Sometimes a place triggers our imagination and we have to go check it out. When we read about the remnants of a WWII German POW camp in the DeSoto National forest we had to go!
We left Whitney Plantation with no specific plans for the night other than to boondock in the National Forest. We tried to figure out which area will be good to explore when we saw P.O.W. Lake Recreation Area on the map. The description stated that this place was small POW camp for German prisoners during the war.
We left scenic Highway 90 with its miles of unobstructed ocean views
and headed north of Biloxi towards the forest.
It was cloudy and gloomy and the forecast called for rain throughout the night. Our GPS led us through several red dirt roads that took us into the POW recreation area.
It was getting dark, but we could see the deserted ammunition bunkers on our left.
There was one more camper in sight and we chose to settle for the night in an area that seemed out of the way. After a short walk around the bunkers we started dinner and hurried inside before the rain started.
Rainy weather is Google Time!
We knew that there were POW camps in North America, but didn’t realize that there were hundreds of camps and about half a million prisoners during the war.
According to Wikipedia:
“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.”
Canada had just under 35,000 prisoners in about 40 camps throughout the country.
Here is a list of many of the major camps in the US and in Canada.
This interactive GIS map shows some of the main camps in the US, you can drill in to get more information about a specific camp. The prisoners worked in farms across the south as well as in National forests planting seedlings.
It was easier to ship these prisoners to the US and Canada than to ship supplies for them to areas that already suffered from shortage of supplies. Moreover, the labour force in the US received a significant boost.
So here we are, grilling hamburgers under the trees that German Prisoners of War planted in Mississippi. We thought about the bizarre twists of fate that life can throw your way.
We feel lucky to be able to drive into a place like this and park for the night, did they? Removed from war, well fed, paid a little for their work, and treated reasonably well, most prisoners had no desire to escape. Here is one interview with a POW who thought he was really lucky to be there. There are many more stories out there and if this peaked your interest look some of these stories up.
By the end of the war all but 20 were caught . Out of those, all but one were located after the war ended. As we drive out of the forest we will leave you with his incredible story.
Most of these camps have disappeared, leaving no trace behind, but there are some remnants here and there. One small town in Utah is preserving their little POW camp as a museum. We put it on our list of places to visit next time we’re in Utah!
Our next stop is a small museum and the works of a tormented artist so make sure to come back!
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Fascinating, growing up in Rochester, NY I remember hearing stories about the POW camp located next to what is now a park “Cobbs Hill” and how the POWs were welcomed into the community by many. It must have been a branch camp from Fort Niagara unless it is one of those named with no location. To the best of my knowledge there is no marker even to recall its existence. The area, adjacent to the park, was converted for use by retirees from Fire and Police departments. It continues to be a retirement community although the structures were all replaced years ago.
Cool! I found this PDF about Cobbs Hill: https://www.libraryweb.org/~rochhist/v56_1994/v56i3.pdf you will find it interesting if you haven’t seen it. In Toronto we have stories of the German prisoners roaming the Don Valley and I believe some came back to Canada after the war.
OMG! great information about POWs, but even more important to me is the next article about David Hochstein. My late father-in-law was a violin teacher at the Hochstein School (and played viola in the Rochester Philharmonic for over 50 years) and knew David before he went off to war. To this day my wife and I are supporters of the school and when we are in Rochester (rarely these days) our apartment is a 2 block walk to the school and we go there often for concerts.
Wow! Serendipity at its best, isn’t it?
What a story! Complete with a happy ending.