Son of Anton & Theresa Wowczuk
Brother of Michael Wowczuk (1915-1967)
In May of 1988 while staying at the Rossiya Hotel in Moscow, USSR for the Reagan-Gorbachev summit, American CBS journalist Charles Kuralt met and interviewed Dr. Nikita Zakaravich Aseyev, a Soviet dentist and Army soldier, who was a POW at Stalag 3-B in Luckenwalde, Germany along with the brothers:
“One day, after I had been there about a year, two American brothers, named Wowczuk; Peter and Michael; and a third American whose name I forget, asked me about the conditions in the Russian compound. They were from Chicago, both were workers in the stockyards, and I understood already that they were very good people. We were alone in the room that was the dental clinic, which I worked in because I was the only dentist in the entire camp, when they proposed a plot in which the Americans would smuggle food to the Russians. Every Friday, the Americans would receive five kilos of food from the Red Cross, while us Russians only got one liter of turnip soup and water from the Nazis on a daily basis. They told me that not only the three of them, but the other Americans were willing to participate. We all instantly agreed. Then one night, they all waited until the German sentry had passed, and then they went out and threw their parcels over the fence. The fence was only eight meters high. I organized a group on our side to secretly rush out to the fence and retrieve the packages. In that night alone, we received 1,350 of their packages. This went on for at least one night a week for many months. And during that one night a week, the Americans, many different ones, risked their lives to collect their given food parcels, dash out at night and throw them to us. Not one parcel ever failed to make it across the barbed wire. Not one was ever wasted."
"Then, on one hot day in May of 1944, four Schutzstaffel officers ordered all of the 8,000 American POWs to line up, and as they stood, they went down the line, asking them one by one, "Who's the Russian that organized the plot?" For three hours in the sun, with nothing to drink, the Americans stood in absolute silence with clenched lips. The officers threatened them with severe reprisal. They continued to stand in silence. Not one word was spoken. Not one American gave my name away. Unfortunately, the Wowczuk brothers, Peter and Michael, stepped forward and finally brought the intervention to an end when they admitted to creating the idea. A squad of guards seized the two and placed them into a truck that I later learned took them to another camp, where they were questioned every day by the Gestapo. I was afraid for them, but I had no fear for myself. I knew that those brothers would never reveal my name, and they didn't. Later, we were all moved to a different camp; and what do you know, I found the brothers there. Within a few days after reuniting, we had organized the plot all over again."
“Why do you think the Americans did all of this?” Kuralt asked.
“Because we were allies, because they were good men." Aseyev answered firmly.
Military Information: TEC 4, US ARMY
Brother of Michael Wowczuk (1915-1967)
In May of 1988 while staying at the Rossiya Hotel in Moscow, USSR for the Reagan-Gorbachev summit, American CBS journalist Charles Kuralt met and interviewed Dr. Nikita Zakaravich Aseyev, a Soviet dentist and Army soldier, who was a POW at Stalag 3-B in Luckenwalde, Germany along with the brothers:
“One day, after I had been there about a year, two American brothers, named Wowczuk; Peter and Michael; and a third American whose name I forget, asked me about the conditions in the Russian compound. They were from Chicago, both were workers in the stockyards, and I understood already that they were very good people. We were alone in the room that was the dental clinic, which I worked in because I was the only dentist in the entire camp, when they proposed a plot in which the Americans would smuggle food to the Russians. Every Friday, the Americans would receive five kilos of food from the Red Cross, while us Russians only got one liter of turnip soup and water from the Nazis on a daily basis. They told me that not only the three of them, but the other Americans were willing to participate. We all instantly agreed. Then one night, they all waited until the German sentry had passed, and then they went out and threw their parcels over the fence. The fence was only eight meters high. I organized a group on our side to secretly rush out to the fence and retrieve the packages. In that night alone, we received 1,350 of their packages. This went on for at least one night a week for many months. And during that one night a week, the Americans, many different ones, risked their lives to collect their given food parcels, dash out at night and throw them to us. Not one parcel ever failed to make it across the barbed wire. Not one was ever wasted."
"Then, on one hot day in May of 1944, four Schutzstaffel officers ordered all of the 8,000 American POWs to line up, and as they stood, they went down the line, asking them one by one, "Who's the Russian that organized the plot?" For three hours in the sun, with nothing to drink, the Americans stood in absolute silence with clenched lips. The officers threatened them with severe reprisal. They continued to stand in silence. Not one word was spoken. Not one American gave my name away. Unfortunately, the Wowczuk brothers, Peter and Michael, stepped forward and finally brought the intervention to an end when they admitted to creating the idea. A squad of guards seized the two and placed them into a truck that I later learned took them to another camp, where they were questioned every day by the Gestapo. I was afraid for them, but I had no fear for myself. I knew that those brothers would never reveal my name, and they didn't. Later, we were all moved to a different camp; and what do you know, I found the brothers there. Within a few days after reuniting, we had organized the plot all over again."
“Why do you think the Americans did all of this?” Kuralt asked.
“Because we were allies, because they were good men." Aseyev answered firmly.
Military Information: TEC 4, US ARMY
Son of Anton & Theresa Wowczuk
Brother of Michael Wowczuk (1915-1967)
In May of 1988 while staying at the Rossiya Hotel in Moscow, USSR for the Reagan-Gorbachev summit, American CBS journalist Charles Kuralt met and interviewed Dr. Nikita Zakaravich Aseyev, a Soviet dentist and Army soldier, who was a POW at Stalag 3-B in Luckenwalde, Germany along with the brothers:
“One day, after I had been there about a year, two American brothers, named Wowczuk; Peter and Michael; and a third American whose name I forget, asked me about the conditions in the Russian compound. They were from Chicago, both were workers in the stockyards, and I understood already that they were very good people. We were alone in the room that was the dental clinic, which I worked in because I was the only dentist in the entire camp, when they proposed a plot in which the Americans would smuggle food to the Russians. Every Friday, the Americans would receive five kilos of food from the Red Cross, while us Russians only got one liter of turnip soup and water from the Nazis on a daily basis. They told me that not only the three of them, but the other Americans were willing to participate. We all instantly agreed. Then one night, they all waited until the German sentry had passed, and then they went out and threw their parcels over the fence. The fence was only eight meters high. I organized a group on our side to secretly rush out to the fence and retrieve the packages. In that night alone, we received 1,350 of their packages. This went on for at least one night a week for many months. And during that one night a week, the Americans, many different ones, risked their lives to collect their given food parcels, dash out at night and throw them to us. Not one parcel ever failed to make it across the barbed wire. Not one was ever wasted."
"Then, on one hot day in May of 1944, four Schutzstaffel officers ordered all of the 8,000 American POWs to line up, and as they stood, they went down the line, asking them one by one, "Who's the Russian that organized the plot?" For three hours in the sun, with nothing to drink, the Americans stood in absolute silence with clenched lips. The officers threatened them with severe reprisal. They continued to stand in silence. Not one word was spoken. Not one American gave my name away. Unfortunately, the Wowczuk brothers, Peter and Michael, stepped forward and finally brought the intervention to an end when they admitted to creating the idea. A squad of guards seized the two and placed them into a truck that I later learned took them to another camp, where they were questioned every day by the Gestapo. I was afraid for them, but I had no fear for myself. I knew that those brothers would never reveal my name, and they didn't. Later, we were all moved to a different camp; and what do you know, I found the brothers there. Within a few days after reuniting, we had organized the plot all over again."
“Why do you think the Americans did all of this?” Kuralt asked.
“Because we were allies, because they were good men." Aseyev answered firmly.
Military Information: TEC 4, US ARMY
Brother of Michael Wowczuk (1915-1967)
In May of 1988 while staying at the Rossiya Hotel in Moscow, USSR for the Reagan-Gorbachev summit, American CBS journalist Charles Kuralt met and interviewed Dr. Nikita Zakaravich Aseyev, a Soviet dentist and Army soldier, who was a POW at Stalag 3-B in Luckenwalde, Germany along with the brothers:
“One day, after I had been there about a year, two American brothers, named Wowczuk; Peter and Michael; and a third American whose name I forget, asked me about the conditions in the Russian compound. They were from Chicago, both were workers in the stockyards, and I understood already that they were very good people. We were alone in the room that was the dental clinic, which I worked in because I was the only dentist in the entire camp, when they proposed a plot in which the Americans would smuggle food to the Russians. Every Friday, the Americans would receive five kilos of food from the Red Cross, while us Russians only got one liter of turnip soup and water from the Nazis on a daily basis. They told me that not only the three of them, but the other Americans were willing to participate. We all instantly agreed. Then one night, they all waited until the German sentry had passed, and then they went out and threw their parcels over the fence. The fence was only eight meters high. I organized a group on our side to secretly rush out to the fence and retrieve the packages. In that night alone, we received 1,350 of their packages. This went on for at least one night a week for many months. And during that one night a week, the Americans, many different ones, risked their lives to collect their given food parcels, dash out at night and throw them to us. Not one parcel ever failed to make it across the barbed wire. Not one was ever wasted."
"Then, on one hot day in May of 1944, four Schutzstaffel officers ordered all of the 8,000 American POWs to line up, and as they stood, they went down the line, asking them one by one, "Who's the Russian that organized the plot?" For three hours in the sun, with nothing to drink, the Americans stood in absolute silence with clenched lips. The officers threatened them with severe reprisal. They continued to stand in silence. Not one word was spoken. Not one American gave my name away. Unfortunately, the Wowczuk brothers, Peter and Michael, stepped forward and finally brought the intervention to an end when they admitted to creating the idea. A squad of guards seized the two and placed them into a truck that I later learned took them to another camp, where they were questioned every day by the Gestapo. I was afraid for them, but I had no fear for myself. I knew that those brothers would never reveal my name, and they didn't. Later, we were all moved to a different camp; and what do you know, I found the brothers there. Within a few days after reuniting, we had organized the plot all over again."
“Why do you think the Americans did all of this?” Kuralt asked.
“Because we were allies, because they were good men." Aseyev answered firmly.
Military Information: TEC 4, US ARMY
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