Interviewee: Puetter, Dietrich B.

ABSTRACT: Leutnant Dietrich Puetter Reconnaissance Pilot, German Luftwaffe First Interview: Part 1. 0:22 Description of war involvement, reconnaissance flights over Russian Front. 1:23 Capture, shot and rammed by Russian fighter, thrown from airplane. 3:19 Refers listener to book for details. 4:14 Treatment of prisoners of war. Differences and statistics regarding death tolls, present informing the past. 7:50 Wife enters offering tea. 8:23 Power structure of camp. Entirely dominated by the Russians who set up an unnatural command system based on favourites. Terror tactics to enforce discipline. 11:11 Wife enters with tea and accidentally shuts off the recorder. Part 2. 0:58 Sentenced for treason to 25 years in Siberia; refers listener to book for details. 1:34 Most powerful official in camp a major; overrules Commandant. 2:34 Importance of food for the prisoners. 4:20 Gets a series of photographs and describes them to interviewer. Were taken by a German police officer and hidden in a hollow leg. Developed and divided after release. 9:10 Lack of decorum and display among officers, hated those put in power by Russians. 10:00 Remarks on distance and the fading of the memory. Refers listener to the book for details. 10:30 Describes the beginning of daily routine, going to get food. 11:45 Health exam of naked male officers by female medical personnel; pinched the bum to determine fitness for duty. Puetter was never able to labour because of injuries and physical decline; was considered dead. Refers to the book. 13:50 Faith led to survival, and self control. 14:25 POW's a good source of labour. Were kept after end of war to rebuild what they had destroyed 16:10 Refers to book for details on getting home. 17:30 Circumstances of writing the book, was ill and wrote half, then stopped for years. 20:25 Came to Canada as part of German government. Was the minister of transportation. 21:38 Conditions of food on return to Germany how families banded together and how he met his wife. 23:55 How faith and belief are essential to survival, no matter where one was captured. Second interview: 0:30 Speaks on Anti-fascist movement in the camps. Its founding, the privileges its members received and how they received them, and what they had to do for the privileges. He speaks of the membership into the groups. 9:10 Speaking on the process by which officers were appointed and the treatment officers received. Speaks on the transition from POW status to enemy of the people status. Speaking on special privileges higher ranking officers received. 15:15 The relationship boundaries in the camp. Sleeping arrangements. 17:00 Conditions within the isolation block 6. Leadership within individual rooms all based on previous rank. 19:10 Duties of room commander. 20:13 Hunger strike. 21:11 Ration distribution. 22:50 Faith. His views on it. Why he believes he survived. 28:25 Russians control over religious observance. 29:45 Germany is losing the war, the effect on hope. 33:40 fear in the Antifa that when they return they will be treated as traitors. 37:00 Contact with civilians. 39:30 showing various utensils used in the camp. 41:00 Birthdays and fun in camp. Saving food and sugar. 47:00 The nature of his fear.

An interview/narrative of Dietrich B. Puetter's experiences as a prisoner of war during World War II. Leutnant Puetter served with the Luftwaffe. Interview took place on November 7 and 15, 2006.

Rank: Leutnant.

Interviewer: Ker, Lucas

In Collection:

• Canadian Military Oral Histories

Contributor

• Ker, Lucas
• Puetter, Dietrich B.

Subject

• World War (1939-1945)
• Personal narratives--Canadian
• Military history
• World War (1914-1918)

Language

• eng

Date created

• November 7, 2006 to November 15, 2006

Relation

• Part of the Military Oral History Class collection of interviews.
• Title of paper: "For You, The War Is Over". The book referred to in the interview, "As a Prisoner of War in the Soviet Union from June 3, 1942 until May 24, 1949" by Dietrich Puetter, is available in Special Collections in the original German and an English translation. Call numbers: D805 S65P88 and D805 S65P8813.

Resource type

• Sound

Rights statement

• In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Extent

• 3 sound recordings (MP3)

Geographic Coverage

• Germany

Coordinates

• 51.5, 10.5

Additional physical characteristics

• Original recordings (DVF) on compact disc (CD) in Special Collections.

Physical Repository

• University of Victoria (B.C.). Library

Collection

• Canadian Military Oral History Collection

Provider

• University of Victoria (B.C.). Library

Genre

• reminiscences
• interviews
• oral histories (literary genre)
• sound recordings

Archival item identifier

• PDB_487

Fonds title

• Military oral history collection

Fonds identifier

• SC141

Is referenced by

• Special Collections Finding Aid: https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/military-oral-history-collection

Date digitized

• January 23, 2013

Technical note

• Digital sound recording in .mp3 format at 56 kbps and 22 kHz. Digitized by JF, technical and cataloguing metadata provided by JF and JP. Interview migrated to digital format for UVic Special Collections in 2013. Migration metadata by KD and MT.

Rights

• This interview has been posted with the understanding that it may be used for research purposes only. Should the interviewee or their heirs have any objections to this interview being accessible on the Internet, it will be removed promptly. Contact UVic Special Collections for permission if using for other than research purposes: speccoll@uvic.ca

DOI

•  https://doi.org/10.58066/j3dz-n509

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