Community Corner
CityTypes: The Veteran
Shot down by German fighter planes in France, Bernard Tuvman rode a cattle car to Stalag 17, where he was imprisoned until he was freed in 1945.
On September 6, 1943, Bernard M. Tuvman, a left waist gunner in a B-17 bomber during World War II, was shot down by German fighter pilots on his sixth mission—the bombing of Stuttgart, Germany.
The pilot was dead, the tail was shot off, and the plane was free falling in a flat tailspin. Fighting fierce centrifugal force, Tuvman pried open the door and bailed out—barely missing telephone wires before landing in a field. A German troop pulled up, loaded him in the back of a small truck, and shipped him to Stalag 17—one of the most notorious German prisoner-of-war camps—after an interrogation.
Although half the camp was filled with starving Russians, he recalls the Americans were treated well and describes his internment as somewhat mellow—filled with playing cards, volleyball, and a few escape plots. However, the Germans would deliver propaganda newspapers to the barracks that told the of the downfall of the Allies. Unbeknownst to the guards, one of the American soldiers had a way to access the BBC.
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"He came by every day at 4 o'clock. He used what was called a crystal set, which had a spool and wire attached. You could pick up the BBC pretty well, so we always knew what was really going on."
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