Rediscovering Fort Knox: Post Cemetery resting place for POWs during, after World War II

By Matthew RectorJune 14, 2018

Post Cemetery resting place for POWs during, after World War II
1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Post Cemetery resting place for POWs during, after World War II
2 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Post Cemetery resting place for POWs during, after World War II
3 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

During World War II, Fort Knox was the site of a large Axis prisoner of war camp between February 1944 and June 1946.

To accommodate expected deaths among the prisoners, a separate section of the Post Cemetery was set aside. Eleven POWs died and were buried during this time.

Two of the deaths included the tragic and accidental shooting of two prisoners, Ernst Schlotter and Frederich Wolf. The funeral for German POW Nikolaus Stutz was photographed in March 1946, the same month POWs began departing the post for their final stint as POWs in Europe.

After the war, additional German POWs buried elsewhere were reinterred at Fort Knox. In 1961, the Consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany visited the cemetery and placed a wreath at the graves.

Soon after, the USAARMC German liaison office began hosting regular memorial ceremonies every November in observance of Volkstrauertag to honor victims of wars, terror and suppression.

The annual wreath laying ceremony continued until 2009, with the imminent departure of the USAARMC German liaison office for Fort Benning.

In all, one Italian and 17 German POWs are buried at Fort Knox.