How did reeducation affect the lives of German POWs?
For a small group of these German soldiers, reeducation resulted in significant changes in their lives. From 1943 to 1946, the continental United States saw an influx of POWs from WWII.
How did the German POWs help with the shortage of laborers?
POWs assisted with the shortage of laborers by working on all types of farms. This 1944 article explains that German POWs were brought into Lepanto, Arkansas, by the War Food Administration’s Bureau Office of Labor to pick cotton.
What did the German prisoners of war bring to America?
“They played games with us and brought us candy and gum.” The hearty young men who helped his father pick corn or put up hay or build livestock fences were German prisoners of war from a nearby camp. “They were the enemy, of course,” says Luetchens, now 70 and a retired Methodist minister.
What were POWs allowed to do during the war?
The prisoners were allowed to arrange recreational activities, such as sport games by their own, also some attention was paid to the religious demands of catholic and protestant POW‘s, the largest POW camps had chapels on their territory.
What convention did Germany follow in the treatment of American and British servicemen in POW camps?
Germany in general followed the 1929 Geneva Convention in the treatment of American and British servicemen in POW camps, with little difference to be found in treatment with Americans and British. POW‘s were not to be individually confined, and the food served them should have been equal to that served to German troops.
How many German POW camps were there?
The prisoners were held in some fifty German POW camps, of several types. These included the Stalag (Stammlager, permanent camps for noncommissioned officers and enlisted men), Stalag Luft (Luftwaffestammlager, permanent camps for air force personnel), and Oflag (Offizierslager, permanent officers’ camps). American POWs were found in many of the ...
Why did the British and American peoples provide books to prisoners?
The American and British peoples, through the various agencies which undertook the task of providing POWs with books, made it possible for prisoners to obtain books which were so necessary and useful. It helped the prisoners to occupy their time and keep their mental capacity.
What were the major features of World War II?
One of the significant features of World War II was a great number of prisoners of war (POW‘s) to be kept both by Allies and Axis. The way those prisoners were treated differed greatly dependently on the nation of a prisoner and the country of imprisonment. This paper discusses the treatment of the American prisoners captured on ...
What was the right of British prisoners?
An important right for the British and American prisoners was a right to send and receive mail, although the delivery of mail was very erratic, and a letter or a parcel required several weeks to transit. American and British prisoners’ worst enemy was usually boredom.
What was the right of a prisoner of war?
Every prisoner of war was entitled to adequate food and medical care and had the right to exchange correspondence and receive parcels. He was required to observe ordinary military discipline and courtesy, but he could attempt to escape at his own risk. Once recaptured, he was not to be punished for his attempt.
Where were the Soviet prisoners taken?
The survivors were taken to the concentration camps on the territory of the Soviet Union, Poland and Germany itself. At the later period working with Russian POW‘s became more organized.
The POW camps adhered to the Geneva Conventions
According to Society for Military History, because of its scant experience dealing with POWs, the U.S. chose to follow the edicts of the untried 1929 Geneva Convention.
Hardcore Nazi POWs were a problem
Undoubtedly the biggest source of conflict in the POW camps were the ardent Nazis.
German POWs were put to work
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.
German POWs got unexpected perks
As described in The Washington Post, the War Department, believing that a happy POW was a pliant POW, went above and beyond when it came to POW food, education, and entertainment. Not only did POWs dine well, they took college courses, set up libraries, and formed orchestras and soccer leagues.
German POWs were controversial in local communities
When the first wave of POWs from Germany's elite Afrika Korps arrived in Mexia, Texas, the townspeople were dumbstruck, according to Humanities Texas.
Sometimes POWs escaped
Although the total number of escape attempts from U.S. camps was proportionately low, according to Humanities Texas, some POWs did try. The 1929 Geneva Convention, recognizing that it is the duty of prisoners to attempt escape, contains numerous regulations limiting the severity of punishments for escapees.
The POW that got away
As chronicled by AP, on a September night in 1945, POW Georg Gaertner escaped from New Mexico's Camp Deming by slipping under a fence and hopping a train bound for San Pedro. According to the Coloradoan, Gaertner had decided to escape because he knew that upon his release, he would be repatriated to eastern Germany, where his family lived.
What books have been written about POW camps in the United States?
They include: Buck, Anita. Behind Barbed Wire: German Prisoners of War Camps in Minnesota. St.
Who was the only American woman to fall in love with a German POW?
Edith Rogers wasn’t the only American woman to fall in love with a German POW. Joan McBride, with the help of her husband James McBride, assisted Rudolph Joseph Soelch, a former bodyguard for Hermann Goering, escape from the camp he was being held at in Southern California.
What are some interesting facts about WWII?
Little-Known WWII Facts: German POWs in the U.S. Introduction: Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.”. In this blog article, Gena searches old newspapers to learn about a part of World War II that many people don’t know: there were hundreds of thousands of prisoners of war (POWs) ...
How many German POWs tried to escape?
Over 2,000 German POWs tried to escape while being held in the United States. Most POW escapees were caught fairly quickly – but there were a few who eluded capture for months, years, and in at least one case, decades. Many German POW who escaped didn’t get too far before they were caught or voluntarily surrendered.
How did POWs help the labor shortage?
POWs assisted with the shortage of laborers by working on all types of farms. This 1944 article explains that German POWs were brought into Lepanto, Arkansas, by the War Food Administration’s Bureau Office of Labor to pick cotton. Bellingham Herald (Bellingham, Washington) 3 December 1944, page 8.
How long did it take for the Axis to return to their home country?
January 1946 newspapers announced that former Axis soldiers would be sent back to their home countries in four months. (In reality it took longer.) The newspaper article below explains that later that month Japanese POWs would be sent out of the U.S. mainland but would not go directly home.
When did the repatriation of POWs begin?
Repatriation of POWS after the End of WWII. World War II came to a close with Japan’s surrender on 2 September 1945. Now the work of repatriation of all POWs living in the United States would begin.
What were the facilities that POWs were provided?
POWs were also provided recreational facilities, religious services and hobby and sports equipment, as well as theaters for plays and movies. Musical instruments, books and magazines were also supplied, as was printing equipment for the production of camp newspapers.
Where were the first POW camps in the US?
7, 1941. The first full-scale POW camps in the U.S. opened on Feb. 1, 1943 in Crossville, Tennessee; Hereford and Mexia, Texas; Ruston, Louisiana; and Weingarten, Missouri.
How many POWs were held in the Third Reich?
By VE Day, there were more than 370,000 POWs from the Third Reich being held on American soil. In addition to German facilities, there were camps in the U.S. to house more than 51,000 Italian POWs and 5,000 Japanese prisoners. More POWs were detained by American forces in Europe, the Far East and elsewhere.
How many POWs were in the US ports during WW2?
At the war’s peak, as many as 30,000 POWs were landing in the U.S. ports each month.
How many survivors were there in the Germans?
The 16 survivors were picked up by an American destroyer and, like hundreds of thousands of other German soldiers, sailors and fliers, were placed in a stateside POW camp for the duration of the Second World War. (Image source: WikiCommons)
How were the US prison camps run?
The U.S. camps were run in strict accordance with the terms of the 1929 Geneva Convention. All prisoners were entitled to housing, food, medical care and clothing appropriate to the climate in which they were being held. Each enlisted prisoner was granted space roughly equivalent to that enjoyed by a U.S. Army conscript – while officers enjoyed larger quarters. Many of the captured German generals and admirals, there were 43 in all held in the U.S., were housed in private bungalows in a facility at Camp Clinton, Mississippi.
What was the minimum wage for POWs?
Although much of the work could be back-breaking, the POWs were paid a minimum wage of 80 cents a day (the competitive rate for day labor in the U.S.)
How did Allied POWs survive in WWII?
How Allied POWs Survived German Camps in WWII. During the Second World War, hundreds of thousands of Allied combatants spent time as captives of the Germans. From Polish soldiers captured on the first day of the war to airmen shot down during the last bombing campaigns, they experienced the dubious welcome of prisoner of war (POW) camps.
What was the experience of life in a prison camp?
Cold and Hungry. The overall experience of life in a prison camp was low level, persistent discomfort. This went well beyond the loss of freedom. Chelmno extermination camp did not have direct rail connections. Jews were delivered by train to Koło, then to nearby Powiercie, and in overcrowded lorries to camp.
What were the seats made of at Stalag Luft III?
At Stalag Luft III, theater seats were made from Red Cross boxes and footlight reflectors from biscuit tins. Female impersonators played a prominent part in these productions as well as in improvised tea dances. For a moment, men could pretend that they were back home and that there were still women in their lives.
How many calories did prisoners get in the camp?
Food became a huge preoccupation for prisoners. They were meant to receive 1,900 calories each day, the same as a non-working German civilian, but got something closer to 1,500 calories. Most PoWs lost at least 40 pounds (18 kilograms) in weight. Dreams of food became a major topic of conversation around the camps.
Why were escape operations coordinated?
Escape operations were usually coordinated by a single officer in each camp, to make sure that escapees didn’t get in the way of each other’s plans. Ingenious efforts were made to fake documents, German uniforms, and civilian clothes for escapees, as well as to equip them with escape tools.
Who found the fugitive Jew?
The people he rescued lived on using the stolen papers. Another group of British POWs from Stalag 20B found a fugitive Jew while on a work detail in January 1945. They hid her, fed her, clothed her, and kept her alive until the war swept past and she safely moved on.
Where were the Jews delivered?
Jews were delivered by train to Koło, then to nearby Powiercie, and in overcrowded lorries to camp . They were forced to abandon their bundles along the way. At the manor house in Chełmno, they were compelled to undress for transport to a bath, unaware that it was the final stage of their lives.