List of World War II prisoner-of-war camps in the United States


In the United States at the end of World War II, there were prisoner-of-war camps, including 175 Branch Camps serving 511 Area Camps containing over 425,000 prisoners of war. 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 had at least one POW camp. Some of the camps had to be designated "segregation camps" and used to separate the Nazi "true believers" from the rest of the prisoners, whom they terrorized and even killed for being friendly with their American captors. A number of Italian POWs, pledged to help the United States. About 90% of Italian POWs volunteered for Italian Service Units. Due to labor shortage, Italian Service Units helped on Army depots, arsenals, farms and hospitals there they volunteered, they received better housing, than the standard POW camp, uniforms and pay.
At its peak in May 1945, a total of 425,871 POWs were held in the US. This included 371,683 Germans, 50,273 Italians, and 3,915 Japanese.
CampStateCity or CountyNotes--
Bainbridge Army AirfieldGeorgiaBainbridgeOriginally an Army Airfield flight training facility. Also housed several hundred German POWs who worked in nearby agricultural farms. Following World War II, the facilities became the Bainbridge State Hospital residential mental health campus until its closure in the 1960s.--
Boston Port of EmbarkationMassachusettsBoston--
Bradley FieldConnecticutWindsor LocksNow Bradley International Airport--
Camp AdairOregonBenton County--
Camp AlbuquerqueNew MexicoAlbuquerque--
Camp AlgomaIdahoAlgoma--
Camp AlgonaIowaAlgona--
Camp AlicevilleAlabamaAlicevilleOpened in 1943, a segregation camp from 1944.--
Camp AlleganMichiganAllegan County--
Camp AllenVirginiaNorfolk--
Camp AlvaOklahomaAlvaOne of the first segregation camps.--
Fort AndrewsMassachusettsBoston Harbor--
Camp Angel IslandCaliforniaSan Francisco--
Camp AntigoWisconsinAntigo--
Camp AppletonWisconsinAppleton--
Camp AshbyVirginiaPrincess Anne County--
Camp AshfordWest VirginiaWhite Sulphur Springs--
Camp AtlantaNebraskaAtlanta--
Camp AtterburyIndianaEdinburghHoused 3,500 Italians and later 10,000 Germans--
Camp AuTrainMichiganAuTrain--
Camp BarkeleyTexasAbileneLocated near what is now Dyess Air Force Base.--
Camp BarronWisconsinBarron County--
Camp BassettArkansasBassett--
Camp BastropLouisianaBastropBranch Camp of Camp RUSTON Kurt Richard Westphal escaped in August 1945 and was recaptured in Hamburg, West Germany in 1954.--
Camp BayfieldWisconsinBayfieldFormerly the county courthouse, is now the headquarters of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.--
Camp BealeCaliforniaYuba County--
Camp Beaver DamWisconsinBeaver Dam--
Camp Belle MeadNew JerseyBelle MeadHoused primarily Italian POWs. Once Italy surrendered, the Italian POWs were permitted to volunteer for the "Italian Service Unit." This unit provided the POWs with an opportunity to work and earn a wage, as well as preferential treatment.--
Camp Billy MitchellWisconsinMilwaukeeOver 3000 German POWs were interned at Billy Mitchell Field airport from January 1945 to April 1946.--
Camp BlandingFloridaClay CountyUpwards of 200 German Prisoner of War were moved to Venice Army Air Field in February 1945 from Camp Blanding. Seven German soldiers who had been buried at Camp Blanding, were reinterred on 25 April 1946, at the Fort Benning National Cemetery near Columbus, Ga when the federal government returned Camp Blanding to the Florida National Guard.--
Camp BowieTexasBrown CountySee: a written account from Joseph Lehman to a friend.--
Camp BradyTexas--
Camp BreckinridgeKentucky--
Camp BrinerNorth CarolinaButner--
Camp BullisTexasSan Antonio--
Camp ButnerNorth CarolinaButnerKurt Rossmeisl escaped on 4 August 1945 and surrendered in 1959.--
Camp CambriaWisconsinCambria--
Camp CampbellKentuckyOne of the first three designated camps for anti-Nazis, along with Fort Devens, Massachusetts and Camp McCain.--
Camp CarsonColoradoEl Paso County--
Camp ChaffeeArkansasSebastian County--
Camp ChaseOhio--
Camp ChickashaOklahomaGrady County--
Camp ChiltonWisconsinChilton--
Camp ClaiborneLouisiana
Branch Camp of CAMP RUSTONForest Hill
---
Camp ClarindaIowa--
Camp Clark, MissouriMissouri--
Camp CleburneTexasJohnson CountyLocated where the present day Cleburne Conference center is located in the 1500 block of West Henderson--
Camp ClintonMississippiClintonHoused German POWs from the Afrika Korps after their defeat in North Africa--
Camp CobbWisconsinCobb--
Camp ColumbusWisconsinColumbus--
Camp ComoMississippi--
Camp ConcordiaKansasConcordia--
Camp CookeCaliforniaSanta Barbara County--
Camp CroftSouth Carolina--
Camp CrossvilleTennessee--
Camp CrowderMissouri--
Camp DawsonWest Virginia--
Camp DemingNew MexicoGeorg Gärtner escaped on 21 September 1945, and finally surrendered in 1985. He was the last escapee, having remained at large for 40 years.--
Camp DermottArkansasDermott, Arkansas--
Camp DouglasWyomingDouglas--
Camp DundeeMichiganTwo escaped. Used a railroad box car. Recaptured: Roanoke, Va.--
Camp Eau ClaireWisconsinAltoona--
Camp EdwardsMassachusettsFalmouth--
Camp EllisIllinoisFulton County--
Camp EuniceLouisiana--
Camp EvelynMichiganAlger County--
Camp FaribaultMinnesota--
Camp FanninTexasTylerLocated on the campus of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler.--
Camp FlintCaliforniaPlacer County--
Camp FlorenceArizonaFlorenceLargest all-new prisoner of war compound ever constructed on American soil.--
Camp Fond du LacWisconsinFond du Lac300 German POWs were interned at the Fond du Lac County Fairgrounds from June to August 1944 while they harvested peas on local farms and worked in canneries.--
Camp ForrestTennesseeTullahomaFirst attempted escape by two German POWs on 5 November 1942.--
Camp Fox LakeWisconsinFox Lake--
Camp FredoniaWisconsinFredonia330 German POWs lived in a tent city around the Louis Glunz dance hall and worked on farms and in area canneries during the 1945 harvest.--
Camp FreelandMichiganFreelandThe current site of the TriCity Airport --
Camp GalesvilleWisconsinGalesville--
Camp Gene AutryOklahomaArdmore Army Air Field--
Camp GeneseeWisconsinGenesee--
Camp GermfaskMichiganGermfask--
Camp GrantIllinoisRockford--
Camp GrantMichiganGrantFormerly located on the south-east corner of East 120th St. and South Walnut Ave. 2.5 miles east of Grant. Prisoners worked on local farms.--
Camp GreeleyColoradoGreeley--
Camp Green LakeWisconsinGreen Lake--
Camp GruberOklahomaMuskogee--
Camp GueydanLouisiana--
Camp HaanCaliforniaRiverside County--
Camp HaleColoradoPando-Leadville--
Camp HartfordWisconsinHartford600 German POWs were interned in the Schwartz Ballroom from October 1944 to January 1946. They were contracted to work on farms and in canneries, mills, and tanneries.--
Camp HearneTexasHearne--
Camp HerefordTexasDeaf Smith CountyOnly for Italians--
Camp HobartOklahoma--
Camp HoffmanMarylandClose to Fort Lincoln and held over 5,000 soldiers--
Camp HoodTexas--
Camp Horseshoe RanchOklahomaHickory--
Camp HortonvilleWisconsinHortonvilleHeld German POWs. All buildings have since been demolished, the only structure left standing is the base of one stone pillar where the main gate of the camp stood.--
Camp HoultonMaine--
Camp HowzeTexas--
Camp HulenTexasPalacios--
Camp HuntsdalePennsylvania--
Camp HuntsvilleTexasOne of the first segregation camps.--
Camp IndianolaNebraska--
Camp JanesvilleWisconsinJanesville--
Camp JeffersonWisconsinJefferson--
Camp JeromeArkansasJerome--
Camp KaplanLouisiana--
Camp KaufmanTexasKaufman--
Camp KeesusWisconsinMerton--
Camp Las CrucesNew MexicoLas CrucesWerner Paul Lueck escaped in November 1945 and was recaptured in Mexico City in 1954.--
Camp LeeVirginia--
Camp LivingstonLouisiana--
Camp LockettCaliforniaCampoAuxiliary of Camp Haan in Riverside County, home to last Civil War cavalry unit, Buffalo Soldiers. POW Camp for Italians and Germans--
Camp LodiWisconsinLodi--
Camp LordsburgNew MexicoLordsburg1942-1945: held Japanese-American internees, and then German and Italian POWs.--
Camp MackallNorth CarolinaHoffman--
Camp MarionOhioMarionhttp://www.hmdb.org/Marker.asp?Marker=29115--
Camp MarkesanWisconsinMarkesan--
Camp MarshfieldWisconsinMarshfield--
Camp McAlesterOklahomaMcAlester and Piteburghttp://worldandmilitarynotes.com/pow/camp-mcalester-ok-usa-pow-camp/--
Camp McCainMississippiOne of the first three designated camps for anti-Nazis, along with Camp Campbell and Fort Devens, Massachusetts.--
Camp McCoyWisconsinMonroeJapanese and German POWs; Japanese, Italian, and German internees; now Fort McCoy--
Camp McKayMassachusettsConstructed for prisoners, later reused for housing after the war--
Camp McLeanTexas--
Camp MackanNorth Carolina--
Camp MaxeyTexas--
Camp MexiaTexas--
Camp MilltownWisconsinMilltown--
Camp Myles StandishMassachusettsTaunton--
Camp MonticelloArkansasMonticello--
Camp MontgomeryMinnesota--
Camp Natural BridgeNew YorkWest PointGerman camp--
Camp New CumberlandPennsylvania--
Camp New UlmMinnesotaNew UlmFortuitously 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.--
Camp OakfieldWisconsinOakfield--
Camp OgdenUtah--
Camp Oklahoma CityOklahomaOklahoma CityOn site of Will Rogers World Airport.--
Camp OnoCaliforniaSan BernardinoItalian camp--
Camp OpelikaAlabama--
Camp OwossoMichiganShlawassee County--
Camp OwatonnaMinnesota--
Camp Patrick HenryVirginiaNewport News--
Camp Papago ParkArizonaGermany's "Great Escape" was from a tunnel by 25 prisoners on 24 December 1944.--
Camp Pauls ValleyOklahoma--
Camp PearyVirginia--
Camp PerryOhioNow home to the CMP Headquarters and Gary Anderson competition center--
Camp PhilipsKansas--
Camp PickettVirginia--
Camp PimaArizonaOne of the first segregation camps.--
Camp MichauxPennsylvaniaCumberland County--
Camp PlymouthWisconsinPlymouth--
Camp PolkLouisiana--
Camp PomonaCalifornia--
Camp PopolopenNew York--
Camp PoriMichiganUpper Peninsula--
Camp PryorOklahoma--
Camp RacoMichiganSault Ste. Marie--
Camp ReedsburgWisconsinReedsburg--
Camp ReynoldsPennsylvania--
Camp RhinelanderWisconsinOneida County--
Camp RitchieMarylandCascadeGerman and Italian POW Camp during 1942–1945 housing mostly Africa Corps Officers and Italians enlisted from the Torch Campaign. Camp Ritchie also served as a U.S. Army Training Camp from WWII until it was closed under BRAC during the 1990s to the early 2000s. Almost all of the WWII Camp structures have since been demolished. Also the site of training for "The Ritchie Boys", European refugees trained there to go back into Germany and sabotage the war effort.--
Camp RiponWisconsinRipon--
Camp Jos. T. RobinsonArkansasPulaski County--
Camp RockfieldWisconsinGermantown500 German POWs were housed in a warehouse and tent city next to the Rockfield Canning Co. plant, where many of them worked as pea packers. Other POWs were transported to work on farms and canneries in neighboring communities.--
Camp RoswellNew MexicoLocated SE of Roswell. 1942-1946: German POWs.--
Camp RuckerAlabama--
Camp RupertIdahoPaul--
Camp RustonLouisianaRuston, LouisianaArea Camp with 9 Branch Camps. Capacity for 4800 at main camp. 3 POW compounds, 2 Enlisted, 1 Officer, Hospital Compound, American Compound. Housed diverse groups of POWs ranging from Afrika Corp troops, Italian, Yugoslavian, Chechen, Russian conscripts and others. Later known as an anti-Nazi camp where many intellectuals, artist, writers were among the POWs. The U-505 crew was kept incommunicado in NE compound. Only 1 escapee that was never recaptured who returned to Germany via Mexico. Extensive archive collection of photographs, interviews, art, stone castle, and other memorabilia housed in LA Tech archives provided by Camp Ruston Foundation.--
Camp San Luis ObispoCaliforniaSan Luis ObispoHeld Italian POWs--
Camp SalinaUtahSalina, UtahThis camp had a guard fire on and kill several German prisoners. See Utah prisoner of war massacre--
Camp Santa FeNew MexicoSanta Fe--
Camp Thomas A. ScottIndianaFort WayneCamp Scott held more than 600 German POWs from the Afrika Korps from late 1944 until the camp closed in November 1945.--
Camp ScottsbluffNebraska--
Camp ShanksNew York--
camp in McMillan WoodsPennsylvaniaGettysburg BattlefieldSame commander as Camp Michaux camp.--
Camp SheboyganWisconsinWinooskiFrom July to December 1945, 450 German POWs were housed in the Sheboygan County Asylum, which was built in 1878 and abandoned in 1940 when a new facility was completed.--
Camp ShelbyMississippi--
Camp SibertAlabama--
Camp SidnawMichiganSidnaw--
Camp Skokie ValleyIllinoisGlenview--
Camp SomersetMaryland--
Camp StarkNew Hampshire--
Camp StewartGeorgia--
Camp StocktonCalifornia--
Fort StrongMassachusettsBoston--
Stringtown POW CampOklahomaAtoka--
Camp Sturgeon BayWisconsinDoor County2,000 German POWs were houses at seven locations on the Door Peninsula, where they worked in the local cherry orchards.--
Camp SturtevantWisconsinSturtevant--
Camp SuttonNorth Carolina--
Camp SwiftTexasBastrop--
Camp ThomasvilleGeorgiaThomasvilleLarge German pow camp 2 miles outside of Thomasville. Following World War II, 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 ThorntonIllinoisThornton--
Camp TiptonOklahoma--
Camp TishomingoOklahoma--
Camp TonkawaOklahomaSite 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 TooeleUtahPOW Camp, Co.1, Tooele --
Camp TrinidadColoradoLas Animas CountyA electrically lighted escape tunnel was discovered by authorities. This was probably a coal mining tunnel in that Engleville was a 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 Tyson POW CampTennesseeParis--
Camp UptonNew YorkSuffolk CountyApproximately 1,000 Japanese Americans were kept there, under tight security, behind multiple layers of barbed wire fence. Camp Upton was also used to hold Japanese citizens who were in New York City at the time war broke out, including businessman with whom the governments of Japan and the United States negotiated an exchange.--
Camp Van DornMississippi--
Camp WallaceTexasGalveston County--
Camp WarnerOregon--
Camp WashingtonIllinoisWashingtonReinhold Pabel escaped on 9 September 1945 and was recaptured in Chicago in March 1953--
Camp WaterlooMichiganHeinz Eschweiler, a 27-year-old German POW, escaped and gave himself up 3 miles north of camp. Capt. Bruce Beiber, commandant at Waterloo, said the prisoner surrendered to Ernest Riemenschneider, who turned him over to state police. The camp housed German Prisoners of War in 1944 and 1945.--
Camp WaterlooWisconsinWaterloo--
Camp WaupunWisconsinWaupun--
Camp WaynokaOklahoma--
Camp Weeping WaterNebraska--
Camp WellsMinnesota--
Camp WeingartenMissouriLocated between Farmington and Ste. Genevieve, Missouri--
Camp WhartonTexasWharton--
Camp WheelerGeorgia--
Camp WhiteOregon--
Camp White RockTexasDallasA former CCC camp it was used for POWs who were with Rommel's Afrika Corps. After the war it became a men's dormitory for Southern Methodist University for the influx of students after the war and now is a Dallas park called Winfrey Point by White Rock Lake.--
Camp WhitewaterMinnesotaSt. Charles, Minnesota--
Camp Wisconsin RapidsWisconsinWisconsin Rapids200 German POWs were interned at the Tri-City Airport from July to November 1945.--
Camp WoltersTexas--
Corpus Christi Naval Air StationTexasCorpus Christi--
Cushing General HospitalMassachusetts--
Drew FieldFloridaNow Tampa International Airport and Drew Park.--
Edgewood ArsenalMaryland--
Eglin Army Air FieldFlorida--
Farragut Naval Training StationIdahoLocated on Lake Pend Oreille in Bayview for the duration of World War IIThe installation housed around 900 Germans, who worked as gardeners and maintenance men around the base and surrounding community. Additionally, Bayview is an unincorporated community; therefore, Farragut Naval Training Station was officially located in Kootenai County.--
Fort AndrewsMassachusettsFor Italian prisoners--
Fort Benjamin HarrisonIndiana--
Fort BenningGeorgia--
Fort BlissTexas--
Fort BraggNorth Carolina--
Fort CampbellKentucky--
Fort CrockettTexasGalveston--
Fort CurtisVirginia--
Fort CusterMichiganIn Section B of Fort Custer National Cemetery, there are 26 German graves. Sixteen of the men were killed or died as a result of an accident on 31 October 1945.--
Fort DevensMassachusettsDevensOne of the first three designated camps for anti-Nazis, along with Camp Campbell and Camp McCain, Mississippi.--
Fort DixNew JerseyHarry Girth escaped in June 1946 and surrendered to authorities in New York City in 1953.--
Fort DrumNew York--
Fort DuPontDelaware--
Fort EustisVirginia--
Fort GettyRhode Island--
Fort GordonGeorgia--
Fort GrebleRhode Island--
Fort JacksonSouth Carolina--
Fort KearnyRhode IslandHad program to instill democratic values in Germans based on newspaper Der Ruf --
Fort KnoxKentucky--
Fort LawtonWashingtonA 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 LeavenworthKansas--
Fort Leonard WoodMissouri--
Fort LewisWashingtonLocated between Olympia and Tacoma, Washington.--
Fort McClellanAlabama--
Fort MeadeMarylandFort 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.--
Fort MissoulaMontanaMissoula1941-1944: Italian POWs.--
Fort NiagaraNew YorkFort Niagara, along with Camp Drum maintained several sub- or branch camps in other New York locations, including Geneseo.--
Fort OglethorpeGeorgiaFort Oglethorpe--
Fort OmahaNebraskaOmaha--
Fort OrdCaliforniaA nearly completed escape tunnel was discovered by authorities.--
Fort Patrick HenryVirginia--
Fort RenoOklahoma--
Fort RileyKansas--
Fort RobinsonNebraska--
Fort RuckerAlabama--
Fort D.A. RussellTexasMarfaBuilding 98--
Fort Sam HoustonTexasSan Antonio--
Fort SaulsburyDelaware--
Fort SheridanIllinoisLake CountySub camps:Camp Pine, Camp Thornton and Camp Skokie Valley, each with 200 POWs.--
Fort SillOklahomaLawton--
Fort SumnerNew Mexico--
Fort F.E. WarrenWyoming--
Glennan General HospitalOklahomaOkmulgeeNow the site of Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology--
Grider FieldArkansasPine Bluff--
Halloran General HospitalNew York--
Hammond Northshore Regional AirportLouisiana--
Hampton Roads Port of EmbarkationVirginia--
Honouliuli Internment CampHawaiialso housed POWs from the Pacific--
Indiantown Gap Military ReservationPennsylvaniaIndiantown Gap--
Holabird Signal DepotMaryland--
Jefferson BarracksMissouriSt. Louis--
Jersey City Quartermaster Supply DepotNew JerseyCaven Point, Jersey City--
Lovell General HospitalMassachusetts--
McCloskey General HospitalTexasTemple--
Memphis General DepotTennessee--
Naval Air Station Whiting FieldFloridaMilton--
New Orleans Port of EmbarkationLouisiana--
Newton D. Baker HospitalWest VirginiaMartinsburg--
Olmstead FieldPennsylvania--
Patterson FieldOhio--
Pine CampNew YorkPresent Day Fort Drum, NY
Port JohnsonNew Jersey--
Pine Bluff ArsenalArkansasPine Bluff--
Richmond ASF DepotVirginia--
Rocky Mountain ArsenalColoradoRose Hill--
Thibodaux, LouisianaLouisianaThibodauxHoused German POWs from the Afrika Corps after defeat in North Africa. Camp was located in North Thibodaux along Coulon Road.--
Tobyhanna Military ReservationPennsylvaniaTobyhanna--
Valley Forge General HospitalPennsylvaniaValley Forge--
Waltham Memorial HospitalMassachusettsWaltham--
Westover FieldMassachusettsWestover--
Windfall Indiana World War II POW CampIndianaWindfall--
RomeNew YorkRome--
UticaNew YorkUtica--
BoonvilleNew YorkBoonville--

Footnotes