They're either too gray or too grassy green". With . four acre tract that had been a Gulf Oil Company camp. Research indicates the majority of prisoners kept in Oklahoma were German, sprinkled with a few Italian. Eight base camps used for the duration of the war emerged at various locations. were sent to Levinworth, where they were later hung. at 2009 Williams Avenue in Woodward. However, camp school houses were crowded, with a student-teacher ratio of up to 48:1 in elementary schools and 35:1 for secondary schools. of highway 69. Oklahoma. In June 1942, Operation Torch - the invasion of Africa - began and in November of that same year, troops landedin Morocco and Algeria. Armories, school gymnasiums, tent encampments, and newly constructed frame buildings accommodated these detachments. William P. Corbett, "They Hired Every Farmer in the Country: Establishing the Prisoner of War Camp at Tonkawa," The Chronicles of Oklahoma 69 (Winter 199192). of the buildings at the Tonkawa PW camp are still standing, but they have been remodeled over the years. The United States then were left with 275,000 German POWsfrom this victory.. began a crash building program. The camp had a capacity of 600,but on May 1, 1944, there were only 301 PWs confined there. In the later months of its operation,it held convalescing patients from the Glennan General Hospital PW Camp. Armories, school gymnasiums, tent encampments, and newlyconstructed frame buildings accommodated these detachments. Then in 1940, the Italian troops in Libya invaded Egypt,
It hada capacity of about 6,000, but never held more than 4,850. In 1985, he said, a group visited the Tonkawa camp site and the localVFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) invited the men to a pot-luck dinner, where the retired soldiers all visited withone another about the war. This
It last appeared in the PMG reports on May 1, 1946, the last PW campin Oklahoma. (Bio
Location of Service: Fort Bliss, Texas (basic training); Bataan Peninsula . The first PWs arrived on October
Scanning through the list of items, I found six that appeared to be relevant to my research questions. killed one of their own. Most of the land was returned to private ownership or public use. The only camps that were actually used to hold
[written by Richard S. Warner - The Chronicles of Oklahoma,Vol. to death by court-martial for killing a fellow prisoner at Camp Tonkawa, Okla., Nov. 5, 1943, and are awaiting
Beyer conveneda "court-martial" that night and after finding Kunze guilty of treason, the court had him beaten to death.MPs questioned the 200 German POWs, and five who had blood on their uniforms were arrested and charged with themurder. History Alive! Thiscamp, located in the school gymnasium at Caddo, was a work camp sent out from the Stringtown PW Camp. All rights reserved.
there were 3,280 PWs confined there. The guards arrested the five men that had the most blood on them, according to Corbett, and the prisoners
Wewoka PW CampThiscamp was located in the NYA building at the fairgrounds on the east side of Wewoka. that the United States was not what they had been told it would be like.
It opened on April 29, 1943, and last appeared in the PMG reports onSeptember 1, 1944. Porter PW Camp Locatedin the Community Building in the center of Porter, this camp first appeared in the PMG reports on September 16,1944, and last appeared on November 16, 1945. Operational 1942-1945, Located South of Alva, Oklahoma, Woods County It was called Nazilager . a branch of the Alva PW Camp, it later became a branch of the Camp Gruber PW Camp.
The men were foundguilty and sentenced to death. John Witherspoon ErvinJulia Ervin Woods ErvinSubmitted to Genealogy Trails by Linda Craig, The above pictures are of the Fort Reno Cemetery and headstone of Johannes Kunze (German) and Giulio Zamboni (Italian). The cabin structure is the most visible and intact feature of this site. Address: 4220 Virginia Beach Blvd, Virginia Beach, VA 23452, USA Virginia In Your Inbox Love Virginia? It was a branch ofthe Camp Howze (. ) professionals, bureaucrats and businessmen, said Corbett. of 2,965, but the greatest number of PWs confined there was 1,834 on July 16, 1945. Thiscamp was located at the Stringtown Correctional Facility, the same location of the Stringtown Alien InternmentCamp. Please note that these records generally do not contain detailed . It first appeared in the PMG reports on August 1, 1944, and last appeared on January 15, 1946. Records indicate eighty
It is possible
Egypt and in May 1943, the African Corp surrendered. This may have been the mobile work camp from the Camp Chaffee PW Campthat moved across Oklahoma and appeared at several locations. Reports seemto indicate that it opened in early July 1943, existing only for about one month. While the hospital was usedfor the treatment of Only PWs, it specialized in amputations, neurosurgery, chest surgery, plastic surgery, andtuberculosis treatment. Eight PWs escaped from this camp, and four men died and are now buriedin the National Cemetery at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas. Most of the pre-existing buildings that were used
During World War II federal officials located enemy prisoner of war (POW) camps in Oklahoma. Street on North State Street in Konawa. Thiscamp, a work camp from the McAlester PW Camp, was located in the National Guard Armory, three blocks north of MainStreet on North State Street in Konawa. 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 Hobbstown POW camp operated at Spencer Lake until April 1946, 11 months after Germany's surrender in World War II. In autumn 1945 repatriation of prisoners of war began as federal officials transferredcaptives to East Coast ports. The prisoners of war must observe strict military discipline in the camp and outside the camp. Of these, about 7,000 Italians and 8,000 Germans were sent to Utah (POW population lists (NARA RG389 Entry (A1) 458, Boxes 1444-1446). Will Rogers PW CampThis
During World War II, about 700 prisoners of war (POW) camps were set up across the United States. During the 1929 Geneva Convention,specific guidelines were set concerning the humane conditions that were to be required for prisoners of war - theywere not to be treated as criminals, but as POWs - and these requirements distinguished the differences betweenthe two. PW Camp, and between200 and 300 PWs were confined there. A machinist from the city of Hamburg, Germany, Kunze was drafted into the German Army in 1940 and sent to the AfrikaKorps in Tunisia, North Africa. 200 and 300 PWs were confined there. camps to be in rural areas where the prisoners could provide agricultural labor. The Greenleaf Lodge area is under National Guard authority and is not part of Greenleaf Lake State Park. The other died from natural causes. Most of the land was returned to private ownership or public
The prisoner of war program did not proceed without problems. the area prior to then, but they would have been trucked in daily from another camp in the area. The three alien internment camps have left littleevidence of their existence, but three of the four aliens who died while imprisoned in Oklahoma still lie in cemeteriesin this state. By May 1943 prisoners of war began arriving. None of the communities specifically sought a prisoner of war camp, but several received them. 1944, and last appeared on November 16, 1945. leaders anticipated World War II, they developed plans for control of more than 100,000 enemy aliens living in
The basic criteriaincluded that they wanted the camps to be in the south and away from any ports. It had a
Camp Concordia at its peak had 304 buildings including a 177 bed hospital, fire Dept, warehouses, Cold storage, and officers club, and barracks, mess halls and . work camp from the Camp Chaffee PW Camp was located at Candy Mink Springs about five miles southwest of Stilwell. From 250 to 400 PWs were confined there. BIOG: A base camp for a number of branch camps, it had a capacity of 5,750, but the greatest number of PWs
No prisoners were confined at Madill. from this victory.
evidence of their existence, but three of the four aliens who died while imprisoned in Oklahoma still lie in cemeteries
It was not an actual PW camp, but was the administrative headquarters for severalcamps in the area, including the ones at Powell and Tishomingo. Pitching camp. Itdid not appear in the PMG reports, but the fact of its use comes from interviews. Guidelines mandated placing the
captives to East Coast ports. They were Walter Beyer, Berthold Seidel, Hans Demme, Hans Schomer, and Willi Scholz. included that they wanted the camps to be in the south and away from any ports. It first appeared inthe PMG reports on August 16, 1944, and last appeared on November 16, 1945. "Under
1944, and last appeared on November 16, 1945. A German Prisoner of War, he was beaten to death by his fellow Nazi POWs for treason. The U.S. Army built six major base camps and two dozen branch camps in Oklahoma. All POWs returned to Europe except those confined to military prisons or hospitals. by
It first appeared in the PMG reports on July
The first PWs arrived
PMG reports on November 1, 1945. They remembered how they had been treated and trusted
Reports seemto indicate that it opened in early July 1943, existing only for about one month. Arnold Krammer, Nazi Prisoners of War in America (Chelsea, Md. camp was located north of the railroad tracks between 2nd and 3rd streets on the southeast side of Tipton on a
Most POWs who died in Oklahoma were buried at the military cemetery at Fort Reno. He said that the guards heard the commotion, but thought the Germans were just drunk. Civilian employees
Submit a Correction German aliens, but some Italian and Japanese aliens also were confined there. 1,020, but on May 16, 1945, there were 1,523 PWs confined there. Thiscamp, located at the Watson Ranch, five miles north of Morris on the east side of highway 52, opened on July 5,1943. Camp Huntsville was the first to be set up in Texas. in the National Cemetery at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas. Two PWs escaped. POW camps eventually were set up in at least 26 counties and at times an estimated 22,000 POWs were held in Oklahoma. Buildingsat the sites of the PW camps at Alva, McAlester, and Tonkawa were being used up to a few years ago as VFW clubhouses. It opened in October 1944, and last appeared in the PMG reports on May 16, 1945. , What types of locations were chosen for internment camps? Captive or POW Pay and Allowance Entitlements: Soldiers are entitled to all pay and allowances that were authorized prior to the POW period. Five PWs died while interned there, including
One other enemy alienwho died at Ft. Sill was removed form the cemetery after the war and was reburied in California. Madill Provisional Internment Camp Headquarters. The other two would become PW camps from the
was killed by fellow PWs. This base
The camp leader and the guards are the superiors of all the . non-commissioned officers accused: Walther Beyer, Berthold Seidel, Hans Demme, Willi Schols and Hans Schomer. The PWs cleared trees and brush from thebed of Lake Texoma which was just being completed.
It first appearedin the PMG reports on July 19, 1943, and last appeared on April 15, 1946. The first PWs arrived on July 31, 1943, and it was closed on November 15, 1945.