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Prisoner-of-war camps in the United States during World War II.

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). The camps were located all over the US but were mostly in the South because of the higher expense of heating the barracks in other areas. Eventually, every state (with the exceptions of Nevada, North Dakota, and Vermont) had POW camps.

Camp Location
Newton D Baker Martinsburg, West Virginia
Base Camp (Belle Mead) New Jersey
Fort Dix (Fort John Adams) New Jersey
Jersey City Quartermaster Supply Depot New Jersey
Boston Port of Embarkation Boston, Massachusetts
Camp Allegan Michigan
Camp Antigo Wisconsin
Bradley Field Connecticut
Camp Adair Oregon
Camp Albuquerque New Mexico
Camp Algoma Idaho
Camp Algona Iowa
Camp Aliceville Alabama
Camp Allen Norfolk, Virginia
Camp Alva Oklahoma
Camp Andrews Boston Harbor, Massachusetts
Camp Angel Island California
Camp Ashby California
Camp Ashford West Virginia
Camp Atlanta Nebraska
Camp Atterbury Indiana Housed 3,500 Italians and later 10,000 Germans
Camp AuTrain AuTrain, Michigan
Camp Barkeley Texas
Camp Barron Wisconsin
Camp Bassett Arkansas
Camp Bastrop Texas Kurt Richard Westphal escaped in August 1945 and was recaptured in Hamburg, Germany, in 1954.
Camp Bayfield Wisconsin
Camp Beale California
Camp Beaver Dam Wisconsin
Camp Billy Mitchell Wisconsin
Camp Blanding Florida
Camp Bowie Texas [1]
Camp Brady Texas
Camp Breckinridge Kentucky
Camp Briner North Carolina
Camp Bullis San Antonio, Texas
Camp Butner North Carolina Kurt Rossmeisl escaped on 4 August 1945 and surrendered in 1959.
Camp Cambria Wisconsin
Camp Campbell Kentucky
Camp Carson Colorado
Camp Chaffee Sebastian County, Arkansas
Camp Chase Ohio
Camp Chickasha Grady County, Oklahoma
Camp Chilton Wisconsin
Camp Claiborne Louisiana
Camp Clarinda Iowa
Camp Clark Missouri
Camp Clinton Mississippi
Camp Cobb Wisconsin
Camp Columbus Wisconsin
Camp Como Mississippi
Camp Concordia Kansas
Camp Cooke California
Camp Croft South Carolina
Camp Crossville Tennessee
Camp Crowder Missouri
Camp David Maryland
Camp Dawson West Virginia
Camp Deming New Mexico Georg Gärtner escaped on 21 September 1945, and finally surrendered in 1985. He was the last escapee, having remained at large for 40 years.
Camp Dermott Arkansas
Camp Douglas Wyoming
Camp Dundee Michigan Two escaped. Used a railroad box car. Recaptured: Roanoke, Va.[2]
Camp Eau Claire Wisconsin
Camp Edwards Falmouth, Massachusetts
Camp Ellis Illinois
Camp Eunice Louisiana
Camp Evelyn Alger County, Michigan
Camp Faribault Minnesota
Camp Fannin Tyler, Texas Located on the campus of the now University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler.
Camp Florence Florence, Arizona Largest all-new prisoner of war compound ever constructed on American soil.[3] It is now used as United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).
Camp Fond du Lac Wisconsin
Camp Forrest Tullahoma, Tennessee First attempted escape by two German POWs on 5 November 1942.
Camp Fox Lake Wisconsin
Camp Fredonia Little Kohler, Town of Fredonia, Wisconsin
Camp Freeland Freeland, Michigan The current site of the TriCity Airport (MBS)
Camp Galesville Wisconsin
Camp Gene Autry Ardmore Army Air Field, Oklahoma
Camp Genessee Wisconsin
Camp Germfask Germfask, Michigan
Camp Grant Rockford, Illinois
Camp Greeley Greeley, Colorado [4]
Camp Green Lake Wisconsin
Camp Gruber near Muskogee, Oklahoma
Camp Hale Pando - Leadville, Colorado [5]
Camp Gueydan Louisiana
Camp Hartford Wisconsin
Camp Hearne Hearne, Texas [6]
Camp Hereford Deaf Smith County, Texas

Camp Hobart Oklahoma
Camp Hoffman Maryland Close to Fort Lincoln and held over 5,000 confederate soldiers
Camp Hood Texas
Camp Horseshoe Ranch Hickory, Oklahoma
Camp Hortonville Wisconsin
Camp Houlton Maine
Camp Howze Texas [7]
Camp Hulen Palacios, Texas
Camp Huntsdale Pennsylvania
Camp Huntsville Texas
Camp Indianola Nebraska
Camp Janesville Wisconsin
Camp Jefferson Wisconsin
Camp Jerome Arkansas
Camp Kaplan Louisiana
Camp Lake Keesus Wisconsin
Camp Las Cruces Las Cruces, New Mexico Werner Paul Lueck escaped in November 1945 and was recaptured in Mexico City in 1954.
Camp Lee Virginia
Camp Livingston Louisiana
Camp Lockett California
Camp Lodi Wisconsin
Camp Lordsburg Lordsburg, New Mexico 1942-1945: held Japanese-American internees, and then German and Italian POWs.
Camp Mackall Hoffman, North Carolina
Camp Markesan Wisconsin
Camp Marshfield Wisconsin
Camp McAlester Oklahoma
Camp McCain Mississippi
Camp McCoy Wisconsin German POWs
Camp McKay Massachusetts Constructed for prisoners, later reused for housing after the war
Camp McLean Texas
Camp Mackan North Carolina
Camp Maxey Texas [8]
Camp Mexia Texas
Camp Milltown Wisconsin
Fort Missoula Missoula, Montana 1941-1944: Italian POWs.
Camp Myles Standish Taunton, Massachusetts
Camp Monticello Arkansas
Camp Montgomery Minnesota
Camp Natural Bridge West Point, New York (German)
Camp New Cumberland Pennsylvania
Camp New Ulm New Ulm, Minnesota Fortuitously located outside a city where many locals still spoke German. The camp buildings are preserved in Flandrau State Park and are available for rent as a group center.[9]
Camp Oakfield Wisconsin
Camp Ogden Utah
Camp Oklahoma City On site of Will Rogers World Airport, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Camp Ono San Bernardino, California (Italian)
Camp Opelika Alabama
Camp Owosso Shiawassee County, Michigan
Camp Owatonna Minnesota
Camp Patrick Henry Virginia
Camp Papago Park Arizona Germany's "Great Escape" was from a 200-foot (61 m) tunnel by 25 prisoners on 24 December 1944.
Camp Pauls Valley Oklahoma
Camp Peary Virginia
Camp Perry Ohio
Camp Philips Kansas
Camp Pickett Virginia
Camp Pima Arizona
Camp Pine Green Lakes State Park, New York
Camp Michaux Cumberland County, Pennsylvania Near Pine Grove Furnace State Park (same commander as Gettysburg Battlefield camp)
Camp Plymouth Wisconsin
Camp Polk Louisiana
Camp Pomona California
Camp Popolopen New York
Camp Pori Upper Peninsula, Michigan
Camp Pryor Oklahoma
Camp Raco near Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Camp Reedsburg Wisconsin
Camp Reynolds Pennsylvania
Camp Rhinelander Wisconsin
Camp Ripon Wisconsin
Camp Jos. T. Robinson Arkansas
Camp Rockfield Wisconsin
Camp Roswell 14 miles SE of Roswell, New Mexico 1942-1946: German POWs.
Camp Rucker Alabama
Camp Rupert Idaho
Camp Ruston Louisiana
Camp Santa Fe New Mexico
Camp Thomas A. Scott Fort Wayne, Indiana Camp Scott held more than 600 German POWs from the Afrika Korps from late 1944 until the camp closed in November 1945.[10][11]
Camp Scottsbluff Nebraska
Camp Shanks (Point of embarkation) New York
camp in McMillan Woods Gettysburg Battlefield, Pennsylvania same commander as Camp Michaux camp
Camp Sheboygan Wisconsin
Camp Shelby Mississippi
Camp Sibert Alabama
Camp Sidnaw Sidnaw, Michigan
Camp Somerset Maryland
Camp Stark New Hampshire
Camp Stewart Georgia
Camp Stockton California
Fort Strong Boston, Massachusetts
Stringtown POW Camp Atoka, Oklahoma
Camp Sturgeon Bay Wisconsin
Camp Sturtevant Wisconsin
Camp Sutton North Carolina
Camp Swift Bastrop, Texas Camp Thomasville, Georgia. Large German pow camp 2 miles outside of Thomasville. Following WWII, the facilities were taken over by the Veterans Administration with both a hospital and large domiciliary complement. Facilities now serve as an adjunct to the state's mental health program.
Camp Thornton Illinois
Camp Tipton Oklahoma
Camp Tishomingo Oklahoma
Camp Tonkawa Oklahoma Site of murder of Johannes Kunze by five fellow German POWs, who were subsequently tried, found guilty, hanged, and buried in the Fort Leavenworth Military Prison Cemetery.
Camp Tooele Utah POW Camp, Co.1, Tooele (original postage)
Camp Trinidad Colorado A 150-foot (46 m) electrically-lighted escape tunnel was discovered by authorities. This was probably a coal mining tunnel in that Engleville was coal mining camp where this POW camp is purported to be located. Coal mining was prominent in the late 1870s to the 1950s. A few continued into the early 1970s in Las Animas county where Trinidad is located.
Camp Van Dorn Mississippi
Camp Wallace Galveston County, Texas
Camp Warner Utah
Camp Washington Washington (near Peoria), Illinois Reinhold Pabel escaped on 9 September 1945 and was recaptured in Chicago in March 1953
Camp Waterloo Michigan
Camp Waterloo Wisconsin
Camp Waupun Wisconsin
Camp Waynoka Oklahoma
Camp Weeping Water Nebraska
Camp Wells Minnesota
Camp Weingarten Between Farmington and Ste. Genevieve, Missouri
Camp Wharton Wharton, Texas
Camp Wheeler Georgia
Camp White Oregon
Camp White Rock Dallas, Texas
Camp Wisconsin Rapids Wisconsin
Cushing General Hospital Massachusetts
Camp Wolters Texas
Corpus Christi Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas
Drew Field Florida Now Tampa International Airport and Drew Park
Edgewood Arsenal Maryland
Eglin Army Air Field Florida
Fort Benjamin Harrison Indiana
Fort Benning Georgia
Fort Bliss Texas
Fort Bragg North Carolina
Fort Campbell Kentucky
Fort Crockett Galveston, Texas
Fort Curtis Virginia
Fort Custer Michigan
Fort Devens Devens, Massachusetts
Fort Dix New Jersey Harry Girth escaped in June 1946 and surrendered to authorities in New York City in 1953.
Fort Drum New York
Fort DuPont Delaware
Fort Eustis Virginia
Fort Gordon Georgia
Fort Jackson South Carolina
Fort Kearny Rhode Island
Fort Knox Kentucky
Fort Lawton Washington A riot by Negro soldiers took place over preferential treatment given to Italian and German POWs. One Italian POW was lynched, and Leon Jaworski was the military prosecutor.

The Italian and one German POW who committed suicide rather than be repatriated are buried just outside the post cemetery boundaries.

Fort Leavenworth Kansas
Fort Leonard Wood Missouri
Fort Lewis Between Olympia and Tacoma, Washington
Fort McClellan Alabama
Fort Meade Maryland Fort Meade housed about 4,000 German and Italian POWs during World War II.

Thirty-three German POWs and two Italian POWs are now buried in the post cemetery.

The most famous of those buried on the installation is German submariner Werner Henke, who was shot while trying to escape from a secret interrogation center at Fort Hunt, Virginia.

The captain is the sole German Navy officer buried among enlisted German Army soldiers.

Fort Niagara New York
Fort Oglethorpe Georgia
Fort Omaha Omaha, Nebraska
Fort Ord California A 120-foot (37 m) nearly-completed escape tunnel was discovered by authorities.[12]
Fort Patrick Henry Virginia
Fort Reno Oklahoma
Fort Riley Kansas
Fort Robinson Nebraska
Fort Rucker Alabama
Fort D.A. Russell Texas
Fort Sam Houston Texas
Fort Sheridan Illinois
Fort Sill Lawton, Oklahoma
Fort Sumner New Mexico
Fort F.E. Warren Wyoming
Glennan General Hospital Oklahoma

Grider Field, Pine Bluff Arkansas

Halloran General Hospital New York
Hammond Northshore Regional Airport Louisiana
Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation Virginia
Indiantown Gap Military Reservation Pennsylvania
Holabird Signal Depot Maryland
Lovell General Hospital Massachusetts
McCloskey General Hospital Texas
Memphis General Depot Tennessee
Naval Air Station Whiting Field Milton, Florida
New Orleans Port of Embarkation Louisiana
Olmstead Field Pennsylvania
Patterson Field Ohio
Port Johnson[13] New Jersey
Pine Bluff Arsenal Arkansas
Richmond ASF Depot Virginia
Tobyhanna Military Reservation Pennsylvania
Valley Forge Pennsylvania Valley Forge General Hospital, later the Golf Course area
Waltham Memorial Hospital Waltham, Massachusetts
Westover Field Massachusetts
Windfall Indiana World War II POW Camp Indiana
Camp Haan California
Camp Tyson POW Camp Paris, Tennessee
Rose Hill Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Colorado

References[]

  1. "News from the Bowie Camp 1943" Written account from Joseph Lehman to friend Margie Krumpleman
  2. [1] Father's memories of POWs spur teacher's research of central Michigan camps
  3. Jack Hamann, "On American Soil: Camp Florence, Arizona"
  4. [2][broken citation]
  5. Camp Hale Prisoners of War
  6. [3]
  7. Camp Howze 1944 1945 " from a long term resident at the camp written to his girlfriend"
  8. "August 1943 description of the Camp Maxey" Letters from Camp Maxey
  9. Buck, Anita Albrecht (1998). Behind Barbed Wire: German Prisoners of War in Minnesota During World War II. St. Cloud, Minn.: North Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc.. ISBN 0-87839-113-4. 
  10. "World War II Camp Had Impact on CIty" by Michael Hawfield, The News-Sentinel 15 December 1990
  11. Camp Thomas A. Scott - Fort Wayne, Indiana - WWII Prisoner of War Camps on Waymarking.com
  12. [4]
  13. http://www.colorantshistory.org/ItalianPOWCamp.html

External links[]

All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at List of World War II prisoner-of-war camps in the United States and the edit history here.
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