During one kangaroo court in Georgia, two pro-Nazi POWs charged an anti-Nazi POW with being an informant and liking American jazz. In the United States, at the end of World War II there were 175 Branch Camps serving 511 Area Camps containing over 425,000 prisoners of war (mostly German). Weingarten was the location of a large prisoner of war camp during WWII. During World War II, more than fifteen thousand German and Italian soldiers came to Missouri. Camp Weingarten, Missouri 2: Camp Weingarten Italian POW Rosters in US: POWs in the US: POW Death Index in US: WWII: UT POW CD: POW Photos in US: POW and ISU Camps and Hospitals in US: Genealogical Research: ISU Units and Installations in US: . 6 & 7, Chesterfield, MO 63017. As all work done by POWs was forced labor, work regulations, including details like job locations and hours, hazards, and pay rates, were a major concern of the 1929 Geneva Convention. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. In the years after the war, McDowell said, her mother kept the cigarette case tucked away in a chest of drawers but since both of her parents have passed, she now believes the historical item should be on display in a museum. oW5( The road is in an area called the POW Camp Recreation Area in the De Soto National Forest. There were originally four main camps in Missouri at Camp Clark, Camp Crowder, Camp Weingarten and Fort Leonard Wood. Five weeks after Germanys surrender, American security had become a bit haphazard. To keep them from accumulating enough cash to bankroll an escape, prisoners were paid in canteen coupons. Glidden (left), commander of Camp Weingarten, looks across part of the 960-acre prisoner-of-war compound in Ste. Photo by Buel White of the Post-Dispatch, The main avenue at Camp Weingarten lined by small barracks buildings in June 1943. Post-Dispatch file photo, A German POW on a boat camp in St. Louis relaxes and reads on his bunk. POWs in the US. This page was last edited on 25 December 2022, at 21:03. Some were transferred to a special camp for Nazi incorrigibles in Oklahoma. In Kansas, for example, some farmers invited their POW workers for meals and allowed them to go hunting or pony riding unattended. Army Col. H.H. CHESTERFIELD Cpl. Sixteen of the men were killed or died as a result of an accident on 31 October 1945. Now called Dennis Whiles, Gaertner told Jean he had been raised in an orphanage, thus eliminating any questions about his family. {{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. As the NKPA retreated farther north, they were forced to evacuate their prisoners with them. My uncle then gave the cigarette case as a gift to my father, who was living in Jefferson City at the time and working as superintendent of the tobacco factory inside the Missouri State Penitentiary, stated McDowell. With Glidden is Lt. Lawrence Ponetretti, an Army interpreter. Photo by Buel White of the Post-Dispatch, The chow line on a boat camp at St. Louis in 1945. German prisoners of war were held here during WWII. Genevieve Camp Crowder near Neosha Camp Clark near Nevada Attached to these main camps were branch camps to which they sent prisoners. 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." Straussberg fled into the woods, but he didnt get far. 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. Sub camps:Camp Pine, Camp Thornton and Camp Skokie Valley, each with 200 POWs. With a weekly newsletter looking back at local history. In a memorable encounter, a little girl would leave her bicycle in a certain place every night only to find it moved in the morning. <> When Levin and Straussberg fled Hellwig farm on June 16, 1945, they were among roughly 100 German POWs who lived there. Labor unions, however, regarded them as competition for returning U.S. forces and demanded their expulsion. Many of the camps where they were held have faded into distant memory as little evidence remains of their existence; however, one local resident has a relic from a former POW camp that provides an enduring connection to the service of a departed relative. 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. Despite their careful planning, 10 were captured within days, far from the border. 7 0 obj 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. 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. Missouri had four POW camps,. This movements became known as the "Tiger Death March," so called for the brutal treatment that the prisoners . As noted by Time, until 1948, the U.S. military was, like much of America, a segregated institution. Located between Olympia and Tacoma, Washington. After completing his initial training, he was designated as infantry and became a clerk with the 201st Infantry Regiment. 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. No Japanese prisoners were interned in Missouri. First attempted escape by two German POWs on 5 November 1942. A few continued into the early 1970s in Las Animas County where Trinidad is located. 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. Union leaders protested the use of POWs at a quarry near Pevely. Copyright 2023, News Tribune Publishing. 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. In Missouri alone there were 4 main base camps. 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. By 1943, Arkansas had received the first of 23,000 German and Italian prisoners of war, who would live and work at military installations and branch camps throughout the state. Two were caught by an El Paso railroad detective just before reaching the border. Glidden (left), commander of Camp Weingarten, looks across part of the 960-acre prisoner-of-war compound in Ste. 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. *wh};yeErfRV8n#z Around Geneseo. The last German POWs didnt head home until 1946. Photo by Jack Gould of the Post-Dispatch, Two Italian POWs hang out their laundry at Camp Weingarten in June 1943. Sited on the abandoned Civilian Conservation Corps camp about 1.6 miles east of the Stark Covered Bridge in Stark, Coos County. 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. 3 0 obj [2][3][4][5][6], At its peak in May 1945, a total of 425,871 POWs were held in the US. With a weekly newsletter looking back at local history. Prisoners worked on local farms. German and Italian POW Camp during 19421945 housing mostly Africa Corps Officers and Italians enlisted from the Torch Campaign. 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 Officers Club. In Southern POW camps, some facilities were segregated by race, and Black servicemen were given the worst jobs. Following World War II, the facilities were taken over by the Veterans Administration with both a hospital and large domiciliary complement. From the Stars to the Steamers, from the Billikens to the World Cup, St. Louis has a storied soccer tradition. endobj This report was prepared with help from our Public Insight Network. To request a transcript for St. Louis on the Air, 5 0 obj Attached to these main camps were branch camps to which they sent prisoners. The farmer did not want to respond by letter but his daughter did, which would eventually result in a marriage. Detention records maintained by Sesenna show he departed Canada on December 3, 1942, and was with the first group of Italian POWs to arrive at Camp Clark near Nevada, Missouri, nine days later. Fort Crowder was a U.S. Army post located in Newton and McDonald counties in southwest Missouri, constructed and used during World War II. Post-Dispatch file photo, Three Italian POWs paint and draw during free time at Camp Weingarten in June 1943. Located 14 miles (23km) SE of Roswell. It is a beautifully crafted cigarette case, but the irony of it all is that my father never smoked, she jokingly added. at aheuer@stlpr.org. Post-Dispatch photo, German POWs on a "boat camp" in the St. Louis area play chess and relax on the deck in 1945. 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. 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. 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. Genevieve and Farmington, Missouri, (Camp Weingarten) had no pre-war existence, wrote Fiedler. Over time, the POWs not only proved themselves capable workers troublemaking Nazis aside they also earned the trust and admiration of many of their private employers. Carl Reiner was stationed at Camp Crowder in the 1940s and when he created the 1960s-era The Dick Van Dyke Show, he made the post the setting where Rob and Laura Petrie, portrayed by actors Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore, met; Rob was a sergeant in Special Services and Laura was a USO dancer. Used a railroad box car. The camp was just east of the village of Weingarten, on Missouri Highway 32, west of Ste. Army Col. H.H. Genevieve County. POWs mounted theatrical productions and played concerts. About 2,600 German POWs were held there during World War II.. Sent to a camp in Colorado, he asked for and was granted a transfer to Crossville. The elder Hennes was captured by Americans in Europe in the fall of 1944. During one of my uncles visits back to Alton, he asked his mother for an aluminum pie pan, said McDowell. ", When the first wave of POWs from Germany's elite Afrika Korps arrived in Mexia, Texas, the townspeople were dumbstruck, according toHumanities Texas. In the United States at the end of World War II, there were prisoner-of-war camps, including 175 Branch Camps serving 511 Area Camps containing over 425,000 prisoners of war (mostly German). A walled patio and fireplace with masks of Comedy and Tragedy were built near the theater and are still landmarks on the university campus. POW Photos in US. 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. Copyright 2017 Vernon County Historical Society - All Rights Reserved. Pfc. Approximately 1,000 Japanese Americans were kept there, under tight security, behind multiple layers of barbed wire fence. Helmuth Levin and Private Rudolf Straussberg left notes of explanation on their bunks. When a group of female columnists informed Eleanor Roosevelt about the situation, she vowed to investigate and take action. He then took it back to camp with him and thats when he gave it to one of the Italian POWs.. The camp buildings are preserved in. A fairly, easy cooperative relationship grew up over time to the point friendships existed, to be sure.. Educational programs were varied. The Enemy Among Us: POWs in Missouri During World War II. To disguise its purpose, The Factory POW staff interspersed pro-democracy tracts with fiction and other entertaining fare. Jeremy P. Amick writes on behalf of the Silver Star Families of America. There is even a replica of a WWII barracks, complete with bunk, uniforms, and picture of pinup girlHedy Lamarron the wall above. Shelf Location . {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}. Trichloroethylene contamination in soils and groundwater has been documented at the site and may include off-site contamination in a number of private wells. As noted in Humanities Texas, the first big batch of POWs arrived in the spring of 1943 following the surrender of Germany's Afrika Korps. Wxi7Enw{)}$yIOJ }E>kZkz6v;_c-dPc=lJeVP 2d}$uDOZeWEB{WHV>'HXDkX9F$j#h"6&U&Y{@G;hdGtDIWbRTo(BaA`cEln!PjYYN0S UJW)G)E*}!2HfK?8`P Prisoners of War were not confined solely to the upkeep of their own numbers: many were put to work in the service of U.S. military operations at the camps themselves. According to American Reeducation of German POWs, 1943-1946, in 1944, as Allied victory appeared imminent, U.S. officials began to plan for a post-war Germany. aka: POW Camps (World War II) During World War II, the United States established many prisoner of war (POW) camps on its soil for the first time since the Civil War. Justifiably, much has been written about America's World War II Japanese internment camps and the systemic racism that spawned them. Post-Dispatch file photo, Three Italian POWs paint and draw during free time at Camp Weingarten in June 1943. endobj Thats why I want to tell the story of its creation its history, so that its association to Camp Weingarten is never forgotten., Jeremy Amick is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE. Early on, however, that wasnt always the case. Others were confined in small outposts such as Hellwig Brothers Farm, near U.S. Highway 40 on the Missouri River bottomland then known as Gumbo Flats. A number of prisoners of war did later return as immigrants and about a dozen of those immigrants settled in St. Louis. This included 371,683 Germans, 50,273 Italians, and 3,915 Japanese. President Harry Truman ordered them sent back to Europe "to whichever country wanted them. In the mid-1980s, the remaining parcels of the former post were transferred to the Missouri Department of Conservation for wildlife management and outdoor recreation, the Neosho R-5 public school district for agriculture instructional farm, and the Missouri National Guard to operate a military training facility under license from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on 4,358.09 acres (18km2). "My uncle then gave the cigarette case as a gift to my father, who was living in Jefferson City at the time and working as superintendent of the tobacco factory inside the Missouri State Penitentiary," McDowell stated. mi. Eventually, every state (with the exceptions of Nevada, North Dakota, and Vermont) had at least one POW camp. 600 German POWs were interned in the Schwartz Ballroom from October 1944 to January 1946. 3 POW compounds, 2 Enlisted, 1 Officer, Hospital Compound, American Compound. 339-351. In 1942, the camp was reopened as a prisoner-of-war camp to house Italian and German prisoners. The POWs were required to watch the film during an assembly in June 1945, one month after Germany surrendered. Cole Camp: June 19, 1861 Benton County: American Civil War Benton County Home Guard-600, Missouri State Guard-300 43 KIA, 85 WIA, 25 POW United States vs. Missouri (Confederate) Confederate victory Carthage: July 5, 1861 Near Carthage: American Civil War Union-1,100, Missouri State Guard-6,000 244 United States vs. Missouri (Confederate) In New England, they harvested peas, cabbage, and apples. #"8_Bh ?hpUZ) The foundational objectives of the Convention were to "prevent indignities against enemy soldiers" and to ensure that, through the humanitarian treatment of enemy soldiers, American POWs would be equally protected when held by enemy nations. About 2,600 German POWs were held there during World War II. Camp Weingarten quickly grew into a sprawling facility to house Italian POWs brought to the United States and, explained Jefferson City resident Carolyn McDowell, was the site where one of her uncles spent his entire period of service with the U.S. Army in World War II. 300 German POWs were interned at the Fond du Lac County Fairgrounds from June to August 1944 while they harvested peas on local farms and worked in canneries. Although the total number of escape attempts from U.S. camps was proportionately low, according to Humanities Texas, some POWs did try. Originally it was to serve as an armor training center. Other citizens wrote angry letters to the editor and staged protests. Held German POWs. 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. 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. While still adhering to the Convention, the POW camps supplied local industries and businesses with laborers. [1] Approximately 90% of Italian POWs pledged to help the United States, by volunteering in Italian Service Units (ISU). Jean Shepherd featured many stories of his time at Camp Crowder in various monologues. <>/Metadata 855 0 R/ViewerPreferences 856 0 R>> 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. Arcadia Publishing. 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. POW and ISU Camps and Hospitals in US. Camp Scott held more than 600 German POWs from the Afrika Korps from late 1944 until the camp closed in November 1945. Many St. Louisans were outraged when the program made most . It held soldiers and officers of the Italian army captured in the Allied Mediterranean campaigns during World War II. 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. <>/F 4/A<>>> Beginning as a reception center for newly inducted draftees and enlistments who were issued the initial uniform clothing allowance and transferred to other army posts for initial testing and subsequent assignment to a basic training command. The Bushwhacker military exhibit honors those Vernon County citizens who have served in armed conflicts, and especially those who have given their lives in service to their country. POWs who were a part of the ISU received better housing, uniforms and pay. xwcy[9R^Z hF/!\Zf7!%% After completing his initial training, he was designated as infantry and became a clerk with the 201st Infantry Regiment. They were: Fort Leonard Wood Camp Weingarten near Ste. <> 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. About 15,000 of them were sent to 30 camps scattered across Missouri. Most of these POWs were transferred from Camp Roswell, which was a base or main POW camp for New Mexico. Unfortunately, while the U.S. generally honored the Convention, neither Japan, which never signed the agreement, nor Germany, which chose to ignore it, did. 6U z*&`873 hkg7*I|dx^EY?IF$zwUJH!/V>H>is&n /t; Romantic relationships remained off limits and strictly forbidden, Fiedler said. Camp Weingarten, Missouri. When labor shortages due to enlistment hit the American economy, however, the War Department rethought its strategy and greatly expanded POW labor. POW Camp Road is a typical graded gravel road in the Gulf Coastal Plains of southern Mississippi. Shortly after Taylor received assignment to Camp Weingarten, Italian prisoners of war began to arrive at the camp in May 1943. Located where the present day Cleburne Conference center is located in the 1500 block of West Henderson(business HWY 67), Housed German POWs from the Afrika Korps after their defeat in North Africa. American commanders dismissed his report as hysterical. The United States had officially entered World War II. Capacity for 4800 at main camp. POW Fritz Ensslin noted in a letter (via The Fallen Foe) that at his Missouri camp a "cabaret theater and even a dance group consisting of 12 'girls' trained by a ballet master" gave performances that were regularly attended by American officers. The main camps supported a number of branch camps, which were used to put POWs where their labor could be best utilized. stream Gaertner finally confessed, and Jean, determined he should turn himself in, began researching the POW camps. A year later, the American government auctioned the buildings and fixtures, including 52 floodlights, at Camp Weingarten. This was a local story. Two German POWs watch the film of Nazi atrocities during a mandatory assembly at their camp at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. Other POWs were transported to work on farms and canneries in neighboring communities. 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. In 1946, the post was deactivated and placed in a caretaker status. 1"\B^*:lr])BuHmdk[52`l5rJiBv* y'q$ag`CFrZs@[e|jB 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.. It was noted many of the Italians were "semi-emaciated" when arriving in the United States because of a poor diet. About 15,000 German and Italian prisoners of war were confined in Missouri, and a few tried to escape. According to Smithsonian Magazine, in 1942, as Great Britain was running out of places to hold Axis prisoners, the U.S. began work on creating its own network of POW camps. Had program to instill democratic values in Germans based on newspaper. {/[I:{ tBcn{ FG}{ After the war it became a men's dormitory for. Earlier that evening, a English-speaking fellow prisoner heard an American radio broadcast suggesting that German POWs be dispatched to the uncertain care of the Soviet army. As a result, their supervision relaxed, sometimes to the point of being unguarded and unwatched. 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. Not only did POWs dine well, they took college courses, set up libraries, and formed orchestras and soccer leagues. When returning to camp, one of the POWs with whom Taylor had established a friendship was given the pie pan and used it to demonstrate his abilities as an artist and craftsman by fashioning it into a cigarette case. Similar scenes played out across rural America, but over time, as noted in The Washington Post, many of these small communities adjusted to the POW presence. Camp Albuquerque was an American World War II POW camp in Albuquerque, New Mexico that housed Italian and German prisoners of war. Some fought floods with sandbags. Levin, 31, and Straussberg, 23, resolved to skedaddle. Chesterfield Ex Satellite Pow Camp is a superfund site located at T 45 N, R 4 E, Sect. From this branch camp, the POWs did mostly farm labor, from 1943 to 1946. The camp, located south of Neosho, Missouri, was established in 1941. Many of the camps where they were held have faded into distant memory as little evidence remains of their existence; however, one local resident has a relic from a former POW camp that provides an enduring connection to the service of a departed relative. From July to December 1945, 450 German POWs were housed in the Sheboygan County Asylum, which was built in 1878 and abandoned in 1940 when a new facility was completed. In one incident, Black servicemen were barred from entering a restaurant at a Texas train station while POWs were invited inside to dine with their white captors. 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. As Fiedler put it: Who wanted to rush back into the war? The POW Camps in Missouri during World War II included: Clark (Camp), Nevada, Vernon County, MO (base camp) Crowder (Camp Enoch), Neosho, Newton County, MO (base camp) Weingarten (Camp), Sainte Genevieve County, MO (base camp) Wood (Fort Leonard), Pulaski County, Missouri (base camp) Enemy alien internment camp: In Chesterfield Valley, Fiedler said, there are stories of farmers getting to know the prisoners of war and inviting them in for lunch. Italian POW Rosters in US. In the United States at the end of World War II, there were prisoner-of-war camps, including 175 Branch Camps serving 511 Area Camps containing over 425,000 prisoners of war (mostly German). 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. Following World War II, the facilities became the. This was no invasionary force; rather these were prisoners of war, part of a flood of almost a half-million men captured and sent to the United States, held here until the end of the war. Also housed several hundred German POWs who worked in nearby agricultural farms. Facilities now serve as an adjunct to the state's mental health program. Area Camp with 9 Branch Camps. e-mail As author David Fiedler explains 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. Access Conditions . The complex, serviced by a spur of the Kansas City Southern Railroad, included a main manufacturing facility, an engine testing area (ETA) for the live fire testing of rocket engines, a component testing area (CTA), and a former Camp Crowder warehouse, Building 900, as a warehouse and later engine overhaul and manufacturing. Returning to Germany would just be going from a Nazi dictatorship to a Russian dictatorship, Levin wrote in German. Originally CCC Camp Lakewood built in 1936, Housed 3,500 Italians and later 10,000 Germans, Formerly the county courthouse, is now the headquarters of the. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. It was an enormous and complex task, but over the next three years, the War Department succeeded in housing more than 400,000 POWs in some 500 camps.