitioned for the construction of the Atlantic Wall, as was the case for all those who were between 20 and 40 years old. For all these reasons, it is understandable that any help, even German, was appreciated in a sector that was severely penalized by the lack of manpower. After the Liberation, when the war damage was under repair, we would again see Germans harvesting in the Médoc vineyards, only this time as prisoners of war.

The occupier and the occupied, human relations

What was the state of mind of the local population in 1940 and 1941? Fleck’s letter, corroborated by other testimonies, shows the existence of a relationship of “good neighborliness”, even of friendly exchanges that favored an attachment with the locals. According to Etienne Dufort, “we were not welcoming but we tolerated them, we could talk with them”. As a whole, the population suffered from the occupation with its share of inconveniences and seemed more concerned about its food supply and the prices given to the products of the land than about political events. It is also necessary to look at the historical context, that of a France that still lived for a large part under tutelageof Maréchal Pétain, a hero of the First World War and which, although worried by an uncertain future, still had confidence in the rural policy of their Maréchal. By contrast, the ideological aspect was exacerbated at the beginning of the war, with Germany on the one hand in its desire to return to the sources of civilization, in its attachment to the culture of wine, and on the other hand by the Vichy government and the policy of Pétain – “the earth does not lie” – which used the rural world and more specifically the wine industry as a support to political power. The wine world did not hide its attachment to the power of Pétain, the “Peasant Maréchal”, the initiator of the “Days of the Land”, who wanted to put the rural world back at the center of political life. The establishment of his “agrarian rituals”, hymns to the land, would eventually run out of steam in 1942, due to food restrictions and the growing concerns related to the conflict.

Jakob Fleck sums up this human attachment that predominates in his memories when he recalls his friendship with the owner of the “Hotel de la Marie”:
“The boss was German, the wife French. When I left them, both of them cried a lot and so did their daughter Marthe; I too was sad when I left. During the whole war I wrote to this family, but only through the French post office”.

The “Hotel de la Marie” was a wooden barracks, a sort of busy canteen, one of several on the banks of the Gironde.

François Arnaud remembers well the German officer who stayed in one of the rooms of the family house in Pomys: “His name was Philip, he was very polite and pleasant. When he left the Médoc, we kept in touch by mail and then he left for the Eastern Front where he died. For Christmas in 1940 or 1941, he gave my brother and me a beautiful violin for children. François Arnaud also remembers accompanying his grandfather on his milk delivery rounds. The Germans who occupied Château Pomys offered him sweets: “They liked to see us, it reminded them of their own children they missed so much”.

For Etienne Dufort, “the German soldiers stationed in the village of Mousset were nice, we served them tomatoes which they were fond of”. Who knows if Jakob Fleck, when in Mousset, did not eat one of the delicious tomatoes brought by Etienne? “When the Germans came to the cinema in Pouyalet, we were all mixed together”.

1000 eggs for his birthday

“In 1941 on my 21st birthday, I bought 1000 eggs as I was born at Easter, and I distributed them to my 20 comrades. We made omelets, fried eggs, egg liqueurs and many other things.”

It may come as a surprise that Jakob Fleck was able to find so many eggs to celebrate his birthday in this time of restrictions. In 1941, supply difficulties and food shortages were becoming increasingly problematic. In its February 1941 meeting, the Pauillac town council noted: “Supply problems: lack of fuel, flour, pork, milk, vegetables, fish… The Trompeloup bridge, bombed in August 1940, was not repaired. It is true that in the countryside, as Etienne Dufort recalls, life was easier: “We managed, everyone had chickens. I was a G3, which means that because of my age and the fact that I was an apprentice carpenter, I was entitled to more bread. We were entitled to vitaminized cookies, so on Sunday mornings I went to Pauillac to the representative of the Chamber of Crafts to get the vitaminized cookies. There were cards for beans, dried vegetables, meat, bread, fats, cards for everything.

But resourcefulness was not enough, and on a more general level, Bordeaux and its region, which lived essentially on a wine and wood economy, were penalized by the end of commercial transactions. Indeed, the demarcation line prevented the imports necessary for the life of the companies and the population. This scarcity of products quickly led to a black market, especially from 1942 on. It was also necessary to take into account the difficulties of transporting goods subject to the controls and authorizations demanded of the German authorities. In order to save money, fuel was reserved for the occupying forces and consequently, automobile travel was limited. Trains were even more complicated, with stations blocked and rail traffic controlled by the German army, which mobilized all the wagons to transport foodstuffs and raw materials to the Reich.

So in this context of deprivation and food restrictions, how can we explain that Jakob Fleck was able to buy so many eggs? It seems that the Germans were not subject to the same regime as the population and benefited from priority supplies. In addition, the devaluation of the Franc allowed them to buy without counting the cost. We can also assume that this quantity of eggs was made possible by orders from the chateaux, which actually used a large quantity of eggs for fining the wine.

The other side of the Occupation

Jakob Fleck’s photos and memories only show one side of the beginning of the Occupation period, that of the good memories made possible thanks to the relations with the local population. But the wine-growing Médoc, where he spent two years, really experienced an Occupation with a share of inconveniences marked by a foreign military presence, with the requisitions and sequestration of châteaux and other dwellings, and the spoliation of wines. As far as the accommodation of the Germans in the châteaux was concerned, not all of them suffered the same fate and some of them suffered significant damage. Being warned of a forthcoming occupation of their château by the German army, many owners took care to have their trusted staff shelter some of their most valuable objects. This was the case at Château de Marbuzet where the housekeeper, Madame Hugon, took home the silverware and fine china that she returned to the owners after the occupying forces left. A similar story is told by Etienne Dufort about Madame Faux, at Château Lafite-Rothschild, who saved the silverware and some valuables in a garden wheelbarrow for safekeeping.

Etienne Dufort remembers working in Chateau Marbuzet after the war:
“We restored all the woodwork, the high baseboards, the damaged doors, and the staircase on the second floor whose steps had to be redone as well as the parquet floors damaged by the soldiers’ boots and cigarette burns.”

Château Marbuzet was not the only one to suffer from damage caused by the occupation, many other estates suffered considerably. In spite of the notice published on July 8, 1940 and addressed to the German soldiers, pointing out that requisitions by military troops or individual soldiers were forbidden, isolated actions of abuse could not be prevented. First of all, all the property belonging to the British, considered “enemies”, was requisitioned with numerous lootings. Among these châteaux, in Saint-Julien, “The Germans looted the Barton cellar and took away 300,000 F. of wine, the kitchen utensils and broke the china, leaving Langoa in an incredibly dirty state. Under the direction of the named T… , arbitrator of commerce, a notable part of their stock of 1937 of Messrs. Sichel Fils & Frères who left France, is sold at derisory prices! A real plunder…”. In Pauillac, Château Latour deplored the loss of many objects and wine that “disappeared in July 1940”. The Rothschild family’s chateaux were not only occupied but also sequestered by the Vichy government. An anti-aircraft defense post was installed on top of the clock tower while military works, barbed wire and trenches in the vineyards caused heavy damage.

Conclusion

Jakob Fleck’s testimony ends with a reference to a French prisoner of war named Robert, whom he met on his return to Germany in 1945 at the family home:
“On December 23, 1945, I returned home after being interned in Canada. To my astonishment, I found that my parents employed a French prisoner from Angers in their vineyards. “Robert” was part of our family. He had always received excellent treatment. He had had plenty to eat and drink, had his own room and new clothes; he was simply at home with us.”

Robert was fortunate to “stumble upon” the Fleck family, who obviously showed humanity. Unfortunately, this was not the case for many other prisoners sent to Germany as part of the Obligatory Labor Service set up by Nazi Germany to contribute to the war effort.

In the Médoc, after the liberation of the “Fortress Gironde-Sud” in April 1945, 3000 German soldiers were captured. Some were housed in camps or barracks and employed to help with various jobs such as repairing dykes or clearing mines from the beaches. Others were employed in farms, vineyards or other businesses. Numerous testimonies have been gathered in a recent study on the German prisoners of war in the Médoc. In Saint-Estèphe, François Arnaud’s parents and grandparents hired a German as a farm worker. One of them stayed, married a French woman and still lives in Saint-Estèphe to this day.

Through these letters and photos, Jakob Fleck’s testimony reveals itself to be much more than a simple memory of a young 20-year-old soldier. It allows us to learn about oursevles as human beings as well as about our society. Because memory is the primary basis of our identity, the past lives on in the present and is a precious source that must be told. This testimony is an effective means of transmitting knowledge and memory.

Jakob Fleck’s documents make us aware of the importance of preserving them in order to pass on these memories. Lastly, these documents give hope for the existence of other private archives that still remain to be discovered and studied in order to enrich the knowledge of this period and to make the history of the Médoc more complete.

 

First published in Les Cahiers Méduliens, in French