WHAT: Held on the Homefront: German POWs in the U.S., 1943-46, a traveling exhibit
WHO: Everyone is welcome to attend.
WHEN: Tuesday, November 9th, noon – 4 p.m.
WHERE: Wicomico Public Library, outside on Circle Ave.
SALISBURY, MD – October 13, 2010 – The Friends of Wicomico Public Library are co-sponsoring, along with the Historical Society, Held on the Homefront at the Main Library on November 9th from 12-4 p.m.
Sixty-five years ago Allied forces defeated Nazism in Europe—while almost half a million Axis POWs sat on U.S. soil! From Labor Day 2010 through Memorial Day 2011 TRACES Center for History and Culture is featuring Held on the Homefront: German POWs in the U.S., 1943-46, a traveling exhibit touring the East Coast from North Carolina to Maine; passing through Salisbury in November!
Held on the Homefront is an unusual, rich story brought to life in the BUS-eum, a 40-foot school bus converted into a mobile classroom and museum. The exhibit consists of 15 narrative display panels illustrated
with dozens of photographs and documents, DVD documentaries, artifacts and much more.
Although few people know the story today, almost 380,000 German POWs were held in 660 camps, in almost each of the then-48 states and in the Territory of Alaska. They worked side by side with their American "hosts" and in the process formed relationships, some lasting decades. Their experiences embody ageless and timely themes of war and peace, justice under arms, and issues regarding human rights, international reconciliation and future conflict avoidance.
There were 12 camps in Maryland alone! Irving Kellman, our BUS Driver/Docent Extraordinaire, will be conversant about your state’s local POW stories; some of them included: Odenton – Gaithersburg – Frederick – Pikesville – Cambridge – Salisbury – Westminster - Berlin - Hurlock – Westover.
For more information on this event or other library services, visit us on the web at www.wicomicolibrary.org or call 410-749-3612. Programs are free and open to the public.
The Friends are dedicated to strengthening support for the library, enriching resources and services in partnership with the staff and trustees and promoting awareness of library services and needs.
Wicomico Public Library: Supporting Learning, Building Community, Enriching Lives
8 comments:
my father and a group of local guys used to go to westover and play baseball with the pows. after the war was over a number of them refused to go home and stayed in this area. thanks sjd
I remember the Westover POW camp well. The prisoners were transported to Mason Canning Company in Pocomoke to load rail cars and do other work. The young ladies who worked there were fascinated with the Germans and more than once during their lunch hour we found naked ladies and naked Germans in the cars on top of cases of tomatoes. I doubt our Allied prisoners fared as well in the German POW camps.
12:38
Come on now. You made that up didn't you? Come on. Tell the truth.
12:38
Come on now. You made that up didn't you? Come on. Tell the truth.
Why weren't the German POWs held indefinitely without any hope of trial or release?
Why weren't they tortured?
The story about Mason Canning Company is very true; just ask any old-timer in Pocomoke. At the time many locals were incensed because our boys were dying in Europe and the German prisoners were having the time of their life here, supposedly doing hard labor.
"Why weren't the German POWs held indefinitely without any hope of trial or release?"
The German POWs WERE held indefinitely without trial. It was called "For The Duration". Just like the American GIs were conscripted indefinitely, without trial "For The Duration".
As far as torture, what's the definition of that? Being 3,000 miles from home and living with a bunch of other smelly guys in a tar paper shack?
Living on a farm in Somerset County during the WWII war I remember two German POW's who worked on my Dad's farm. They were from the Westover camp. Toward the end of the season all of the POW's went from farm to farm to finish getting the crops in. I was very young (6 or 7 yrs old) I thought Willie and Jorgen were very nice and wondered why they were POW's. I though the Japanese were the "bad" guys.
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