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The gate leading into Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, taken September 2023. 

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The inscription 'Arbeit Macht Frei' (translation: work sets you free) was placed at the entrances of several Nazi German concentration camps and ghettos: Dachau, Sachsenhausen, Flossenburg, Gross-Rosen, and Theresienstadt.

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Second Lieutenant Frank G. Cumpata - US Army Airforce - October 1944-October 1945.  Based at Polebrook England with the 8th Airforce, 351st bomb group, 509th bomb squadron.   

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Found in Second Lieutenant Frank G. Cumpata's footlocker

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This is a German Navigators training kit. A label on the outside top says 'Nur fur Lehr und Ubungszwecke bestimmt' which translates to 'Intended for teaching and practice purposes only'. We can only guess why this German kit was supplied to US Navigators, but it's a pretty cool piece.

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Second Lieutenant Frank G. Cumpata at his Navigator's position in the B-17 bomber.

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Second Lieutenant Frank G. Cumpata's dress uniform - US Army Airforce   October 1944-October 1945

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Second Lieutenant Frank G. Cumpata's goggles on his B-17 bomber.

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During World War II, Flak “anti-aircraft defense cannons” played a crucial role in aerial combat.

Flak cannons were the first line of defense for many German cities during the war. These cannons were used to shoot down enemy aircraft, especially bombers, as they approached their targets. When the anti-aircraft rounds detonated, they released jagged metal fragments in a circular pattern, tearing through any aircraft in their vicinity.

Allied bomber crews faced significant danger from Flak. To avoid ground-based Flak fire, they had to fly at higher altitudes before descending to attack their targets.

This made them vulnerable to enemy fighters, who were skilled at shooting down bombers. The death rate for bomber crews was high.

Contrary to being dismissed as ineffective, Flak made a significant contribution to the defense of the Third Reich. Approximately half of the USAAF aircraft shot down over Germany fell victim to Flak. Between January 1942 and April 1945, Flak accounted for 1,229 aircraft losses in bomber command.

(Written on the back of this picture it says: Northern half of the Flak Barrage over Merseburg, Germany November 21, 1944. By Bob Wolfe, Co-pilot Walker's Crew. Our ship - U-591 - was on Walker's left wing - opposite ship shown in picture. )

Found in Second Lieutenant Frank G. Cumpata's footlocker.

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The April 10th, 1945 bombing of Oranienburg. Found in Second Lieutenant Frank G. Cumpata's footlocker, his 20th mission.

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Air Base Oranienburg was built between 1936 and 1939 west of Oranienburg and north of Berlin in Brandenburg Germany.

During World War II Oranienburg Airfield was solely used as an aircraft factory airfield. It was bombed during an air raid of 260 USAAF B-17 bombers on 18 April 1944.

They returned on 10 April 1945 with 139 bombers, during which attack the airfield was completely destroyed.

The airfield in question is only 3.3 miles away from the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp.

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Frank served in the US Army Airforce from October 2nd 1944 – October 19th 1945. A graduate of the Illinois Institute of Technology in the field of Electrical Engineering.  With 5 months of training under his belt on US soil, Frank was selected to be a Navigator on a B-17 Flying Fortress Bomber.  Second Lieutenant Cumpata’s base was at Polebrook England with the 8th Airforce, 351st bomb group, 509th bomb squadron.

During his service he flew 26 missions from England to Germany between March-May 1945.  It’s been said, the chances of surviving 25 missions was just 25%.  His last two missions in May of 1945 were to pick up Prisoners of War (POWs) from German Concentration Camps.

Mission log: (date.city.target)

4-Mar-45 Schwabmunchen, Germany Aircraft Factory

5-Mar-45 Chemnitz, Germany Railroad Yards

8-Mar-45 Essen, Germany Railroad Yards

9-Mar-45 Kassel, Germany Locomotive Workshops

10-Mar-45 Hagen, Germany Railroad Marshalling Yards

12-Mar-45 Swinemund, Germany Port

14-Mar-45 Lohne, Germany Railway Centre

15-Mar-45 Oranienburg, Germany Railroad Marshalling Yards

17-Mar-45 Jena, Germany Zeiss Optical Inst. Plant

18-Mar-45 Berlin, Germany Railroad Station

21-Mar-45 Hopsten, Germany Airfield

22-Mar-45 Barmingholten, Germany Army HQ and Camp

26-Mar-45 Plauen, Germany Cellulose Plant

30-Mar-45 Bremen, Germany Ship Building Area

31-Mar-45 Halle, Germany Railroad Marshalling Yards

4-Apr-45 Fassburg, Germany Airfield

5-Apr-45 Ingolstadt, Germany Ordnance Depot

7-Apr-45 Luneburg, Germany Railroad Marshalling Yards

8-Apr-45 Halberstadt, Germany Railroad Station & Yards

10-Apr-45 Oranienburg, Germany Airfields Hangars

11-Apr-45 Freiham, Germany Underground Oil Storage Depot

16-Apr-45 Regensburg, Germany Railroad Marshalling Yards

17-Apr-45 Dresden, Germany Railroad Marshalling Yards

20-Apr-45 Brandenburg, Germany Railroad Marshalling Yards

10-May-45 Revival Mission 1 Pick up POWs

12-May-45 Revival Mission 3 Pick up POWs

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These tokens were issued from 1942 to 1945 (when rationing ended after the war). The OPA points came in two colors red and blue. Ration books were distributed to every eligible man, woman and child in the United States. Blue points were for processed goods while red points were for meat, fish and dairy products. The government issued a number of points to each person, even babies which had to be turned in along with money to purchase goods made with restricted items.

For size reference, this red point is slightly smaller than the size of a dime.

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My husband's great great uncle was one of the Flying Tigers after Pearl Harbor.
-Mrs. Ratkowski

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Journal 1 of 2 of Robert Day's 35 missions as a B52 tail gunner.

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Journal 1 of 2 of Robert Day's 35 missions as a B52 tail gunner.

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Robert Day Journal 1 description on photo comment

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Enlistment Record and Separation (what we call the DD214 today)

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Enlistment Record and Separation (what we call the DD214 today)

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Robert Day

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Robert DayEnlistment Record and Separation

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Journal 2 of 2 of Robert Day's 35 missions as a B52 tail gunner.

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Journal 2 of 2 of Robert Day's 35 missions as a B52 tail gunner.

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Robert Day Journal 2 details on photo comment

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Letter to home describing (in few details) Robert Day's first and last mission as B52 tail gunner - and the reason for not sharing more details with family.

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Letter to home describing (in few details) Robert Day's first and last mission as B52 tail gunner - and the reason for not sharing more details with family.

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Letter to home detailing first and last B24 bomber missions

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Wilbur (left) and Robert (right) Day were the first brothers recorded catching up with each other during deployment in Europe. They were both stationed in Italy. Photo taken in front of a B52 bomber for which Robert was a tail gunner.

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Wilbur (left) and Robert (right) Day were the first brothers recorded catching up with each other during deployment in Europe. They were both stationed in Italy. Photo taken in front of a B52 bomber for which Robert was a tail gunner.

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Brothers Robert and Wilbur Day first brothers to connect in Europe

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A woman from Poland contacted me on Facebook just 4 years ago and said she thought my husband was long lost family. My hubby's family thought his great grandfather had abandoned the family in America when he returned to Poland for a visit. Turns out once the war began, he was unable to escape and because he had a medical condition he was captured, put into a concentration camp, and was medically tested on until they murdered him. Had this woman not contacted me on social media, his family would never have learned of his fate, and now they have a family tree dating back to 1780.                       -Mrs. Ratkowski

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A woman from Poland contacted me on Facebook just 4 years ago and said she thought my husband was long lost family. My hubby's family thought his great grandfather had abandoned the family in America when he returned to Poland for a visit. Turns out once the war began, he was unable to escape and because he had a medical condition he was captured, put into a concentration camp, and was medically tested on until they murdered him. Had this woman not contacted me on social media, his family would never have learned of his fate, and now they have a family tree dating back to 1780.                       -Mrs. Ratkowski

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Here is the Japanese writing on the rifle

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Here is my grandfather's Arisaka rifle from his fighting in the Philippines 

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Here is my grandfather's Arisaka rifle from his fighting in the Philippines 

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Mr. Stahl's Grandpa - Raymond Harms