From the March 17, 2009 Hannibal (Mo) Post "Louisiana exhibit will showcase World War II prison camp" by Brent Engel.
German prisoners in Louisiana, Missouri, went to work outside the prison walls, saw movies in town and attended church.
Only a few remnants of the POW camp remain today, essentially just the foundation of a guard house. For two days in April, a mobile museum was to come to town with the camp's story.
The site, on the southeast side of Louisiana near the intersection of 15th and North Carolina streets, was chosen during the war because it was a former National Youth Administration facility with bunk houses and mess hall that had closed in 1943.
The first prisoners were Italians who arrived in August 1943. They left in April 1944 when 63 German POWs arrived. All had come from larger prisons in the US.
They worked for Stark Brothers Nurseries (founded in 1816 and still open). They were escorted to work, church and theater.
Today, mobile homes are on the slabs of the former buildings.
Better to Be a German Prisoner in the US Than American Prisoner in Germany. --GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
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