On October 17th, 1943, my father, S/Sgt.William J. Doubledee, USAAF, 8th AF, 351st BG, 511th BS, entered the German POW camp Stalag XVII B, located near Krems, Austria. It was just eight days after his B-17 was shot down as it reached its target of Anklam, Germany. After he was captured, he was taken to a Dulag for interrogation for a few days. Then he was loaded into a terribly overcrowded baggage car with little to eat or drink and no toilet facilities. After several days on the train he arrived at Stalag XVII B. And there he remained there until April, 1945, when the Germans forced the prisoners to evacuate the camp. As the Soviet army approached from the east, the Germans made the American prisoners march west across Austria, away from the Russians and toward the advancing American ground forces.

During WWII, the camp held about 40,000 prisoners from ten nationalities, with another 60,000 prisoners assigned to "Arbeitskommandos" (work details) who worked in farms, factories and businesses in towns and villages around the camp. Most of the prisoners were French.

In the summer of 1969 I went to where Stalag XVII B used to be. It had been torn down; only one large pile of rubble overgrown with grass remained. The blue sky and green fields that day showed no signs of what happened there 25 years ago. My father mentioned little about what happened in the camp and during the forced march across Austria in April, 1945. He died unexpectedly in May, 1986.

I hope the information in this site helps you better understand what these young men experienced, and what they did not want to talk about after they came home. Over the years since my father died I have read a lot of books, visited many websites, and gotten lots of letters and emails from Kriegies and their families. It seems like each day I learn still more about the camp, its history and the prisoners who were kept there. This site is always a work in progress; if you have any information, documents, letters or pictures, I would love for you to share them. And if you have questions, I will try to answer them, or help you find answers.

There is also a social networking site where Stalag XVII B Kriegies from all nationalities and their families can meet, share and keep in touch. Please visit and join our group.

And please register yourself or a loved one at the WWII Memorial website.

UPDATED 1/20/2010

Comments? Questions? Please contact me.