Alexander Jefferson

Military
Newly arrived American prisoners of war with their luggage at Stalag Luft III, Sagan, amongst them Alexander Jefferson a Black airman of the 332nd Fighter Group. HU 21074 HU 21074 Newly arrived American prisoners of war with their luggage at Stalag Luft III, Sagan, amongst them Alexander Jefferson a Black airman of the 332nd Fighter Group. IWM collections

IWM HU 21074 German official photograph from the collection of Oberst Von Lindeiner (Commandant of Stalag Luft III)

Object Number - HU 21074 - Newly arrived American prisoners of war with their luggage at Stalag Luft III, Sagan, amongst them Alexander Jefferson a Black airman of the 332nd...

Jefferson was a P-51 Mustang pilot assigned to the all-Black 332nd Fighter Group. He completed 18 long range escort missions in 1944, until he was shot down by ground fire on 12 August 1944. Jefferson was taken prisoner of war and imprisoned for eight months at Stalag Luft III. Despite his skin colour he recalled being treated the same as the white officers by his captors. 

Towards the end of the war Jefferson was moved to Stalag VII-A, and marched to Munich, where he was liberated by the US Third Army. He returned to the US aboard the RMS Queen Mary in 1945, later commenting that his racially charged treatment upon his homecoming was inferior to his treatment by the Nazis. 

Jefferson served at Tuskegee field, Alabama as an instrument instructor, until its closure in 1946, then served in the US Air Force reserves. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1969. 

Connections

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Units served with

Places

  • Site type: Prisoner of war camp
  • Known as: Stalag Luft III, Sagan, Germany
  • Site type: Prisoner of war camp
  • Known as: Stalag 7a, Moosburg

Events

Event Location Date Description

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

Żagań, Poland 12 August 1944 Stalag Luft III

Revisions

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Contributorjmoore43
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Added the POW event per info in the "Summary biography".

Added an Association to Stalag 7A per info in the "Summary biography".

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ContributorEmily
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IWM HU 21074

Biography and oral history interview at The History Makers  a digital respository dedicated to Black experience

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Contributorktm
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nara

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Contributorktm
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nara

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pow nATIONAL ARCHIVES

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NATIONAL ARCHIVES

Alexander Jefferson: Gallery (1 items)