There were three internment camps in Oklahoma a temporary camp at Fort Sill and permanent camps at McAlester and Stringtown. These incidents, combined with war wounds, injuries, suicide, or disease, took the lives of forty-six captives. killed one of their own. Prisoner of War Camps Alva July 1943 to November 1945; 4,850. A few concrete ammunition bunkers are the last remnants of the POW camp. during World War II. The only camps that were actually used to hold America needed to accommodate about 275,000 POWs, with camps stationed mainly across the south because of the temperate climate. The camp held non-commissioned officers and their aides. Wetumka PW CampThis The number of PWs confinedthere is unknown, but they lived in tents. In spring 1942 federal authorities leased the state prison at Stringtown. and two more are buried at Ft. Sill. It first appeared in the PMG reports on August 1, 1944, and last appeared on January 15, 1946. Sheriffs, state troopers, and FBI agents were all across the Upper Peninsula looking for the three escaped prisoners (POW camps in the U.P., p.6). About forty PWs were confined at the work camp from the McAlester PWCamp. As a popular song of the day explained, most of those left here were " either too young or too old. This may have been the mobile work camp from the Camp Chaffee PW Campthat moved across Oklahoma and appeared at several locations. who died at Ft. Sill was removed form the cemetery after the war and was reburied in California. camp was located west of South Mingo Road at 136th Street and north of the Arkansas River from Bixby. The program, of course, did not function without hitches, said Corbett. number of these are in the Post Cemetery at Ft. Reno, but three are buried in the Oak Hill Cemetery at McAlester The camp hada capacity of 500 and was generally kept full. FORT RENO POW CEMETERYData from the "Oklahoma Genealogical Society Quarterly", Vol. Eight PWs escaped from this camp, and four men died and are now buriedin the National Cemetery at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas. The Hobbstown POW camp operated at Spencer Lake until April 1946, 11 months after Germany's surrender in World War II. Sallisaw PW CampThis This was the only maximum security camp in the entire program (which informed the guards that there was a riot going on and when they got into the camp, they found the man beaten to It first appeared in the PMG reports on June The Geneva Convention of 1929, the international agreement prescribing treatment of prisoners of war, permitted use of POWs as laborers. Each compound contained barracks, latrines, and mess halls to accommodate up to one thousand men. None of the alien internment camps and PW camps in Oklahoma still exist, and the sites Except at Pryor, German noncommissioned officers directed the internal activities of each compound. Corps of Engineers. 1,020, but on May 16, 1945, there were 1,523 PWs confined there. This camp, the site of the McAlester Alien Internment Camp, was located in Section 32, north of McAlester and lying Users agree not to download, copy, modify, sell, lease, rent, reprint, or otherwise distribute these materials, or to link to these materials on another web site, without authorization of the Oklahoma Historical Society. During the course of World War II Camp Gruber providedtraining to infantry, field artillery, and tank destroyer units that went on to fight in Europe. In autumn 1945 repatriation of prisoners of war began as federal officials transferredcaptives to East Coast ports. Wilma Parnell and Robert Taber, The Killing of Corporal Kunze (Secaucus, N.J.: Lyle Stuart, Inc., 1981). located, but two German aliens died at the camp and are buried at Ft. Reno. The Alva camp was a special camp for holding Nazis andNazi sympathizers, and there are accounts of twenty-one escapes. Operational 1942-1945, Located South of Alva, Oklahoma, Woods County It was called Nazilager . It was a branch camp of the Camp Gruber PW camp, and three PWs escaped leaders anticipated World War II, they developed plans for control of more than 100,000 enemy aliens living in Newsweek also says that two other German Prisioners of war, Eric Gaus and Rudolph Straub, were convicted June 13, In June 1942, Operation Torch - the invasion of Africa - began and in November of that same year, troops landed Vol. Nazi sympathizers, and there are accounts of twenty-one escapes. Between September 1942 and October 1943 contractors built base camps at Alva, Camp Gruber, Fort Reno, Fort Sill, McAlester, and Tonkawa. I'd wanted to get by this Museum for years. At the same time, Corbett said, the British were still in Egypt. BIOG: NAME: 2023 www.oklahoman.com. This camp was located on what is now the grounds of Okmulgee Tech, south of Industrial Drive and east of MissionRoad on the east side of Okmulgee. Thiscamp was located at the Stringtown Correctional Facility, the same location of the Stringtown Alien InternmentCamp. It first appeared in the PMG reports on July16, 1944, and last appeared on October 16, 1944. that the Germans took as prisoners. According to Jerry Ellis, a selectman in Bourne and a co-director of the Cape Cod Military Museum who has given talks about Cape Cod during the war, many people he comes across have never heard of the POW camp. The POW camp at Tonkawa, about 50 miles northeast of Enid, was a branch camp that held a number of prisoners. The camp hada capacity of 500 and was generally kept full. On the Northeast Corner of Gardner and in the heart of downtown Sparta, the encampment was erected. Tishomingo PW CampThis They're either too gray or too grassy green". In Augustof that year a unique facility opened at Okmulgee when army officials designated Glennan General Hospital to treatprisoners of war and partially staffed it with captured enemy medical personnel. A few buildings at Okmulgee Tech were part of the Glennan General They were Walter Beyer, Berthold Seidel, Hans Demme, Hans Schomer, and Willi Scholz. Members of chambersof commerce and local politicians lobbied representatives and senators to obtain appropriations for federal projects.None of the communities specifically sought a prisoner of war camp, but several received them. America's first POW in World War Two wasn't German, but Japanese. Tishomingo PW CampThiscamp was located on old highway 99 north of the Washita River and south of Tishomingo where the airport now stands.it opened on April 29, 1943, and closed on June 13, 1944. Oklahoma made military history on July 10, 1945, when five German POWs were executed. it held as many as 401 PWs at one time. Most of the pre-existing buildings that were usedat some of the branch camps still stand, but it is difficult to imagine them as being used as a PW camp. This may have been the mobile work camp from the Camp Chaffee PW Camp stenciled with "PW," German soldiers picked row crops and cotton, harvested wheat and broom corn, manned It was a hospital for American servicemen until August 1, 1944, when it becamea hospital for the treatment of PWs and a branch of the camp Gruber PW camp. Most of the pre-existing buildings that were used No reports of any escapes have beenlocated, but two German aliens died at the camp and are buried at Ft. Reno.Sources used: [written by Richard S. Warner - The Chronicles of Oklahoma,Vol. 26, 2006, Local residents, as well as visitors from both Kansas and Texas, took a step back Thirteen escapes were reported, and five nine escapes have been found. It hada capacity of about 6,000, but never held more than 4,850. They selected Oklahoma because the state met the basic requirements established by the Office of the To prepare for that contingency, officials Borden General Hospital, Chickasha, (a branch of the Fort Reno camp) April 1945 to May 1945; 100. In the later months of its operation,it held convalescing patients from the Glennan General Hospital PW Camp. Sallisaw PW CampThiscamp, located northwest of the intersection of North Oak and East Redwood streets on the north side of Sallisaw,did not appear in the PMG reports. They were thengiven their files to carry with them wherever they went. Jan 31-(AP)-Newsweek magazine says in its Feb. 5 issue that five German prisoners of war have been sentencedto death by court-martial for killing a fellow prisoner at Camp Tonkawa, Okla., Nov. 5, 1943, and are awaiting"their doom in a federal penitentiary." The program, of course, did not function without hitches, said Corbett. It first appeared in the PMG reports on July 19, 1943, and last appeared on January 1, 1944. Sadistic punishments were handed out for the most minor breach of camp rules. A base camp, it had a capacityof 2,965, but the greatest number of PWs confined there was 1,834 on July 16, 1945. Ardmore Army Air Field (a branch of the Camp Howze, Texas, POW camp) June 1945 to November 1945; 300. POWs received the same rations as U.S. troops, and the enlisted men's quarters inside and outside the compounds varied little in quality. Desiring to stay in the US after the war, he began passing notes of information on German activitiesto the American doctor when he attended sick call. camps in the area, including the ones at Powell and Tishomingo. It first appeared inthe PMG reports on August 16, 1944, and last appeared on November 16, 1945. By May 1943 prisoners of war began arriving. The Germanpropaganda had tried to convince them that the United States was on the verge of collapsing. In November 1943 rioting prisoners at Camp Tonkawakilled one of their own. Spavinaw Pow Wow & Indian Arts Festival 2023. It last appeared in the PMG reports on May 1, 1946, the last PW campin Oklahoma. The camp had a capacity of 600,but on May 1, 1944, there were only 301 PWs confined there. houses. There were three internment camps in Oklahoma a temporary camp at Fort Sill and permanent camps at McAlester and Stringtown. A list at okielegacy.org show a total of 34 sites dotted across the state and three alien interment camps. Yodack is a website that writes about many topics of interest to you, a blog that shares knowledge and insights useful to everyone in many fields. An article by Warner in "The Chronicles of Oklahoma," the Spring 1986 . At Tonkawa the sixty-foot-high concrete supports for the camp's water tank still stand, Newsweeksaid other prisoners at the camp regardedKunze "a traitor to the Reich and to the fuehrer: because "some of them had seen a statement Kunze hadgiven American army officers information they believed had been of great value to the Allies in bombing Hamburg. Two PWs escaped. tuberculosis treatment. "The Nazis appeared entirely satisfied." It was not an actual PW camp, but was the administrative headquarters for severalcamps in the area, including the ones at Powell and Tishomingo. This camp was located at the old fairgrounds east of Okmulgee Avenue and north of Belmont Street on the north side In German POWs found conditions in the United States somewhat surprising. It wasa branch of the Camp Howze PW Camp. Camp. American camp authorities sought to achieve these goals by enlarging POW camp libraries, showing films, providing prominent lecturers for the prisoners and subscribing to American newspapers and magazines, all with an emphasis on detailing American values.1 This program lasted until the spring of 1946, almost a year after the war in Europe had . LXIV, No. Subscribe Now. A base camp, it had a capacityof 2,965, but the greatest number of PWs confined there was 1,834 on July 16, 1945. At Tonkawa the sixty-foot-high concrete supports for the camp's water tank still stand, and at Camp Gruber concrete and stone sculptures made by POWs are displayed. Yet the Germans, and a few Italians, who lived in camps around the state between 1943 . Throughout the war German soldiers comprisedthe vast majority of POWs confined in Oklahoma. Boswell Ranch, Corcoran, Kings County, 499 prisoners, agricultural. Seminole PW CampThiscamp, a work camp from the McAlester PW Camp, was located in the Municipal Building at the northeast corner ofMain and Evans streets in Seminole. The camp had a capacity of 600, Opening on June 3, 1943, it closed in October or November, 1945. Reviews: 89% of readers found this page helpful, Address: 850 Benjamin Bridge, Dickinsonchester, CO 68572-0542, Hobby: Table tennis, Soapmaking, Flower arranging, amateur radio, Rock climbing, scrapbook, Horseback riding. given their files to carry with them wherever they went. , What was school like in internment camps? "The Army at that time was building lots of military bases and POW camps across the nation," Kolise said. This camp was located adjacent to the town of Gene Autry, thirteen miles northeast of Ardmore. One was the alien internmentcamp that was closed after the aliens were transferred to a camp in another state; another was the one alreadymentioned; the third was built to hold PW officers, but was never used for that purpose and ended up as a stockadeto hold American soldiers. The War Relocation Authority provided education through high school for all school-age residents. When the war ended in 1945, the US began transporting the prisoners back to their home countries and by 1946 they had all been repatriated. Originally a work camp from the McAlester PW Camp,it later became a branch of the Camp Gruber PW Camp. assigned soldiers to specific tasks, etc. The Oklahoma National Guard's Camp Gruber Maneuver Training Center is located 14 miles southeast of Muskogee, Oklahoma, on Oklahoma Route 10 in the Cookson Hills. start. specific guidelines were set concerning the humane conditions that were to be required for prisoners of war - they camp was located in the NYA building at the fairgrounds on the east side of Wewoka. The non-commissioned Germans did not have to work if they chose not to - which most of them didnt because theythought working for the Americans was somehow aiding the war effort. They remembered how they had been treated and trustedthe United States after that. noun. PW Camp, it held as many as 286 PWs. All POWs returned to Europe except those confined to military prisons or hospitals.By mid-May 1946 the last prisoners left Oklahoma. They selected Oklahoma because the state met the basic requirements established by the Office of the Provost Marshal General, the U.S. Army agency responsible for the POW program. This camp was located adjacent to the town of Gene Autry, thirteen miles northeast of Ardmore.It first appeared in the PMG reports on June 1, 1945, and last appeared on November 1, 1945. other camps, was located one mile south of Alva on the west side of highway 281 on land that is now used for the The POW camps adhered to the Geneva Conventions Missouri Digital Heritage Tonkawa was home to 3,000 German POWs, mostly from Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps, along with 500 U.S. military personnel. It opened priorto August 30, 1944, and last appeared in the PMG reports on September 1, 1945. It opened on October 30, 1943, and closed in the fall of 1945. war -- that they killed Cpl. Originally the military guards and camps were readied to handle Japanese POWs, but Allied successes in North Africa changed the decision. Originally a branch of the Alva wanting to take control of the Suez Canal the British Army in Egypt repulsed the Italian attack and soon after, After the war was over, the POWs were sent back to Germany, in accordance with the Geneva Convention. It was not an actual PW camp, but was the administrative headquarters for several Thiscamp was located in the National Guard Armory on the northeast corner of Front and Linden streets in Eufaula. Oklahoma Historical Society800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, Oklahoma City, OK 73105 | 405-521-2491Site Index | Contact Us | Privacy | Press Room | Website Inquiries, Get Updates in Your Inbox Keep up to date with our weekly newsletter delivered straight to your inbox. , How were the Japanese treated in the internment camps? 2. There were no PWs confined there. In all, from 1943 to 1946, some 5,000 German soldiers were imprisoned at Camp Edwards. We are supposed to keep POWs separated from the battlefield if at all possible. In November 1942, at the Tonkawa camp, a prisoner was killed by the other Four men escaped. One was the alien internmentcamp that was closed after the aliens were transferred to a camp in another state; another was the one alreadymentioned; the third was built to hold PW officers, but was never used for that purpose and ended up as a stockadeto hold American soldiers. They were then sent from New York on trains to various Three separate internment camps were built at Ft. Sill. and closed on April 1, 1944. given American army officers information they believed had been of great value to the Allies in bombing Hamburg." Emil Minotti who was shot to death in an escape attempt. The story of prisoner of war camps in Oklahoma actually predates the war, for as American Thirteen PWs were confined there, and one man escaped. camp that was closed after the aliens were transferred to a camp in another state; another was the one already Submitted to Genealogy Trails by Linda Craig, The above pictures are of the Fort Reno Cemetery Placedat an explosives plant, there was a fear that escaping PWs might commit sabotage. Internment Camp Headquarters, but later became a branch of the Camp Howze PW Camp. The train that pulled into the railway station at Madill, Oklahoma, on April 29, 1943,carried the first of thousands of prisoners of war who would spend all or part of the remainder of World War IIbehind barbed wire in Oklahoma. Reportsof three escapes have been located. The Greenleaf Lodge area is under National Guard authority and is not part of Greenleaf Lake State Park. Three separate internment camps were built at Ft. Sill. In addition, a temporary camp was set up at Fort Sill. Outside the compound It had a capacity of 600 and was usually kept full. Units of the Eighty-eighth Each compound contained barracks, latrines, and mess halls to accommodate as many as one thousand men. It first appeared in the PMG reports on August 1, 1944, and last appeared on January 15, 1946. Buildings It Eight PWs escaped from this camp, and four men died and are now buriedin the National Cemetery at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas. This and Tonkawa. It was originally a branch of the Madill ProvisionalInternment Camp Headquarters, but later became a branch of the Camp Howze PW Camp. Thiscamp was located north of the swimming pool that is east of Jefferson Street and north of Iris Street in NortheastHobart. It held primarilyGerman aliens, but some Italian and Japanese aliens also were confined there. camp, called a Nazilager by many PWs in Copy in Lewis, Prisoner of War Utilization, pp. Captive or POW Pay and Allowance Entitlements: Soldiers are entitled to all pay and allowances that were authorized prior to the POW period. Few landmarks remain. Read in June 1964 These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War. Most of the Japanese prisoners were housed in the state's main POW camp at Camp McCoy - now Fort McCoy - near Tomah. There were six major base camps in Oklahoma and an additional two dozen branch camps. It firstappeared in the PMG reports on April 1, 1944, and last appeared on December 15, 1945. Desiring to stay in the US after the war, he began passing notes of information on German activitiesto the American doctor when he attended sick call. They planned to move 100,000 enemy aliens, then living in the United States, into a controlled environment. a base camp that housed only officer PWs with a few enlisted men and non-commissioned officers who served as their Colorado had four principal POW camps Trinidad, Greeley, one at Camp Carson in Colorado Springs and, later, one at Camp Hale, where the 10th Mountain Division trained for ski warfare. camp was located on the far west side of the Ft. Sill Military Reservation and south of Randolph Road. A fewof the buildings at the Tonkawa PW camp are still standing, but they have been remodeled over the years. Few landmarks remain. They picked such things as cotton and spinach and cleared trees and brush from the bed of what was to become Lake Texhoma. It first appeared in the PMG reportson May 23, 1945, and last appeared on March 1, 1946.