Betrayed: The Buchenwald Airmen

The WW2 Podcast

Angus Wallace

Society & Culture, History

4.6 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 1 March 2018

⏱️ 73 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode we're going to be discussing the plight of 168 Allied Airmen who found themselves imprisoned in Buchenwald concentration camp. It's something that even to this day governments seem unwilling to admit to.

"As we got close to the camp and saw what was inside... a terrible, terrible fear and horror entered our hearts. We thought, what is this? Where are we going? Why are we here? And as you got closer to the camp and started to enter [it] and saw these human skeletons walking around; old men, young men, boys, just skin and bone, we thought, what are we getting into?" — Canadian airman Ed Carter-Edward's recollection of his arrival at Buchenwald.

Joining me is Frederic Martini, his father was shot down over France in 1944 and was one of the Buchenwald airmen. His written about his father's experiences, the book is Betrayed.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to another World War II podcast I'm Angus Wallace. In this
0:06.7	episode we're going to be discussing the plight of the 168 Allied airmen who found themselves imprisoned at Buckenwald concentration camp.
0:17.0	It's something that even to this day government seem unwilling to admit to. But before we get started I had a curious email the
0:26.6	other week suggesting that I create another tier of patronage. I thought it a crazy idea. I could not comprehend that level of
0:36.8	philanthropy, but nevertheless I created the Rockefeller tear. You are? I hate you cry, I know, Rockefeller tear.
0:42.8	You are, I hate you crying, I know, I know.
0:45.8	But I now have two Rockefeller patrons,
0:50.2	so it's a thank you to Thomas Carstons and Bart Van Vontahem for signing on.
0:57.0	Welcome aboard.
0:59.0	If you want to see what I'm on about, head over to patreon.com slash W2 podcast. I do try to offer patrons
1:09.9	a little bit extra each month I can't always guarantee it but we've had a good
1:14.7	run this year so far so that's Patreon.com slash W.2 podcasts so on to the main
1:22.1	event joining me is Frederick Martini. His father was shot down over France in 1944 and was one of the Buckenwald A airmen. He's written about his father's
1:35.4	experiences. The book is betrayed. So, uh, Rick, thanks for joining me.
1:40.4	Should we start with your father's wartime service?
1:43.0	I mean, how did he end up in the Air Force?
1:48.0	He enlisted in August of 41, thinking that there was was on the horizon and if he waited to be drafted
1:59.3	he'd end up doing something he didn't like and he thought he'd get in early and if there was
2:05.3	no war he'd be out in a year because he only signed up for a year if you volunteered and if a war
2:11.8	did start well he'd have a leg up on seniority.
2:15.0	So he went in and he was being trained as a quartermaster and was going through camouflage and escape and evasion school in Ohio and the 8th Air Force formed up and was calling for volunteers.
2:38.0	My dad, according to him, got a rumor that they really ate well.
	...

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