German Prisoners of War from World War II in America with a Focus on Kentucky and Tennessee
Author: Antonio Scott Thompson
Publisher:
Published: 2001
Total Pages: 218
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKRead and Download eBook Full
Author: Antonio Scott Thompson
Publisher:
Published: 2001
Total Pages: 218
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKAuthor: Antonio S. Thompson
Publisher: McFarland
Published: 2024-01-01
Total Pages: 227
ISBN-13: 1476681686
DOWNLOAD EBOOKDuring World War II, Kentuckians rushed from farms to factories and battlefields, leaving agriculture throughout the state--particularly the lucrative tobacco industry--without sufficient labor. An influx of Axis prisoners of war made up the shortfall. Nearly 10,000 German and Italian POWs were housed in camps at Campbell, Breckinridge, Knox and other locations across the state. Under the Geneva Convention, they worked for their captors and helped save Kentucky's crops, while enjoying relative comfort as prisoners--playing sports, performing musicals and taking college classes. Yet, friction between Nazi and anti-Nazi inmates threatened the success of the program. This book chronicles the POW program in Kentucky and the vital contributions the Bluegrass State made to Allied victory.
Author: Antonio Scott Thompson
Publisher: Diversion Press, Incorporated
Published: 2008
Total Pages: 328
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKGerman Jackboots on Kentucky Bluegrass tells Kentucky's story of housing, working, and entertaining German Prisoners duing the Second World War. It is a must read for anyone interested in the Geneva Convention and humane treatment during a time of great conflict.
Author: Antonio Thompson
Publisher: Univ. of Tennessee Press
Published: 2010-11-16
Total Pages: 193
ISBN-13: 1572337427
DOWNLOAD EBOOKExamining the largest prisoner-of-war handling operation in U.S. history, this book offers a meticulous account of the myriad history, this book offers a meticulous account of the myriad problems—as well as the impressive successes—that came with problems—as well as the impressive successes—that came with housing 371,000 German POWs on American soil during World War II. Antonio Thompson draws on extensive archival research to probe the various ways in which the U.S. government strove to comply with the Geneva Convention’s mandate that enemy prisoners be moved from the war zone and given food, shelter, and clothing equal to that provided for American soldiers. While the prisoners became a ready source of manpower for the labor- starved American home front and received small wages in return, their stay in the United States generated more than a few difficulties, which included not only daunting logistics but also violence within the camps. Such violence was often blamed on Nazi influence and control; however, as Thompson points out, only a few of the prisoners were actually Nazis. Because the Germans had cobbled together military forces that included convicts, their own POWs, volunteers from neutral nations, and conscripts from occupied countries, the bonds that held these soldiers together amid the pressures of combat dissolved once they were placed behind barbed wire. When these “men in German uniform,” who were not always Germans, donned POW garb, their former social, racial, religious, and ethnic tensions quickly reemerged. To counter such troubles, American authorities organized various activities—including sports, arts, education, and religion—within the POW camps; some prisoners even participated in an illegal denazification program created by the U.S. government. Despite the problems, Thompson argues, the POW-housing program proved largely successful, as Americans maintained their reputation for fairness and humane treatment during a time of widespread turmoil.
Author: Ruth Beaumont Cook
Publisher: Ruth Beaumont Cook
Published: 2007
Total Pages: 648
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKA significant and unique contribution to World War II literature, this book chronicles in meticulous detail the building and operation of the largest German prisoner-of-war (POW) camp in the United States in Aliceville, Alabama. This history discusses how the residents of Aliceville helped build, operate, and supply the camp, as well as become inextricably intertwined with camp life and the 6,000 German POWs held there. Focusing on the relations between the captured Germans and local Americans, this title investigates the nature of war, peace, and the principles of human dignity.
Author: Allen V. Koop
Publisher: UPNE
Published: 2000-09-26
Total Pages: 184
ISBN-13: 1611681006
DOWNLOAD EBOOKAn evocative history of a World War II German POW camp in New Hampshire, where friendships among prisoners, guards, and villagers overcame the bitter divisions of war
Author: Jeffrey E. Geiger
Publisher: McFarland
Published: 1996
Total Pages: 248
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe personal narratives of 14 German prisoners of war housed at Camp Cooke, California, during World War II recounting the ordinary soldiers' captures, journeys to America, and the daily life and organization of the camp. Although the prisoners filled labor positions left vacant by Americans serving in Europe, the main purpose of the camp was to "denazify" the soldiers, and the interviews reflect a transformation in political consciousness as well as documenting the German POW experience in America. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Author: Arnold Krammer
Publisher: Scarborough House Publishers
Published: 1991
Total Pages: 360
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe only book available that tells the full story of how the U.S. government detained nearly half a million Nazi prisoners of war in 511 camps across the country.
Author: Judith M. Gansberg
Publisher:
Published: 1977
Total Pages: 266
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKDiscusses the 370,000 Germans who were prisoners of war in the United States during World War II and the program established by the War Department to educate these prisoners to the benefits of democracy.
Author: Jeffrey L. Littlejohn
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Published: 2015-08-17
Total Pages: 152
ISBN-13: 1680030299
DOWNLOAD EBOOKCamp Huntsville was one of the first and largest POW camps constructed in America during World War II. Located roughly eight miles east of Huntsville, Texas, in Walker County, the camp was built in 1942 and opened for prisoners the following year. The camp served as a model site for POW installations across the country and set a high standard for the treatment of prisoners. Between 1943 and 1945, the camp housed roughly 4,700 German POWs and experienced tense relations between incarcerated Nazi and anti-Nazi factions. Then, during the last months of the war, the American military selected Camp Huntsville as the home of its top-secret re-education program for Japanese POWs. The irony of teaching Japanese prisoners about democracy and voting rights was not lost on African Americans in East Texas who faced disenfranchisement and racial segregation. Nevertheless, the camp did inspire some Japanese prisoners to support democratization of their home country when they returned to Japan after the war. Meanwhile, in this country, the US government sold Camp Huntsville to Sam Houston State Teachers College in 1946, and the site served as the school’s Country Campus through the mid-1950s. “This long-overdue project is one I started working on decades ago but didn’t finish. It is gratifying to see the book come to fruition through the efforts of these two history professors. And what a job they’ve done!”—Paul Ruffin, Director, TRP