World War II Prisoner of War camp collection

Access and use

Location of collection:
George Mason University
2400 Fenwick Library
Special Collections Research Center
Fenwick Library MS2FL
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Mieko Palazzo
Phone: (703) 993-2220
Fax: (703) 993-2669
Restrictions:

There are no access restrictions.

Terms of access:

The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)

Preferred citation:

World War II Prisoner of War camp collection, C0557, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries

Summary

Extent:
.25 Linear Feet 1 box
Abstract:
A collection of photographs, scrapbooks, correspondence, newsletters, and other ephemera collected by German soldier Major Traugott Steffler primarily during his time in an American-run Prisoner-of-War camp near Naples, Italy following World War II.
Language:
German
Preferred citation:

World War II Prisoner of War camp collection, C0557, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries

Background

Scope and content:

A collection of photographs, scrapbooks, correspondence, newsletters, and other ephemera collected by German soldier Major Traugott Steffler primarily during his time in an American-run Prisoner-of-War camp near Naples, Italy following World War II (WWII). All of the materials are written in German, with the exception of a single financial receipt which has text is both English and German. The collection's poems and other writings were written by multiple authors, with some listing no author, and the single pencil sketch portrait is signed and dated 1945 and likely depicts Major Steffler.

The two scrapbooks that were gifted to Major Steffler feature photographs from camp theatre productions, many of which feature male prisoners cross-dressing for the women's roles. Each of these also include dedications to the "Battalion Commander," with one indicating on the first page it was given as a Christmas and New Year's present. The other includes a dedication written inside the front cover indicating it was given in celebration of his "55th" birthday on March 14, 1946 (based on his date of birth this is likely an error as Steffler would only have been 53 in 1946). The additional loose photographs include more images of prisoners in theatrical costumes, as well as documenting daily life in the camp, including images of the prisoners working in a vineyard, and images of the life of German military officers during WWII, including formal military portraits. The collection also includes a single professional portrait of Steffler in his German World War I military uniform taken in 1915.

Biographical / historical:

Traugott Steffler was born in 1893 in Glatz (Lower Silesia; now Kłotzko, Poland). After serving in World War I in the German army, he completed his theological studies and served as a Lutheran pastor in Lower Silesia. During World War II, he took leave from his parish to serve as a Major in the German army; being deployed on the Eastern front and in Italy, where he was captured and transferred to an American-run Prisoner of War camp near Naples, Italy. By 1947 he was released from the camp and resumed his duties as a pastor, now in Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. Steffler passed away in 1968.

Acquisition information:
Donated by Dorothee Schubel in May 2024.
Processing information:

Processing completed by Meghan Glasbrenner from July - August 2025. Finding aid completed by Meghan Glasbrenner in August 2025.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged by material type or function.

Physical location:
R 73, C 2, S 3
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard