", "August 1943 description of the Camp Maxey", "World War II Camp Had Impact on CIty" by Michael Hawfield, The News-Sentinel 15 December 1990, Camp Thomas A. Scott - Fort Wayne, Indiana - WWII Prisoner of War Camps on Waymarking.com, https://web.archive.org/web/20220720230229/https://www.unionleader.com/nh/travel/historical_markers/roadside-history-camp-stark-nhs-wwii-german-pow-camp-housed-about-250-soldiers/article_9dd52830-ef9f-57d6-9ef3-ce2472704b70.html, "Waterloo Township officials say rundown prison camp is a hazard and should be razed", "Uboat.net - the Men - Prisoners of War - German POWs in North America", "Fomer [sic] Site of the Caven Point Army Depot - Jersey City, New Jersey", The German POW camps of Michigan during WWII, Map of WWII POW Camps in the US with links, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_World_War_II_prisoner-of-war_camps_in_the_United_States&oldid=1129515906, Originally an Army Airfield flight training facility. The main camps supported a number of branch camps, which were used to put POWs where their labor could be best utilized. mi. The post also served as an infantry replacement center and had a German prisoner of war camp. The result of the First Lady's initiative was the Prisoner of War Special Projects Division, led by Lt. Col. Edward Davison out of Camp Kearney in Rhode Island. War History online proudly presents this Guest Piece from Jeremy P. mick, who is a military historian and writes on behalf of theSilver Star Families of America. Housed German POWs from the Afrika Corps after defeat in North Africa. Large German pow camp 2 miles outside of Thomasville. With Glidden is Lt. Lawrence Ponetretti, an Army interpreter. As author David Fiedler explains in his book "The Enemy Among Us: POWs in Missouri During World. Labor unions, however, regarded them as competition for returning U.S. forces and demanded their expulsion. The Factory's first step in the POW camps was the distribution of books banned by Hitler. I will someday donate the cigarette case to a museum for preservation and display, and I believe my brother, Harold McDowell, would agree. by The caption information from 1945 does not identify the boat as the one on the Missouri River, near today's Chesterfield, or the one at the foot of Arsenal Street. Now home to the CMP Headquarters and Gary Anderson competition center. Less well known are the prisoner of war camps that sprang up in rural communities across the country to house combatants from Europe and Japan. According to American Reeducation of German POWs, 1943-1946, as the war dragged on and U.S. casualties mounted, stories about cushy POW camp life and vicious crimes committed by Nazis prisoners enraged many Americans. The camp was named for General Harvey C Clark, Missouri's adjutant general and commander of Missouri's National Guard. <>
The most elaborate escape attempt occurred in 1944, at one of the more spartan camps in Texas. From San Pedro, Gaertner, who spoke fluent English, traveled north undetected, taking a series of odd jobs on the West Coast, including fruit picker, logger, and ski instructor. Last chance! You can also listen to this Radiolab piece called Nazi Summer Camp, about prisoners of war in Idaho, or read this Smithsonian article about the nationwide POW movement. In Texas, according to Humanities Texas, some residents feared having Nazis nearby and, worried about escapes, locked their doors and cautioned their daughters. All buildings have since been demolished, the only structure left standing is the base of one stone pillar where the main gate of the camp stood. 6 & 7, Chesterfield, MO 63017. Photo by Buel White of the Post-Dispatch, One of two boats, known as "boat camps," moored in the St. Louis area to house prisoners of war who worked on levees and other river projects. The U.S. government learned quickly to separate those elements, Fiedler said, and relationships improved. In Southern POW camps, some facilities were segregated by race, and Black servicemen were given the worst jobs. A few escapees eluded capture for many years. In 1946, the post was deactivated and placed in a caretaker status. stream
The elder Hennes was captured by Americans in Europe in the fall of 1944. "I will someday donate the cigarette case to a museum for preservation and display, and I believe my brother, Harold McDowell, would agree. In late October of 1950, over 800 POWs left Manpo for village camps closer to the Chinese border near Chungung, known as the Apex Camps. In 1985, Gaertner surrendered to the INS and, as a publicity stunt, to Bryant Gumbel on "Today." This document is not available online. McDowell notes the cigarette case is not only a beautiful piece that serves as a link to the past, but represents a story to be shared of the states rich military legacy. endobj
As Fiedler put it: Who wanted to rush back into the war? Readmore storiesfrom Tim O'Neil's Look Back series. Chesterfield Ex Satellite Pow Camp is a superfund site located at T 45 N, R 4 E, Sect. According to theSociety for Military History, the last batch of them 1,500 German prisoners sailed from New Jersey on July 26, 1946. Genevieve County. List of World War II prisoner-of-war camps in the United States. Camp Weingarten quickly grew into a sprawling facility to house Italian POWs brought to the United States and, Jefferson City resident Carolyn McDowell explained, was the site where one of her uncles spent his entire period of service with the U.S. Army in World War II. The Chicago Tribune reported Oct. 23, 1943, that the prisoners at Camp Weingarten soon "put on weight" by eating a "daily menu superior to that of the average civilian.". "He then took it back to camp with him and that's when he gave it to one of the Italian POWs.". They slipped past the guards at night and fled through the vegetable fields they tended. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. They were: Fort Leonard Wood Camp Weingarten near Ste. This page was last edited on 25 December 2022, at 21:03. Some were transferred to a special camp for Nazi incorrigibles in Oklahoma. POWs built secret tunnels, slipped away from inattentive guards, constructed dummies of themselves, and impersonated U.S. officers, among other tricks.
$.' POW Death Index in US. Post-Dispatch file photo, The main avenue at Camp Weingarten lined by small barracks buildings in June 1943. POW Camps in the USA POW Camps in Missouri. Area Camp with 9 Branch Camps. The camp was enlarged to the point that some 5,800 POW's . ", The Untold Truth Of America's WWII German POW Camps, History of Prisoner of War Utilization by the United States Army 1776 to 1945, American Reeducation of German POWs, 1943-1946, Icons of Insult: German and Italian Prisoners of War in African American Letters During World War II, Returning to America: German Prisoners of War and American Experience. Genevieve County in June 1943. In addition, Article 43 of the Convention required the appointment of POW administrators, and often, Nazi officers would assume this role, becoming in effect, camp commandants. Camp Crowder was a military installation named in honor of Major General Enoch H. Crowder, provost marshal of the United States during World War I and author of the 1917 Selective Service Act. Fort Meade housed about 4,000 German and Italian POWs during World War II. The POW was then moved to a camp in the United Kingdom before being placed on a troopship bound for Canada in October the same year. Branch camps in Missouri were: 339-351. As the NKPA retreated farther north, they were forced to evacuate their prisoners with them. Although Nazi POWs denounced Der Ruf as Jewish propaganda, according to the New England Historical Society, most POWs loved reading it, and its effectiveness at changing hearts and minds was indisputable. However, I want to ensure it is recognized for the treasure that it is and it is not simply thrown away, said McDowell. The camp was made up of 450 prisoners from Germany and Aus. The case not only had a specially crafted latching mechanism, but was also etched with an emblem of an eagle on the cover with barracks buildings and a guard tower from the camp inscribed upon the inside. The author further explained, (T)he camp was enlarged to the point that some 5,800 POWs could be held there, and approximately 380 buildings of all types would be constructed on an expanded 950-acre site.. In his written account (via The Fallen Foe), POW Fritz Ensslin, for example, claimed that many transferred POWs died in France performing "forced labor. Fort Crowder was a U.S. Army post located in Newton and McDonald counties in southwest Missouri, constructed and used during World War II. Camp Albuquerque was an American World War II POW camp in Albuquerque, New Mexico that housed Italian and German prisoners of war. Japanese and German POWs; Japanese, Italian, and German internees; now, Constructed for prisoners, later reused for housing after the war, Fortuitously located outside a city where many locals still spoke German. Between then and mid-1944, an average of 20,000 POWs arrived each month, then after the Normandy invasion, the average rose to 30,000. 1942-1946: German POWs. As author David Fiedler explained in his book "The Enemy Among Us: POWs in Missouri During World War II," the state was once home to more than 15,000 German and Italian prisoners of war (POW). See the World War II POW camps near St. Louis. A few concrete ammunition bunkers are the last remnants of the POW camp. American women fell in love with prisoners and a couple of times it turned into aiding escapes, which was considered a traitorous act and a criminal offense.. First attempted escape by two German POWs on 5 November 1942. St. Louis on the Air hostDon Marshand producersMary Edwards,Alex HeuerandKelly Moffittgive you the information you need to make informed decisions and stay in touch with our diverse and vibrant St. Louis region. Post-Dispatch file photo, A German POW on a boat camp in St. Louis relaxes and reads on his bunk. "His hometown really wasn't all that far from Camp Weingarten.". Germany's "Great Escape" was from a 200 feet (61m) tunnel by 25 prisoners on 24 December 1944. For his "crimes," they strangled him to death. Sited on the abandoned Civilian Conservation Corps camp about 1.6 miles east of the Stark Covered Bridge in Stark, Coos County. xwcy[9R^Z
hF/!\Zf7!%% Army Col. H.H. They made it 10 miles south to the Meramec River, but farmers saw them and called the Highway Patrol. Having experienced the "American way of life," some POWs sought U.S. sponsors or worked for U.S. occupational forces in Germany in order to return to the U.S. POW John Schroer recalls that he made his decision to immigrate upon seeing the Statue of Library as he departed New York. As noted in New Georgia Encyclopedia, the hard-liners doled out harsh discipline and attacked fellow prisoners for their lack of patriotism, among other offenses. ", As noted in Returning to America: German Prisoners of War and American Experience, of the more than half million Germans who immigrated to America between 1947 and 1960, several thousand were former POWs. Hollywood movies and cartoons were screened. Originally it was to serve as an armor training center. Photo by Jack Gould of the Post-Dispatch, The front gate of the POW camp at Hellwig Brothers Farm on Gumbo Flats, part of the Missouri River bottomland in St. Louis County. President Harry Truman ordered them sent back to Europe "to whichever country wanted them. Italys surrender in 1943 changed the status of the Italian POWs, who remained here but were granted more freedom, including occasional trips to the Hill neighborhood. The majority of the camps were located in the Midwest, South, and Southwest, and the biggest contingency of POWs 372,000 were German. POW and ISU Camps and Hospitals in US. The majority of escapees were captured quickly and without incident. A 120 feet (37m) nearly completed escape tunnel was discovered by authorities. 330 German POWs lived in a tent city around the Louis Glunz dance hall and worked on farms and in area canneries during the 1945 harvest. Short tried to have it designated a permanent home for the Army's military police training school. About 15,000 German and Italian prisoners of war spent part of World War II under guard at 30 camps scattered across Missouri. 5 0 obj
Capacity for 4800 at main camp. Another episode involved entertainer Lena Horne, who, while performing at an Arkansas camp, became enraged when she saw that Black servicemen had been seated behind the POWs. Most Americans regarded them as curiosities, but there was conflict. Likewise, hundreds of thousands of American GIs were returning to the states and would need the jobs the prisoners of war would be filling so they were no longer needed for their labor efforts, Fiedler said. Thirty-three German POWs and two Italian POWs are now buried in the post cemetery. #"8_Bh ?hpUZ) <>
In Texas, for example, POWs picked cotton, harvested fruit, and chopped sugar. You may come to the Missouri Valley Room to view it or request a photocopy from the Library's Document Delivery service. 6U z*&`873 hkg7*I|dx^EY?IF$zwUJH!/V>H>is&n /t; According toHumanities Texas, many in America, especially farmers, were loathed to see them go. Genevieve, Missouri, A former CCC camp it was used for POWs who were with Rommel's Afrika Corps. Im baffled., Suspect charged in fatal shooting in downtown St. Louis, Former Sweetie Pies TV star Tim Norman gets two life sentences in nephews death, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol slams ump C.B. 600 German POWs were interned in the Schwartz Ballroom from October 1944 to January 1946. Early on, however, that wasnt always the case. Taylor and his fellow soldiers, most of whom were assigned to military police companies, maintained a busy schedule of guarding the prisoners held in the camp, but also received opportunities to take leave from their duties and visit their loved ones back home. McDowell noted the cigarette case is not only a beautiful piece that serves as a link to the past, but represents a story to be shared of the state's rich military legacy. Interested in learning more about the experiences of prisoners of war in the United States during World War II? In "Icons of Insult: German and Italian Prisoners of War in African American Letters During World War II," author Matthias Reiss recounts numerous instances of racist encounters involving white Americans and POWs. According to Society for Military History, to create rights and status equal to the U.S. military, German officers above the rank of captain were assigned their own POW orderlies and generals were housed in private huts. The camp, located south of Neosho, Missouri, was established in 1941. However, from 1863 this broke down following the Confederacy's refusal to treat black and white Union prisoners equally . This was a local story. Other POWs were transported to work on farms and canneries in neighboring communities. For those that did return to Europe, the United States government hoped they would bring the memory of their equitable experience in the camps here back with them. Little remains of the once sprawling POW camp located approximately 90 miles south of St. Louis, with the exception of a stone fireplace that was part of the Officer's Club. 6 0 obj
The Missouri National Guard retained 4,358 acres of Camp Crowder for use as a training site. Now called Dennis Whiles, Gaertner told Jean he had been raised in an orphanage, thus eliminating any questions about his family. This book concentrates on the Missouri camps - main camps and satellite work camps - and their German and Italian captives. MVSC 940.5472 F45e. Incidents like Black soldiers being forced to dispose of the POWs' human waste and POWs refusing to follow instructions from Black work supervisors infuriated Black servicemen. About 2,600 German POWs were held there during World War II.. Not only did POWs dine well, they took college courses, set up libraries, and formed orchestras and soccer leagues. Attached to these main camps were branch camps to which they sent prisoners. By the war's end, the average reached 60,000 POWs per month. <>
By 1943 the army had acquired 42,786.41 acres (173.2km2), 66.9 sq. To disguise its purpose, The Factory POW staff interspersed pro-democracy tracts with fiction and other entertaining fare. It was noted that many of the Italians were semi-emaciated when arriving in the United States because of a poor diet. In what must have been one of the bizarre coincidences of World War II, Hennes was a prisoner at the same camp as his father, Friedrich Hennes. endobj
Prisoners worked on local farms. A few continued into the early 1970s in Las Animas County where Trinidad is located. The post is also notable as the birthplace of landmark LabVIEW programmer Michael Porter. 8 0 obj
endobj
This was not seen as a standing thing., The government realized early on that these men were not a threat of escape or destruction or other nefarious deeds, Fiedler said. As documented in by theSociety for Military History, between September 1943 and April 1944, in camps across the country, "6 murders, 2 forced suicides, 43 'voluntary' suicides, a general camp riot, and hundreds of localized acts of violence occurred." My mothers brother, Dwight Hafford Taylor, was raised in the community of Alton in southern Missouri, said McDowell. They stared "open-mouthed" as the POWs "jumped down from railroad cars and marched in orderly rows to the camp four miles west of town." As noted in American Reeducation of German POWs, 1943-1946, in discussions with their guards, prisoners would sometimes use America's discriminatory practices as a "what about" counter argument. 2 0 obj
The photo was taken in March 1945, shortly after radio commentator Walter Winchell told his national audience that POWs from Gumbo could sneak across the river and blow up the munitions plant at Weldon Spring. There were originally four main camps in Missouri at Camp Clark, Camp Crowder, Camp Weingarten and Fort Leonard Wood. Camps typically held between 50 and 250 POWs and the men were housed in any sort of structure that was available. While still adhering to the Convention, the POW camps supplied local industries and businesses with laborers. While the core of the post was retained, many of the wood temporary barracks were declared surplus and sold. The level of instruction was so high that some German universities offered full credit to returning POWs. You have permission to edit this article. Four years later, the government offered the buildings at auction to relieve the post-war shortage of housing. The Chicago Tribune reported on October 23, 1943, that the prisoners at Camp Weingarten soon put on weight by eating a daily menu superior to that of the average civilian.. The location of the former POW camp is a residential area now. There were some instances where individuals took out personal attacks against the Germans and Italians, but on the whole, Americans accepted that the government was housing prisoners of war in their own backyards. "Established at Weingarten, a sleepy little town on State Highway 32 between Ste. Camp Weingarten. Facilities now serve as an adjunct to the state's mental health program. Levin and Straussberg were among the 420,000 German and Italian prisoners of war who spent part of World War II under guard in the United States. Prisoner-of-war camps in the United States during World War II. Last chance! However, not all towns and townspeople were happy hosts. Sub camps:Camp Pine, Camp Thornton and Camp Skokie Valley, each with 200 POWs. German POWs march into the mess hall at their small work camp on the Hellwig Brothers Farm on Gumbo Flats, the Missouri River bottomland now called Chesterfield Valley, in March 1945. They decorated their barracks with their work. Sunday, Dec. 11, marks 75 years since the United States declared war on Germany and Italy. When labor shortages due to enlistment hit the American economy, however, the War Department rethought its strategy and greatly expanded POW labor. This movements became known as the "Tiger Death March," so called for the brutal treatment that the prisoners . Post-Dispatch file photo, Some of the German POWs who were housed in a prison compound at Fort Leonard Wood in central Missouri watch an Army Signal Corps film of scenes from a Nazi concentration camp in Europe. Almost all of the WWII Camp structures have since been demolished. Genevieve. Interestingly enough, no marriages were a direct result of the prisoners time in Missouri. Photo by Buel White of the Post-Dispatch. 200 German POWs were interned at the Tri-City Airport (now known as South Wood County Airport) from July to November 1945. Camp Clark was established in 1908 and was used as an assembly point for troops serving in Central America, in the Mexican border war, and in World War I. Jeremy P. Amick A walled patio and fireplace with masks of Comedy and Tragedy were built near the theater and are still landmarks on the university campus. After Germany's surrender in May 1945, the process of POW release and repatriation began. Genevieve Camp Crowder, outside of Neosho, Missouri Camp Clark, outside of Nevada, Missouri Click here for a state map showing camp locations endobj
Thousands of Axis POWs worked in the fields, replacing American farm boys gone to war. in Newton and McDonald counties. stream
Some fought floods with sandbags. <>/Metadata 855 0 R/ViewerPreferences 856 0 R>>
Not only was racism detrimental to Black servicemen's morale, it also became a Nazi propaganda talking point. Using a secret 60-foot tunnel equipped with lighting and air bellows, 12 German officers slipped away from their barracks and, armed with tissue-paper maps, went separately toward Mexico. Eastern Germany had fallen under Russian control, and as a former Nazi, Gaertner feared he would be sent to a gulag. I dont want to imply that people just accepted what the government did, but the ordinary citizen did realize this was a unique time, Fiedler said. Levin, 31, and Straussberg, 23, resolved to skedaddle. Seriously underwater., Neman: Missouri womans saga of trying to find common sense at Walmart, I can still hear the roaring of the engine, says father of teen maimed in downtown St. Louis. let us know the episode date and topic and contact Alex Heuer
Following World War II, the facilities were taken over by the Veterans Administration with both a hospital and large domiciliary complement. <>
Although the Georgia camp killers were convicted in 1945, Nazi perpetrators, protected by the Convention, usually received minimal or no punishment. 9 0 obj
If there was no one around to work the potato fields or the corn was rotting and the local growers association could secure the labor of 100 POWs to pick them and the sheriff felt fine about it, it was not seen as a great concern. endstream
endobj
CHESTERFIELD Cpl. German and Italian POW Camp during 19421945 housing mostly Africa Corps Officers and Italians enlisted from the Torch Campaign. oW5( A number of prisoners of war did later return as immigrants and about a dozen of those immigrants settled in St. Louis. Other citizens wrote angry letters to the editor and staged protests. UT POW CD. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, 4 killed, 4 critically injured in crash at South Grand Boulevard and Forest Park Avenue, Parents push back on allegations against St. Louis transgender center.