Civilian labor units assigned to US military in Germany WW2

It's my understanding when Polish forced laborers were liberated in Germany, they were assigned to noncombatant civilian labor units under command of US military.  I had 3 uncles forcibly taken from home in Poland to forced agricultural labor in Germany.  They were designated as Displaced Persons when the war ended.  I have two later photos of them in what look like US military uniforms, taken before they emigrated to the US in 1947.  General googling on this subject has yielded copies of documents identifying for example "Labor Supervision Company US Army", and even "discharge" papers for individuals in these units.  Any information on this subject would be appreciated.

Parents
  • Hello,

    I am Raymond Zawalski, a former member of the Labor Service organization. Actually I was borne into the organization, since my Father was also a member since Dec 1945. I am also the informal Labor Service historian and I am currently helping three Groups in Poland, France and Germany to understand what Labor Service was all about.

    Just let me know what you are Looking for and I may be able to help

    Raymond

  • Hi Raymond.  Would love to enlist your help.  I have a photo of my dad, Czeslaw Ciecwierz (dated 1945 in the back) that looks like an official portrait type photo.  He is wearing a US Army uniform indicated by collar dogs - US in a round silver button right collar and crossed rifles on left collar.  Appears to have two Polish ribbons above his breast pocket.  He would have been 20 years old.  This chain of messages regarding the Civilian labour guard is the only thing I can find that makes sense if the uniform.  Is there any way to find service records?

    many thanks

    Roman Ciecwierz

  • Good afternoon Roman,

    I saw your message but was unable to answer. Corona hit the family and I was  busy with other things to do.  When looking back we need to be very carefull with assigning uniforms to actual events.  Many former Polish forced labor members were directly recruited into the Army, depending on where they were liberated. Many Polish Forced Labor went directly into the US Army because they were needed as translators etc while the Army moved forward. After 1945 the Labor Service units were officially formed. The first unit was the 7555TH LS company in Mannheim, officially activated 16 May 1945. Along that action the Polish Army of the West was demilitarized and many members joined the Labor Service organization.

    I hope that helps a bit

    have a great day

    Raymond

Reply
  • Good afternoon Roman,

    I saw your message but was unable to answer. Corona hit the family and I was  busy with other things to do.  When looking back we need to be very carefull with assigning uniforms to actual events.  Many former Polish forced labor members were directly recruited into the Army, depending on where they were liberated. Many Polish Forced Labor went directly into the US Army because they were needed as translators etc while the Army moved forward. After 1945 the Labor Service units were officially formed. The first unit was the 7555TH LS company in Mannheim, officially activated 16 May 1945. Along that action the Polish Army of the West was demilitarized and many members joined the Labor Service organization.

    I hope that helps a bit

    have a great day

    Raymond

Children
No Data