in time Saturday afternoon while hearing a presentation by Dr. Bill Corbett, professor of history at Northeastern A few buildings at Okmulgee Tech were part of the Glennan GeneralHospital PW Camp. training. Three of the men are still buried at McAlester. BIOG: The base camps were locatedin Alva, Fort Reno, Fort Sill, the Madill Provisional Internment Camp headquarters, McAlester and Camp Gruber. acres. Many leaders in the state lobbied for defense funding to help create or enhance military bases and posts. Oklahoma. It opened on about November 1, 1943, and last appeared in the PMG reports onJune 1, 1945. Oklahoma Army National Guard (OKARNG), acquired 23,515 acres to establish Camp Gruber as a state-operated training The camp They became the first foreign prisoners of war to be executed in the U.S., Krammer said. 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. One PW escaped. Reports of three escapes andone death have been located. authority over 31,294.62 acres from the WAA, and between 1948 and 1952 the U.S. Army regained control of 32,626 GARVIN PAULS VALLEY -- This was a mobile work camp from Camp Chaffee, AR POW camp, and was located at N. Chickasha St. north of the Community Building. During World War II federal officials located enemy prisoner of war (POW) camps in Oklahoma. , What did the Japanese do to American prisoners of war? There were army hospitals located in both Chickasha (Borden General Hospital) Most of the pre-existing buildings that were used appeared in the PMG reports in February, 1944 and last appeared on April 15, 1946. Some of these farm families were of the Mennonite and Brethren church communities for generations, and many prisoners' lives . The camps in Oklahoma varied in size: Fort Reno consisted of one compound, Camp Alva five. for Allied soldiers, but ultimately all negotiations failed. It reverted back into a hospital for American servicemen on July 15, 1945. The camp had a capacity of 600,but on May 1, 1944, there were only 301 PWs confined there. injuries, suicide, or disease, took the lives of forty-six captives. Eight base camps emerged at various locations and were used for the duration of the war. Eight PWs escaped, and two died at the camp, one being Johannes Kunze who Japanese aliens whohad been picked up in midwestern and north central states, as well as in South and Central American, were confinedthere; it did not hold any of the Japanese-Americans who were relocated from the West Coast under Executive OrderN. did not appear in the PMG reports, but the fact of its use comes from interviews. In 1952 the General Services Administration assumedauthority over 31,294.62 acres from the WAA, and between 1948 and 1952 the U.S. Army regained control of 32,626acres. It is possible noun. While the hospital was usedfor the treatment of Only PWs, it specialized in amputations, neurosurgery, chest surgery, plastic surgery, andtuberculosis treatment. at the sites of the PW camps at Alva, McAlester, and Tonkawa were being used up to a few years ago as VFW club Around midnight, someoneinformed the guards that there was a riot going on and when they got into the camp, they found the man beaten todeath. 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. Submit a Correction The only PWs who a branch of the Camp Howze PW Camp. Copyright to all articles and other content in the online and print versions of The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History is held by the Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS). Buildingsat the sites of the PW camps at Alva, McAlester, and Tonkawa were being used up to a few years ago as VFW clubhouses. Data from the "Oklahoma Genealogical Society Quarterly", Vol. It opened on October 20, 1944, and last appeared in thePMG reports on November 1, 1945. the two. and in July 1944 a guard fatally shot a prisoner during an escape attempt. The following (as per The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition) is the preferred citation for articles:Bill Corbett, Prisoner of War Camps, The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=PR016. In 1945 the Eighty-sixth Infantry "Blackhawk" Division was stationed This was the only maximum security camp in the entire program (whichincluded camps all over the United States.) 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). Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. It first appeared in the PMG reports on June1, 1944, and last appeared on June 16, 1944, although it may have actually opened as early as May 1, 1944. In addition, leaders in communities across the state actively recruited federal war facilities to bolster their towns' economies. Submitted to Genealogy Trails by Linda Craig, The above pictures are of the Fort Reno Cemetery During World War II, over 6,000 prisoners were housed in Prisoner of War (POW) camps in Michigan. were confined there. 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. Seventy-fiveto eighty PWs were confined there. Thiscamp was located four miles east of Hickory at the Horseshoe Ranch. The POW camps at Fort Sill, McAlester and Stringtown had been set up. LXIV, No. They were Walter Beyer, Berthold Seidel, Hans Demme, Hans Schomer, and Willi Scholz. in the PMG reports on July 19, 1943, and last appeared on April 15, 1946. Originally a work camp from the McAlester PW Camp,it later became a branch of the Camp Gruber PW Camp. They were Walter Beyer, Berthold Seidel, Hans Demme, Hans Schomer, and Willi Scholz. The basic criteriaincluded that they wanted the camps to be in the south and away from any ports. 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." They included both guard and prisoner barracks, It opened in October 1944, and last appeared in the PMG reports on May 16, 1945. In November 1942, at the Tonkawa camp, a prisoner was killed by the other About 100 PWswere confined there. Tishomingo (originally a branch of the Madill Provisional Internment Camp Headquarters and later a branch of Camp Howze, Texas) April 1943 to June 1944; 301. Tishomingo PW CampThis America needed to accommodate about 275,000 POWs, with camps stationed mainly across the south because of the temperate climate. "Government regulations required that the camps be in isolated. Captured May 13, 1943 at Bone, Tunisia, he was shipped to the Tonkawa POW Camp,Oklahoma. : Scarborough House, 1996). At Camp Alva a maximum-security camp for Nazis and Nazi sympathizers, disturbances occurred,and in July 1944 a guard fatally shot a prisoner during an escape attempt. Gruber's original buildings and facilities were removed or destroyed. 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. - Acoustic & Electric, Best Crossword Puzzle Dictionaries: Online and In Print, Why were prisoners of war camps in Oklahoma? Eight PWs escaped, and two died at the camp, one being Johannes Kunze whowas killed by fellow PWs. Records indicate eighty Read in June 1964 1. More than eighty military facilities were built or approved for Oklahoma during World War II. Five PWs died while interned there, including The site covers more than 33,000 acres. Terms of Use About the Encyclopedia. The 45th Infantry Division thunderbirds and the 90th Infantry Division Tough Ombres. A base camp for a number of branch camps, it had a capacity of 5,750, but the greatest number of PWsconfined there was 4,702 on October 3, 1945. It first appeared Engineers. This office opened in 1944 and was the administrative headquarters for several camps in the area, including the ones at Powell and Tishomingo. "The Nazis appeared entirely satisfied." Outside the compoundfences, a hospital, fire station, quarters for enlisted men and officers, administration buildings, warehouses,and sometimes an officers' club as well as a theater completed the camp. camp was located four miles east of Hickory at the Horseshoe Ranch. It first appeared in the PMG reports on July16, 1944, and last appeared on October 16, 1944. It last appeared in the PMG reports on May 1, 1946, the last PW camp Prisoner of War Camps Alva July 1943 to November 1945; 4,850. In the later months of its operation,it held convalescing patients from the Glennan General Hospital PW Camp. camp, a work camp from the McAlester PW Camp, was located in the National Guard Armory, three blocks north of Main The other died from natural causes. Most were recaptured or returned voluntarily after a few hours or days of freedom. They then understood During World War II federal officials located enemy prisoner of war (POW) camps in Oklahoma. A compound consisted of barracks, mess halls, latrines and wash rooms, plus auxiliary buildings. The number of PWs confinedthere is unknown, but they lived in tents. killed one of their own. It had At each camp, companies of U.S. Armymilitary police patrolled perimeters, manned guard towers, escorted work detachments, and periodically searchedbarracks. It was closed because of its proximity to an explosives plant. There were no PWs confined there. By 1945 the state would be home to more than thirty prisoner of war camps, from Unique Tulsa History - Bixby WW2 POW Camp (GC84KVY) was created by Scott&Brandi on 3/12/2019. Ft. Sill PW Camp Thiscamp was located on the far west side of the Ft. Sill Military Reservation and south of Randolph Road. They held Waynoka (a branch of the Alva Camp) August 1944 to September 1945; Wetumka (a branch of the Camp Gruber) August 1944 to November 1945; Wewoka (a work camp from McAlester) opened in October 1943 but no closing date listed; 40. in this state. state had been one of the hardest hit states during the depression. Not all the seventy men buried at Ft. Reno were PWs who died in Oklahoma. camp, located in the school gymnasium at Caddo, was a work camp sent out from the Stringtown PW Camp. There were no PWs confined there. Then in 1940, the Italian troops in Libya invaded Egypt,wanting to take control of the Suez Canal the British Army in Egypt repulsed the Italian attack and soon after,Hitler sent German troops to help out the Italians.. Seventy-fiveto eighty PWs were confined there. This base of prisoners of war, permitted use of POWs as laborers. It was a branch camp of the Camp Gruber PW camp, and three PWs escapedonly to be recaptured at Talihini. Wetumka PW CampThis Some of the structures are still standing at the sites of those camps. At Tonkawa the sixty-foot-high concrete supports for the camp's water tank still stand, Originally Throughout the war German soldiers comprised Camp McCain mississippimarkers.com Located in Grenada County, Camp McCain was established in 1942 as a training post. PMG reports on November 1, 1945. He said that President Roosevelt believed that if we treated the German soldiers good, our prisoners would alsobe treated with the same respect in Europe. In addition, a temporary camp was set up at Fort Sill. The United States then were left with 275,000 German POWsfrom this victory.. He said that the Nazi Party member POWs caused the most problems andwere the greatest risk out of all the prisoners. 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. Except at Pryor, German noncommissioned officers directed the internal activities of each compound. For a while, American authorities attempted to exchange the condemned men with Germanyfor Allied soldiers, but ultimately all negotiations failed. On November 4, 1943, Kunze gave a note to a new American doctor, After the war, the personnel files of all POWs were returned to the country for which they fought. Location of Service: Fort Bliss, Texas (basic training); Bataan Peninsula . there, and two PWs escaped before being recaptured in Sallisaw. A branch of the Ft. Sill Internment Camp Headquarters, but later became a branch of the Camp Howze PW Camp. The Alva camp was a special camp for holding Nazis and Introduction: My name is Corie Satterfield, I am a fancy, perfect, spotless, quaint, fantastic, funny, lucky person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you. 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. from the OK Historical Society website in Morocco and Algeria. There were two escapes, probably the reason for the closing of the camp. Cemetery. All POWs returned to Europe except those confined to military prisons or hospitals.By mid-May 1946 the last prisoners left Oklahoma. What is Prisoners Of War? By 1953 virtually the entire 1942 reservation was in federal hands. Seventy-five This camp was located on what is now the grounds of Okmulgee Tech, south of Industrial Drive and east of Mission contractors built base camps at Alva, Camp Gruber, Fort Reno, Fort Sill, McAlester, and Tonkawa. in Alva, Fort Reno, Fort Sill, the Madill Provisional Internment Camp headquarters, McAlester and Camp Gruber. Each was open about a year. Originallya branch of the Alva PW Camp, it later became a branch of the Camp Gruber PW Camp. It This camp was located at the fairgrounds on the south side of highway 62 east of Chickasha. treated as good as we treated the German POWs, they were treated a lot better than the Russian and other POWs , Why did the Japanese treat POWs so badly? Article from the "Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture"from the OK Historical Society website. An article by Warner in "The Chronicles of Oklahoma," the Spring 1986 . Haskell (a branch of Camp Gruber) December 1943 to December 1945; Hickory (a branch of the Camp Howze, Texas, camp) May to June 1944; 13. It was not an actual PW camp, but was the administrative headquarters for several camp was located at what is now Will Rogers World Airport at Oklahoma City. They were slums luxury ranging from the cities to the country. Inspring 1942 federal authorities leased the state prison at Stringtown. a hospital for the treatment of PWs and a branch of the camp Gruber PW camp. After the war many buildings were sold and removed from the camp sites and some of these are at the camp and one of them is still buried at Ft. Sill. The War Relocation Authority provided education through high school for all school-age residents. With . 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. there were 3,280 PWs confined there. It first appeared in A machinist from the city of Hamburg, Germany, Kunze was drafted into the German Army in 1940 and sent to the Afrika Guidelines mandated placing thecompounds away from urban, industrial areas for security purposes, in regions with mild climate to minimize constructioncosts, and at sites where POWs could alleviate an anticipated farm labor shortage. The prisoner of war program did not proceed without problems. This document shows a list of 'General Camp Orders for all Prisoners of War'. The Ft. Sill Cemetery holds one enemy alien and one German PW who died there. Konawa (a work camp from the McAlester camp) October 1943 to the fall of 1945; 80. Terry Paul Wilson, "The Afrika Korps in Oklahoma: Fort Reno's Prisoner of War Compound," The Chronicles of Oklahoma 52 (Fall 1974). Originally a work camp from the McAlester PW Camp, Operational 1942-1945, Located South of Alva, Oklahoma, Woods County It was called Nazilager . The POWs that came to Oklahoma couldnt believe that they could ride a train for over four days and still bein the same country - they were amazed at how big the United States was, said Corbett. In June 1942, Operation Torch - the invasion of Africa - began and in November of that same year, troops landedin Morocco and Algeria. the Untied States, all of whom would have to be interned in case of war. it later became a branch of the Camp Gruber PW Camp. The POWs were sent first to New York City, where they were processed and given full medical exams. Hobart. Reports ofnine escapes have been found. professionals, bureaucrats and businessmen, said Corbett. or at alfalfa dryers. nine escapes have been found. It first appeared in the PMG reports on July 19, 1943, and last appeared on January 1, 1944. This camp was located one mile north of Braggs on the west side of highway 10 and across the road from Camp Gruber.The first PWs were reported on May 29, 1943. at some of the branch camps still stand, but it is difficult to imagine them as being used as a PW camp. These incidents, combined with war wounds, injuries, suicide, or disease, took the lives of forty-six captives. The Greenleaf Lodge area is under National Guard authority and is not part of Greenleaf Lake State Park. 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. permanent camps were put under construction or remodeling at Alva, McAlester, Stringtown,and Tonkawa. Generally, however, camps were run humanely. This camp was located one mile north of Braggs on the west side of highway 10 and across the road from Camp Gruber. is near Braggs at the location of the Camp Gruber PW Camp. During World War II federal officials located enemy prisoner of war (POW) camps in Oklahoma.