prisoner of war camps in louisiana

In May, WWI Medal of Honor recipientand veteran of the 82nd, Sergeant Alvin C. York addressed the 82nd at their first assembly at Camp Claiborne. Yes! Joe Eckert told me that "when the war ended, the U.S. Army put a Jewish captain in charge of our camp. Behind Barbed Wire: German Prisoner of War Camps in Minnesota. James Company under the supervision of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on 770 acres (3.1km2) about seven miles (11km) west of Ruston, Louisiana in 1942. by Kelby Ouchley Louisiana Tech University Special Collections. According to interviews conducted by Vincent Spione, Pfaff was allowed to stay in the US, gain citizenship and flourished in business until he died in the early 2000s. Sonya Glass donated the Herbert Sobiella items. Gelpi, Paul D., Jr. Piney Hills Stalag: The Internment of Axis Prisoners of War in Camp Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana History 50 (Summer 2009): 34130. The US agreed to send these POWs back to Russia and eventually transferred them from Camp Ruston to Camp Dix in NJ for their trip home. Only 34 prisoners escaped and remained free for over 24 hours, and only one was never recaptured. Until the first prisoners arrived in August 1943, the camp served as headquarters of the Fifth Womens Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) Training Center. (Sample copy), Interview: notes from interview with James Strubb, April 10, 1981 in Franklin, LA. Hennes was a German officer who was captured in North Africa on May 13, 1943. 2, shotgun Ch. There is a marker to the former entrance, and signs illustrating where camp buildings stood dot the trails and roads throughout the forest, reminding visitors of what once was. "The prisoners picked up my rifle and woke me up before I got into trouble," he said. Just north of Forest Hill is Kisatchie National Forest. document.documentElement.scrollTop = 0; The whole facility was fenced in with barbed wire and guard towers. Approximately 2,000 WACs trained at the camp over three and one half months. Were there ever POWs in south Louisiana? Camp Ruston had no happy ending for the former owners of the camps property. Major POW camps across the United States as of June 1944. Next, we suggest that you contact state and local archives, museums, libraries, and/or historical societies like the Louisiana State Archives, the Louisiana Historical Society, The Regional Military Museum in Houma, or the Terrebonne Parish Library for additional assistance. The Camp Ruston Collection, Louisiana Tech University Special Collections. Undergraduate Showcase A POW issued uniform was donated by a former POW to the Camp Ruston Foundation and is now located in the archives. Across the United States hundreds of thousands of able-bodied POWs made significant contributions to the Allied war effort in the form of labor. The majority of German POWs were neither professional soldiers nor advocates for Hitler or his war. Ludwig Staudinger, Jr. was born in Germany in 1921. Had they been allowed to write home, they could have alerted German intelligence to the capturedcode books. Early arrivals to Camp Claiborne were housed in buildings that were wooden floored with canvas tops. [2] Most of the buildings are decaying and collapsing, except for one, which has already been reconstructed and preserved by the Department of Homeland Security. Plans for the internment of enemy aliens that may have also included internees of German and Italian ancestries never developed and the need for additional enemy alien internment camps were abandoned. Because few German prisoners of war in the United States as yet existed, the camp served first as a training center for the Women's Army Corps. POW Camps in Louisiana Based on a Spione interview, the guard remembered that Charly had told him that he needed to return to Germany in order to take care of his mother, whom he feared would fall into Russian hands. A Luftwaffe prisoner stated that while the camp was tough, compared to German standards it was like a vacation. During World War II, Allied commanders sent more than twenty thousand prisoners of war to camps in Louisiana. Sakamaki was captured after abandoning his boat when it struck coral reefs and sank. Although these are primarily textual records, there may be some photographs interfiled with the other documents in these or similar series in Record Group 389. All Rights Reserved. This article is part of an ongoing series commemorating the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II made possible byBank of America. A major motion picture of the same name was under production and was scheduled for release in Fall 2009. [1] Development After the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941, distrust towards Western Europe and Japan began to increase. The F.B.I. These smaller camps were located near rice, sugar cane and cotton fields. Staudinger was captured by the English and eventually, this naturalized American, fighting for his mother country found himself a German POW in his naturalized country. Books from the camp library, drawings made by prisoners, wood carvings and other artwork and furniture crafted by the prisoners. continued to search for him for many years. Camp Ruston was built by the local T.L. Fish Out of Water: Nazi Submariners as Prisoners in North Louisiana During World War II. Satellite camps were smaller versions of the base camps. Spione shared these declassified documents with the curator of the museum's U-505 exhibit. Cloud, MN: North Star Press, 1998. Some prisoners even took correspondence courses from major American universities. Entrance to Camp Swift in Camp Swift, Texas in August 1944, during World War II. By Matt Schott and Rosalind Foley, 1981, History of Prisoner of War Utilization by the United States Army, 1776-1945. You may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgment as well as a substantive response to your reference request. Mechanics rebuilt vehicles. The expansive camp included open fields for calisthenics and field drills. 2023 University of Louisiana at Lafayette. In October 1943 the camp reached its peak occupation with 4,315 prisoners. The most famous POW escape was at Pago Pago Park near Phoenix, Ariz. For months, the prisoners, mostly submariners, dug a 178-foot tunnel through rock and dirt. That painting still bangs in Carroll Rhodes' business, Houma Realty. 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). Army physicians supervised health care often assisted by contracted local physicians and POW doctors and dentists. Sort by: Knox, R.S. [citation needed] As of 2007[update] only two dilapidated buildings remain, and rough outlines on the ground of others.[2]. . Louisiana industry supplied the Allied war machine with vital materials such as oil, synthetic rubber, and ships of all sizes. His body was exhumed and returned to Germany after the war. POW Camps in the USA - GenTracer WWII POW Camps in the United States - Fold3 HQFold3 HQ Claire Bettag 6 months ago There were at least two POW camps (mainly or all German) in Houma (Terrebonne Parish) Louisiana during World War II. James & Company, a local contractor, built the camp in 1942 on a standardized plan, featuring rows of tar paper-covered housing units for prisoners. At the outbreak of World War II, Camp Ruston, which would become one of the largest prisoner-of-war (POW) camps in the United States, opened in North Louisiana. Accessibility Statement, InnovateUNO 2016 Oral/Film Presentation Winners. Showing 47,524 results . He had been removed from the rest of the U-234 crew who were sent to Papago Park AZ while Pfaff was sent to Camp Ruston. Wartime film star Patsy Kelly's most defiant act was being an openly gay woman in an inhospitable climate for the LGBTQIA+ community. During their incarceration in Camp Ruston, the prisoners benefited from food, medical care, and physical surroundings which were better than what their countrymen were experiencing at home. document.body.scrollTop = 0; One of the POW compounds, located in the far northwestern part of the camp was designated for POW officers. The crew of a German U-Boat became prisoners in a North Louisiana prisoner of war camp, held in secret to protect Allied intelligence. He was interned at Camp Ruston for part of his POW experience. Spione and Stollenwerk had met in the summer of 1980 while Stollenwerk visited the grounds of the former camp. This list of Prisoner of War Camps, Italian Service Unit Camps, and Prisoner of War Hospitals is based on weekly reports located on NARA microfilm #66-538 (population lists June 1942-June 1946). They had access to books from nearby Louisiana Polytechnic Institute (now Louisiana Tech University). These camps include Camp Polk, Camp Livingston, Camp Plauche, Camp Ruston and Camp Claiborne. Stollenwork's art had been given to the accountant as he left Camp Ruston. NO_Camp_Plauche - Old New Orleans Pfaff, who was a trained engineer and spoke English, was able to help the Americans locate the Uranium which was hidden in a false wall surrounding the conning tower of the sub. Records indicate that one American was kept as a POW at Camp Ruston. In April 1943, the first 500 recruits arrived for basic training, forming the 42nd Women's Army Auxiliary Corps Regiment. Today, there is virtually no physical evidence to indicate that Camp Plauche, or its side camps, ever existed. Arnold Krammer was professor of history at Texas A&M University, specializing in modern European and German history. Morning exercise at Camp Claiborne. Starting with the first shipment that arrived in July 1943, over 20,000 prisoners of war were distributed throughout Louisiana during the war with most of them being housed in "side camps." (You can unsubscribe anytime). Others came back for camp reunions in Louisiana and elsewhere, an indication of their memorable days in an historic era. During World War II, roughly 280,000 men and women from Louisiana served in the armed forces. Those who learned how to log and process timber went on to serve in Europe and the Pacific, often assisting in building roads. The POW officer compound was separated from that of the enlisted men. The last prisoners left Camp Ruston on 3 February 1946 for repatriation to their native countries, and the camp was closed in June 1946. POWs were given the opportunity to practice their religious traditions in most cases. The Special Collections Department at Louisiana Tech University contains documents and artifacts related to Camp Ruston, and the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, where the captured U-505 is displayed, also has records related to the crew and their internment in North Louisiana. T.L. In 1942, 770 acres west of town were purchased to build a prisoner of war camp. They were paid in scrip which they could use in the camp canteen. Anyone having information to share on the subject can contact him at 872-2843. Former German soldier recalls life at Crossville POW camp All suggestions welcome. Few people are familiar with local POW camps, and even fewer are able to recall having enemy soldiers in their hometowns. The POWS created art and practiced hobbies like woodworking. It currently serves as a U.S. Border Patrol station. Correspondence: Allen J. Ellender (U.S. Senate) - incoming/outgoing, 1943, Allen J. Ellender (U.S. Senate) - incoming/outgoing, 1943: Sept/Oct, Allen J. Ellender (U.S. Senate) - incoming/outgoing, 1944, Allen J. Ellender (U.S. Senate) - incoming/outgoing, 1945, Allen J. Ellender (U.S. Senate) - incoming/outgoing, 1946, Telegram: Allen J. Ellender (U.S. Senate) - incoming/outgoing, 1944-1946, Contract of employment of POWs, 1944-1945, Daily Time and Costs Sheets for employments of POWs, 1944-1945, General Records: Population lists of POWs in Louisiana Camps, 1944-1945, Prisoner of War, Circular No.1, War Department, September 24, 1943, Prisoner of War, Circular No.5, War Department, November 2, 1943, Prisoner of War, Leaving/Arriving (Camps), 1943-1944, Prisoner of War, Annual Reports, Acadian Parish, 1944, Prisoner of War, Escape Report, December 6, 1943, Prisoner of War, Escape Report, April - September 1944, Prisoner of War, Escape Report, December 8, 1945, Bayou Stalags: German Prisoner of War in Louisiana. Almost 20 countries in Latin America assisted in capturing approximately 5,000 Germans who fled to their countries; however, many of the detainees were innocent. Among those to achieve notoriety after the war were: Heinz Lettau - Luftwaffe [Air Force] major during the war, Lettau emigrated to the U.S. and became one of America's preeminent meteorologists and a professor of physics at the University of Wisconsin. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience. by Kelby Ouchley Louisiana Tech University, Prescott Memorial Library Special Collections Portrait of POWs, ca. ]]> Spione petitioned the committee to waive this requirement for fear that the buildings would be dismantled and was successful in convincing the committee to approve the building and site for inclusion into the NHR. Confederate Prisoner of War Camps Spione informed Stollenwerk of this find, sent him copies of the drawing just days prior to Stollenwerk's death. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2006. Many POWs avoided idle time by enrolling in available classes, including languages, music, art, business, math, and science. Everything changed - less food, less freedom, less coal for the stove in the barracks. Starting with the first shipment that arrived in July 1943, over 20,000 prisoners of war were distributed throughout Louisiana during the war with most of them being housed in "side. By 1946, the army had no further use for Camp Claiborne. Where can I find photographs of Prisoner of War camps in Louisiana During World War II, Camp Livingston served as an infantry replacement training center, as well as a garrison for infantry divisions. Contrary to some beliefs, only a few POWs remained in the US. The camp included complete sewer and electrical amenities as well as natural gas, at a total construction cost of $14,000,000 (that would be more than $255,000,000 today.) As their numbers continued to increase, the army found itself in dire need of additional camps and large areas suitable for military maneuvers. Guadalcanal photographs and memorabilia. Music was popular in the camp and resulted in a POW orchestra, band, and choirs. The oral interview records are now located in the LA. That escape ended with all 25 escapees being returned to camp no place to go! It soon became evident that Camp Ruston's usage plan would change due to the unexpected number of POWs being housed in Europe needing to be transferred. oral Notes: Rosalind Foley, including typescript of information about POWs at various camps, n.d. Camp Claiborne, individuals mostly unidentified, Camp Livingston, individuals mostly unidentified, Camp Plauche, individuals mostly unidentified, Camp Polk, individuals mostly unidentified, Camp Ruston, individuals mostly unidentified, Hager, 1984, group photos, individuals mostly unidentified. For an analysis of the U.S. Army in North Africa, see Rick Atkinson, An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943 (New York, The most important prisoners included the crew of the German submarine U-505. However, on May 14,1945, 7 days after the German surrender, the U-234 chose to surrender to the US Navy. Camp Ruston was one of the largest prisoner-of-war camps in the United States during World War II, with 4,315 prisoners at its peak in October 1943. By the end of the year, they were allowed to leave the camps but could not return to their home countries because the war had not yet ended. In 1944 one group helped sandbag the overflowing Red River. Regardless of their POW status, all the men were still considered soldiers. All rights reserved. Poetter Wilhelm which includes a certificate of achievement for completing a course in Conversational English for POWs. Another story still heard today has the POWs going on dates with American girls - "not true," says everyone interviewed including ex-POWs in Germany, U.S. Army guards and townsfolk in the various cities named before. The men were even denied visits from the International Red Cross in order to keep the Germans from learning that their secret codes had been compromised. Over 20,000 of these men, mostly members of Germany's famed Afrika Korps, ended up in prisoner-of-war camps in Louisiana. War production was crucial for an Allied victory, but what happened when labor strikes challenged the arsenal of democracy? Mark Scalia later recounts the capture of the U-234 in his book, Germany's Last Mission to Japan. - Military Records Forum - Military Records - History Hub Where can I find photographs of Prisoner of War camps in Louisiana? From the Digital Commonwealth, Massachusetts Collections Online, Boston Public Library, The Tichnor Brothers Collection. And the inspectors would go out and look for diseases on board the vessels and all for quarantine purposes. The boarding party from Pillsburyon deck working to secure U-505. and eventually made his way to neutral Mexico where he spent several months. By George G. Lewis and John Mewha, Department of the Army, June 1955, News Clippings (Germany) November 19, 1984, Die deutschen Kriegsgefangenen in amerikanischer Hand USL by von Hermann Jung, Munchen 1972, The memoirs of Herbert Kuhnle: First Impressions as a Prisoner of War in South Louisiana During World War II. Initially, American POWs were once again kept in prison ships until 1813, when they were taken to England and held in prisons, such as the infamous Dartmoor. They were not allowed to write their families. Despite the requirements outlined in the Geneva Convention which allowed prisoners to write home and receive care from the Red Cross, the crew of U-505 was held in secret, and their names were withheld from the Red Cross. POWs in Louisiana were an important part of that force. In 1997, Staff Sergeant Ruben Rivers was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for action in France in November 1944. There were over 30 military installations in the state, in addition to more than 40 prisoner of war camps. Decades after their incarceration at Camp Ruston, former POWs would recall their lives in the North Louisiana hill country and commonly remark that their experiences led them to support a postwar democratic government in their own countries. Two of the camps original buildings remain and were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. One of the most notable groups of POWs comprised the crew of the German submarineU-505. The flag was kept by Roberts for many years but was misplaced before it could be saved for the archives. From the Digital Commonwealth, Massachusetts Collections Online, Boston Public Library, The Tichnor Brothers Collection. The crew was brought to the United States and put into an isolated section in a prisoner of war camp. Several news stories of POW's visiting the site were produced by CBS news as well as international documentaries produced by South German Television and Austrian TV. A tall wire fence punctuated by guard towers surrounded the entire camp. Base map courtesy of openstreet maps. One has only to look back at the media, war movies and propaganda to realize how teen-agers were led to regard the "Nazi Monsters." Example: Yes, I would like to receive emails from 64 Parishes. oners of War: The History of Camp Ruston, Louisiana, 1942-1946" (M.A. Aircraft launched from Guadalcanalsighted the boat and fired on it. Records and news accounts indicate that the Russians rioted and started fires in their barracks at Camp Dix to protest. By the summer of 1944, the tide had turned in the Battle of the Atlantic. The 505s commanding officer, Oberleutnant Harald Lange, was wounded in the barrage of bullets and believed his boat to be fatally damaged. There were at least two POW camps (mainly or all German) in Houma (Terrebonne Parish) Louisiana during World War II. There were several occasions where POWs were photographed posing in their national uniform for Christmas cards and funerals, but these occasions were very rare at Camp Ruston. On December 13, 1991, the camp's remaining buildings were placed on the National Register of Historic Places, by the state of Louisiana. After the vessel and its code book were captured near Cape Verde in the Atlantic Ocean on June 4, 1944, the crew was placed in isolation at Camp Ruston. He managed to escape from one of Camp Ruston's branch camp at Bastrop La. But the fight wasnt over. German escape attempts from POW camps were less frequent than attempts by captured Allied prisoners in Europe. [6], For a short history of Camp Ruston, see Fish Out of Water: Nazi Submariners as Prisoners of War in North Louisiana During World War II, by Wesley Harris.[7]. The U-234 was on a mission to deliver secret weapons and plans to the Japanese who were still at war with the US. The 505 was dried out by a creative salvage party that disconnected the boats engines from the motors, allowing the shafts to turn while the boat was towed which charged the batteries. function topFunction() { POW letters, diaries, and postwar interviews reveal that most were generally satisfied with their condition in the camps. } A work party from the camp working on harvesting timber. After first checking the boat was empty, the boarding party began closing valves and plugging leaks to stem the flow of water, disconnecting demolition charges, and gathering up vital documents such as maps and code books. Camp Plauche, one of four POW base camps in Louisiana, operated out of Harahan and was home to more than 3,000 of these POWs, with regional side camps housing an additional 1,400 men. Shea, William L., and Merrill R. Pritchett. What a shock the families of the crew of U-505 must have gotten. WWII Prisoner Of War Camps Louisiana, Pike County, MO . The five Louisiana base camps were Camp Ruston (Lincoln Parish), Camp Claiborne (Rapides Parish), Camp Livingston (Rapides and Grant Parishes), Camp Polk (Vernon Parish), and Camp Plauche (Orleans Parish). Herbert Sobiella which includes certificate of achievement and photographs, 1944, 1946, n.d. In the early part of the war, several notable divisions were either activated or reactivated at Camp Claiborne. The music from bands and choirs filled the air. It's, of course, impossible to make a statement about nearly 500,000 prisoners in virtually every state in the United States and be certain. Construction on Camp Claiborne, named after the first governor of Louisiana, William C.C. Description Companies of German soldiers first invaded Louisiana on July 9th 1943" (Bayou Stalags, Foley and Schott 1981:1). > Baseball, basketball, tennis, boxing, and especially soccer were favorite sports. Following the Louisiana Maneuvers in 1940, part of the forest was given to the Department of War to create three new camps for the army: Claiborne, Livingston, and Polk (later Fort Polk.) Competent instructors from within their own ranks taught secondary school and college-level classes in languages (including English, French, and Arabic), math, business, chemistry, physics, history, geography, and art. Chatelainlaunched depth charges, set for shallow detonations. [5], Due to the lack of coverage of the historical facility, many residents of the area are unaware of its history as an internment camp for Europeans trying to escape imprisonment during WWII. List of World War II Prisoner-of-war Camps in The United States Under his command, the 82nd Infantry Division was reconstituted as the US Armys first Airborne Division in August 1942. Many built furniture, but also popular was the construction of miniatures of famous German landmarks, including this one of the Vlkerschlachtdenkmal (Monument to the Battle of the Nations) in Leipzig which commemorates Napoleons defeat there. As the camp was completed, the wood and canvas living facilities were replaced with all-wood hutments. The Russian POWs, who fought against Russia as German soldiers, knew their fate if they were to return. Americas first Japanese POW, Kazuo Sakamaki, arrived at Camp Livingston in 1942. Kali Martin earned a bachelor's degree in International Studies and German at the University of Miami and a master's degree in Mili Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, Madlyn and Paul Hilliard Research Library, 1936, a Year for the Worker: Labor Action and the Reelection of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Human Rights of Persons with Schizophrenia Before and After Wartime, 'Danger! Construction cost $2.5 million, and the camp was activated on Christmas Day 1942. The U-boat was used later that year as part of the tour for the Seventh War Loan drive. Louisiana industry supplied the Allied war machine with vital materials such as oil, synthetic rubber, and ships of all sizes. Often overlooked in comparison to the LCVP is its "big brother"the Landing Craft Mechanized. They were followed by prisoners of many nationalities, as Germany put more foreign conscripts on the front lines. So it was an illegal operation that wound up being counterproductive and a violation of human rights, and it was sort of swept under the rug after the war. It was also noted that a Russian major had died of a heart attack and was buried in the cemetery. Those prisoners not involved in work to keep the camp running worked for local farmers, harvested timber, and built public works. He eventually hopped a ship back to Germany. No long-term contract. In September 2000, the Camp Ruston Foundation transferred all the remaining documents and artifacts from the Developmental Center to the archives at Louisiana Tech for safekeeping and future access by researchers. University of Louisiana at Lafayette What had been an isolated, quiet part of the state soon became a boom town as men and their families flooded the area in search of work. What follows is the story of Christ is a historian specializing in the naval war in the Gulf of Mexico during World War II. Map of Louisiana Prisoner of War Camps. Camp Algiers soon became known as 'the camp of the innocent' because about 81 Jews and non-Jews were sent there to escape harassment of Nazis at other camps. U-505 was without lights, her electrical machinery was kaput, and her rudder was jammed, forcing her to lumber into a wide turn.
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