POW camps in Wisconsin durning WW 2
Cpkillmer
Where can I get information on POW camps in Wisconsin and Minnesota?
I have talked to the family member that was in the POW camp in Wisconsin
by Milwaukee. He had some very good pictures that he was able to take and
keep, it was uncomfortable to that side of the war story. I never learned
about German POW camps in the USA when I was in high school.
Thank you if you have any information for me
Gary Killmer(K llmer)
8773 Crestview Drive
St. Joseph, MN 56374
Lynn Main
Gary Killmer inquired about the World War II German POW camps in WI and
MN.
There was a German POW camp at the old lime kilns in Grafton, WI, north
of Milwaukee, in the heart of one of the most German counties in the
USA. Any information about the camp will probably have been written
after the fact. (I've seen pictures and references to the camp while
doing post-war newspaper research.)
You may be able to get information through the Ozaukee County Historical
Society which was at the former high school in Cedarburg, WI, several
years ago. Another, better, source is the State Historical Society of
Wisconsin, 816 State St., Madison, WI 53706. Telephone for General and
Genealogical Reference is (608) 262-9590.
Incidentally, not all German POWs had thoroughly unpleasant experiences
at the Grafton camp. Many worked on farms and in factories in an area
that was largely German-speaking. Some men stayed in/returned to the
area after the war and kept in touch with locals they had met.
(According to my godmother who's 82 and lives in the area.)
Good luck,
Lynn
wie...@webtv.net
Kate
Japanese-Americans for this, but did USgovt.for the German-Americans
they held hostage? Anyone know?
David L Polzin
POW's were NOT!! hostages. There is a huge, huge difference between a
hostage and a prisoner of war. Secondly, the Japanese-Americans that
were placed in detention camps were NOT hostages either. They were
isolated (albeit unfairly) because of questions of loyalty due to many
of them having relations and ties back to Japan. In fact, many of them
were second and third generation American-born and had no personal
knowledge of Japan. The reparations paid to the Japanese-Americans for
their forced displacement was, in my mind, a questionable and totally
political move on the part of the US government. The Japanese-Americans
were held, at worst, a couple of years. Native-Americans (Indians) have
had their land taken from them, been placed on reservations, and had
their cultures almost totally eliminated. And that has been going on
for more than 100 years. It is my personal observation that the reason
one grooup was paid reparations and the other not, is that
Native-Americans don't have a lot of ethnic kinsmen selling automibiles
and computer chips to the American consumers, and therefore receive no
special considerations.
I guess I got a little off the track. Anyway, the terms hostages and
prisoners-of-war, in their truest sense, cannot beused interchangeably.
Dave
SteveMB315
I recall as a young boy in Milwaukee seeing a truck of POW's heading north
on 8th and Keefe Ave, probably after a days work someplace.
steveMB@AOL
Marvin Hubenthal
Cpkillmer wrote:
>
> Where can I get information on POW camps in Wisconsin and Minnesota?
> I have talked to the family member that was in the POW camp in Wisconsin
> by Milwaukee. He had some very good pictures that he was able to take and
> keep, it was uncomfortable to that side of the war story. I never learned
> about German POW camps in the USA when I was in high school.
> Thank you if you have any information for me
> Gary Killmer(K llmer)
> 8773 Crestview Drive
> St. Joseph, MN 56374
I ran across an article about Camp Rockfield (Germantown, Washington Co., WI)
in the August 1992 edition of _Pages from the Past_, published by the
Germantown Historical Society. Their mailing address is:
Germantown Historical Society
P.O. Box 31
Germantown, WI 53022
Marvin Hubenthal
mhub...@sophistry.com
Helmut Schmahl
On Thu, 19 Dec 1996, Kate wrote:
> Cpkillmer wrote:
> >
> > Where can I get information on POW camps in Wisconsin and Minnesota?
> > I have talked to the family member that was in the POW camp in Wisconsin
> > by Milwaukee. He had some very good pictures that he was able to take and
> > keep, it was uncomfortable to that side of the war story. I never learned
> > about German POW camps in the USA when I was in high school.
> > Thank you if you have any information for me
> > Gary Killmer(K llmer)
> > 8773 Crestview Drive
> > St. Joseph, MN 56374
> I've recently heard of this also. I know the US govt. compensated the
> Japanese-Americans for this, but did USgovt.for the German-Americans
> they held hostage? Anyone know?
>
>
>
I was in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin in October. People there told me that
there was a camp of German POWs in World War Two next to the village. The
POWs worked for the local farmers. Elkhart Lake is in an area heavily
settled by Germans in the 1800s, and many of the old people there still
speak excellent German. I met a retired teacher in Elkhart Lake who told
me that he took the POWs to work in a bus every morning and that they
could not believe him when he told them that his great-greatgrandparents
had emigrated from Germany, not himself.
I suggest you to contact the State Historical Society of Wisconsin in
Madison for more information. The Sheboygan Falls Historical Research
Center might also have material on the Elkhart Lake Camp.
Helmut Schmahl
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Helmut Schmahl, Historisches Seminar Abteilung I, Johannes-Gutenberg-Universitaet Mainz,
Tel. 06131/395404 (dienstl.),
Tel./FAX (priv.): 06731/45298;
from U.S. phone/FAX: 011-49-6731-45298.
E-Mail: hsch...@goofy.zdv.uni-mainz.de
Patalmar
I am reading an interesting book titled Nazi prisoners of war in America
by Arnold Krammer--It is a very fascinating account of the Germans that
were here in the camps during WW2- I didn't realize that there were over
400,000 POW's here during the war.I never learned this in school
either,and the many people that have looked at the book,or that I have
told weren't aware of this fact either.For anyone interested in reading
about the accounts of these men,I'd recommend picking this one up.
Patricia Allen-Martinez
pata...@aol.com
William F. Holman
In article <32B954...@SoCA.com>, KA...@SoCA.com wrote:
> Cpkillmer wrote:
> >
> > Where can I get information on POW camps in Wisconsin and Minnesota?
> German-Americans they held hostage? Anyone know?
There was a POW camp in Wisconsin, near Waupun. The guests were German
soldiers captured in Italy. One of them, Kurt ________ was returned to
France after the war. He was held in bondage for a few years and released.
He returned to Germany, married, and came to Wisconsin. A fine family.
Kurt became an American, if you will, after the war. I never heard of any
German-Americans they held hostage.
--
Bill
Robert J Pritzl
Cpkillmer wrote:
>
> Where can I get information on POW camps in Wisconsin and Minnesota?
<SNIP>
> Gary Killmer(K llmer)
> 8773 Crestview Drive
> St. Joseph, MN 56374
Gary,
There was a German POW camp in Marshfield, Wis and the prisoners
were used on the local farms and pea cannery. There were barracks and a
fence but because the Marshfield population was mostly German, I do not
think that they were treated poorly, and in fact there were probably
cousins from both sides of the fence.
Bob P.
James R. Hoffmann
Cpkillmer wrote:
>
> Where can I get information on POW camps in Wisconsin and Minnesota?
> by Milwaukee. He had some very good pictures that he was able to take and
> keep, it was uncomfortable to that side of the war story. I never learned
> about German POW camps in the USA when I was in high school.
> Thank you if you have any information for me
>
buildings are still standing. The Waukesha County Historical Society
will have information. Some of the POW's would work in the farm fields
during the pea harvest season. We - my father and I - would go out
to the field and the guards would usually let them talk to my dad who
spoke German.
Jim
Dave Crane
Kate <KA...@SoCA.com> wrote:
>I've recently heard of this also. I know the US govt. compensated the
>Japanese-Americans for this, but did USgovt.for the German-Americans
>they held hostage? Anyone know?
No, Kate, you've got it backwards. These were GERMANS, not
German-Americans, and they were Prisoners of War (POWs), captured in
Europe during WWII and interned in the USA. Some liked it here so
much that they came back after the war was over. Article last year in
"Smithsonian" magazine, as I recall.
Asavoy3274
I remember my father telling me about a POW camp in Lake Odessa, MI area
(although not WI--albeit not that far off). As several others have
indicated in their messages--a great many of the Germans returned to the
area after the War and settled down to raise their families. From what I
recall my father telling me, these POWs worked in a factory that
manufactured items used in the War.
Asavo...@aol.com
Bonmot1
My husband is out right now, but he has an excellent book on such
camps--which I can't find right now. Written by a Prof in Wisc or Mich I
think. VERY interesting. We became interested because, POWS picked fruit
on the farm we now own in Door County, WI--still a WWII guard tower on
center of property. If want specifics, email to Run...@aol.com
JAcord521
Yes, there were POW camps in Mich. In fact, one was right outside
Detroit, by Rouge Park. I was a little girl at the time. I have heard of
no reference to them since the war.
kassens...@gmail.com
Bruce Kassens