My great uncle was taken prisoner during the battle of the bulge by the Germans. I never met him but my grandmother would tell the story about how he survived due to being able to speak German and the guards liking him because of it. She would tell the story about how he would get scraps of food slipped to him and his friends and that being the reason he didn't starve to death.

So what would be the starting point for finding out where he was held?

My grandmother would also tell the story of his capture. He told her that they almost didn't do any fighting and that their officer panicked and surrendered before they even took very many casualties. She said he was always very angry about the circumstances of his outfits capture that he thought was needless. Nobody died fighting but did die from starvation later in the camp. He said that a friend of his had been shot in the leg so they took turns helping him walk or carrying him to the camp. Only for him to die in the camp.

His name was Ted Schrenk.

And now I found a video of his camp getting liberated

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/106th_Infantry_Division_(United_States)


World War II[edit]
The 106th Infantry Division's Headquarters and Headquarters Company was constituted on paper on 5 May 1942, five months after the United States entered World War II. It was actually activated on 15 March 1943 at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, with a cadre from the 80th Infantry Division. Following Basic and Advanced Infantry Training, the Division moved on 28 March 1944 to Tennessee to participate in the Second Army #5 Maneuvers.
The 106th Infantry Division relieved the 2nd Infantry Division in the Schnee Eifel on 11 December 1944, with its 424th Infantry Regiment was sent to Winterspelt. Prior to the battle, according to the US Army Service Manual, one division should be responsible for no more than 5 miles (8.0 km) of front. On the eve of the battle, the 106th was covering a front of almost 26 miles (42 km).[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/106th_Infantry_Division_(United_States)#cite_note-1][1][/url]
In the Ardennes-Alsace Campaign, the Germans attacked the 106th on 16 December 1944. The division's 422nd and 423rd Infantry Regiments were encircled and cut off by a junction of enemy forces in the vicinity of Schonberg. They regrouped for a counterattack, but were blocked by the enemy. The two regiments surrendered on 19 December. The Germans gained 6,000 prisoners in one of the largest mass surrenders in American military history. Nearly 50% of the division's strength was brushed aside in the first days of the Battle of the Bulge.
The remnants of the division were reinforced by the 112th Infantry Regiment of the 28th Infantry Division and withdrew over the Our River and joined other units at Saint Vith. Along with the city of Bastogne to the south, St. Vith was a road and rail junction city considered vital to the German goal of breaking through Allied lines to split American and British forces and reach the Belgian port city of Antwerp. A scratch force of 106th Division personnel, in particular the division's 81st Engineer Combat Battalion, was organized and led by the 81st's 28-year-old commanding officer, Lt. Col. Thomas Riggs, in a five-day holding action (1721 December) on a thin ridge line a mile outside St. Vith, against German forces vastly superior in numbers and armament (only a few hundred green Americans versus many thousands of veteran Germans). For this action, the 81st Engineer Combat Battalion was later awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation for gallantry. The defense of St. Vith by the 106th has been credited with ruining the German timetable for reaching Antwerp, hampering the Bulge offensive for the Germans.[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/106th_Infantry_Division_(United_States)#cite_note-2][2][/url]
The 81st and other units, including 168th Engineer Combat Battalion, pulled back from St. Vith on 21 December, under constant enemy fire, and withdrew over the Saint River at Vielsalm on 23 December. The following day, the 424th Regiment, attached to the 7th Armored Division, fought a delaying action at Manhay until ordered to an assembly area. From 25 December to 9 January 1945, the division received reinforcements and supplies at Anthisnes, Belgium, and returned to the struggle, securing objectives along the Ennal-Logbierme line on 15 January after heavy fighting. After being pinched out by advancing divisions, the 106th assembled at Stavelot on 18 January for rehabilitation and training. It moved to the vicinity of Hunningen on 7 February for defensive patrols and training.
In March, the 424th advanced along the high ground between Berk and the Simmer River and was again pinched out at Olds on 7 March. A period of training and security patrolling along the Rhine River followed, until 15 March, when the division moved to St. Quentin[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/106th_Infantry_Division_(United_States)#cite_note-3][3][/url] for rehabilitation and the reconstruction of lost units.
The division was reconstituted on 16 March when the 3rd Infantry Regiment (the Old Guard) and the 159th Infantry Regiment were attached to replace the two lost regiments. The division then moved back to Germany on 25 April, where, for the remainder of its stay in Europe, the 106th handled POW enclosures and engaged in occupational duties.
In the meantime, the 422nd Infantry Regiment and the 423rd Infantry Regiment were reconstituted from replacements in France on 15 April, were attached to the 66th Infantry Division in training status, and were still in this status when the Germans surrendered on 8 May 1945.

Ag_EQ12 said:

---

Glad we could help!

---

Y'all are the best.

TexAgs.... we know stuff. (And sometimes we know how to Google)

Y'all inspired me.

Heroes all ! Was your guncle in there ?

Going to ask some family members to look out for him in the video. I doubt I would recognize him from the few pics I have seen.

Thanks for sharing.