Fort McCoy During WWII - When German Prisoners of War Became Contracted Workers

A couple weeks ago, I watched a 2011 movie titled Fort McCoy, which is the primary camp in Wisconsin where prisoners were sent during WWII before many of them were later sent to temporary branch camps to work. The movie is based upon the true story of a barber's family who lived next door to the camp and interacted with some of the prisoners during the war. (A compelling movie, but rated R for some violence.)

I couldn't recall if I'd ever seen the movie before. Parts were familiar, but it may be that I never saw the whole thing, or that I wasn't thinking about writing a WWII novel at the time I viewed it. Either way, it was interesting to see this take on the period and camp life, after having written my novel Season of My Enemy, which released just last month.

However, since a number of book reviewers found the author's note at the end of Season of My Enemy interesting and informative, I thought I should share a little more about camp life at both Camp McCoy and the branch camps.

Why were they brought here?

As I mention in my author's note, German prisoners captured after 1942 were sent here from England. As England was basically standing alone against the Germans by that point, they were housing several hundred thousand Germans taken captive, mostly from the African campaigns. But then a rumor circulated that Hitler intended to air drop weapons to the prisoners. By then America had gotten into the war, so our government agreed that, logistically, it was in the best interest of all to to put the prisoners on our empty troop and supply ships returning from Europe, and keep them here in the U.S. Besides the many Germans brought to the U.S., there were also Japanese, Italians, Koreans, Russians, and prisoners of other nationalities incarcerated here. 

Most Americans were unaware of their presence, an intentional effort by the government. Officials worried that knowledge of the "PW" presence would cause panic and fear of escape or, worse still, retaliation.

 

Camp McCoy

The military planned to use pre-existing military bases for the camps. One of those camps, Camp McCoy in west-central Wisconsin, had been built as an artillery camp after the Mexican-American war and named for Major General Robert Bruce McCoy who conceived the idea for it. By WWI, improvements were made that built it into a major training camp. It didn't officially become named "Camp McCoy" until 1926. Then, in the 1930s, it served as a supply base for the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC). However, with another World War looming on the horizon, Camp McCoy once again became a training ground for the military and, soon enough, a relocation camp for prisoners. (Ford McCoy has played many roles over the years since. Recently, Fort McCoy has served as a housing and relocation site for Afghan refugees.) 

During WWII, there were approximately 35 buildings at Camp McCoy. Kitchens, bath houses, messes, and barracks were enclosed inside a 20-acre compound. Later on, the Japanese built their own bath house so they could practice specific bathing rituals. Six guardhouses equipped with powerful spotlights looked over the perimeter fence that was buried five-and-a-half feet deep to discourage digging. McCoy also kept a kennel of trained guard dogs which were used to patrol the border. For entertainment--and to strike dread in the hearts of prisoners--handlers sometimes showed off their dogs' skills in camp demonstrations.

Prisoners Go to Work

Most prisoners remained within the confines of the camp. There, they completed maintenance and general construction building barracks, roads, and clearing bombing and artillery ranges. They ran the laundry and the incinerators, worked in the kitchen, and performed routine cleaning and other tasks that would free some of the American GI's for important military duty. 

Per the treaty of 1926, prisoners could never be forced to work. However, with Camp Ellis, Camp Custer, and Fort Sheridan also in the upper Midwest, Wisconsin capitalized on the opportunity to use prisoners to fulfil labor shortages brought on by the war. A system was devised for prisoners to leave the compound to work in canning factories, on farms, and in other agricultural endeavors and to be paid in camp script--like coupons. Some were marched to factories, but most were transported in trucks to their work location.

Not all the prisoners were allowed to do this. Those considered hardened Nazis or sympathizers remained inside McCoy's fencing. But for those who were allowed to work, the government set up branch camps around the state. In Wisconsin, there were 38 of these branch camps. Housing was, in some cases, unique. Tent cities sprang up in fields and on fairgrounds, while other barracks were set up in old hotels, a curling rink, and even a ballroom and in an abandoned insane asylum. 

The scrip prisoners earned equaled about 80¢ a day and could be used to purchase personal supplies in the camp canteens; items such as stationery, cigarettes, soap, socks, sweet treats, and even beer. 

In researching my novel, I also found it interesting that many prisoners were able to have savings accounts established for their unspent scrip, and when the war ended, they actually went home with a few dollars in their pockets. However, if their route home took them through France, their savings were usually confiscated. The route through England allowed them to keep their wages and was usually quicker too.

Camp Life

Though many of us have grown up learning the horror stories of starvation among Allied prisoners of war overseas during the war, Axis prisoners here in the states were well cared for, per the Geneva Convention rules that food and housing be equal to the host's military and, in many cases, out of simple human courtesy. Initially, at Camp McCoy, the prisoners were fed the very same things as the American G.I. guards, by 1943 a Prisoner of War circular allowed them to be fed with more of their ethnically traditional foods, as long as the food didn't cost more than the original rations and nothing was wasted.

Soon, the Japanese were able to have rice, sukiyaki, dried fish and pickles included in their menus, while the Germans enjoyed pigs' knuckles, pork, and wurst. 

Pigs' Knuckle

Bratwurst

Local citizenry was a bit incensed about the good treatment at times, although some farmers and factory-owners were known to feed their work crews liberally or to bring them treats. Not until 1945, when American soldiers were liberated from captivity in Germany and their poor health conditions discovered, and inspections of their prison quarters were taken into account, did the quality and quantity of prison camp food deteriorate.

Nevertheless, prior to that point, the military made every effort to accommodate prisoners. Church services were available, and each branch camp had a chapel. At some of the branch locations, congregations local agreed to let prison guards march or truck the prisoners to their churches if they wished to attend. At Camp McCoy, the Japanese were even given leave to build a Buddhist shrine. During holidays, traditional foods were provided. Some prisoners even celebrated Hitler's birthday and the Asian new year.

There were other amenities given to the PWs also. Routine medical and dental care were provided and even surgery if necessary. Prisoners were able to send out weekly correspondence, limited to alternating one postcard one week and one short letter the next--censored, of course. They also received incoming mail and care packages, though sporadically as the war lengthened and became more chaotic overseas. Some of the prisoners who remained on base worked in the mail room, woodworking, and other service shops.

Recreation

Camp Life wasn't all work. Many forms of recreation were offered to keep the prisoners content. Often the YMCA provided amenities such as books, musical instruments, art supplies, stationary, and other hobby materials. Prisoners could get rid of excess energy in their free time with volleyball, fist ball, soccer, or calisthenics. Sometimes branch camps held intramural soccer matches or they were given opportunity to swim. In larger camps, PWs were able to watch movies and news reels--usually beset by propaganda--or they could join chorus groups, quartets, and theatrical groups. Some prisoners even had pets ranging from birds and dogs to orphaned fawns.

Once a month, many of the larger camps were open to visitors. You might wonder at this if you didn't realize that Wisconsin has a large German immigrant population. Many German prisoners had relatives here in Wisconsin or other parts of the United States. There's a story of one young woman from Chicago whose brother was visiting their German homeland when war broke out. The brother was summarily drafted into the German army, captured, and wound up as a prisoner back at Fort McCoy. The young woman drove up from Chicago every month to see him. This is not an unusual story of German prisoners with family in the states.

All in all, the prisoners were treated very well while they were confined in Wisconsin. Many reported going home in better health and with more weight than when they arrived. Despite very strict discipline, there were never any reports of abuse in the camps.

Next time I'll share more about the PW experience here and about escape attempts and repatriation. Many of the historic tidbits I mentioned above found their way into Season of My Enemy. If you haven't read it, be sure an join the HHH bloggers next month for our 30-Million-Views celebration where you can have a chance to win a copy along with a multi-author prize package. 

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ÉDITH PIAF: THE REAL DEAL

By Mary Davis

 

I may have invented a WWII heroine character for my novel, but Édith Piaf is a true heroine of WWII. Though she’s not who you would typically think of when dreaming up a heroine, and her journey to heroism was mostly bumpy, but she was no less heroic.

Born Édith Giovanna Gassion in Paris, France December 19, 1915, she was named after British nurse Edith Cavell, a WWI heroine, who helped over 200 Allied soldiers escape from German occupied Belgium. Two months after Cavell died, Édith Gassion was born. 

Édith’s rocky start began with her mother abandoning her at birth. Her father, a soldier in WWI, dropped off his daughter with his mother while he was off fighting. How delightful for this little girl to be raised by Grandma. Except, Grandma ran a brothel. The women in this matriach’s den of fallen ladies took Édith on as sort of a mascot and all looked after her.

At age three, she contracted meningitis and, due to complications, went blind. Grandma’s ladies pooled their money to find a cure, however they didn’t seek a typical sort of treatment. They took her on a pilgrimage to Saint Thérèse of Lisieux for a miracle healing. After four years of being blind, her eyes improved, and she could see. Or so the story goes.

At age fourteen, Édith’s father took her with him all over France as part of his acrobatic street perfomances. This is where she first sang in public. The following year, she discovered a young woman who was thought to be her half-sister, Simone “Momone” Berteaut. Jury is out on whether she was or wasn’t related to Édith. Regardless, the girls became life-long companions. The pair sang together on the streets while Édith continued performing with her father. With the money they earned singing added to Édith’s income from the acrobatics act, she and Momone rented their own place.

In 1932, Édith fell in love with Louis Dupont, and he moved in with the girls even though he and Momone didn’t get along. Édith became pregnant and had a baby girl at seventeen. With little parenting knowledge, Édith found caring for her baby difficult. She continued street singing and even singing in the café Juan-les-Pins, Rue Pigalle. After having a fight with Dupont, she left him, taking her baby and half-sister with her to live in a hotel. While performing on the street with her sister, she often left the baby in the room alone. Dupont came and took his daughter, saying if Édith wanted her, she would have to come home. She chose to pay for childcare instead. At the age of two, the baby contracted meningitis, but unfortunately this little one didn’t survive.

The next several years were fraught with ups and downs. Being discovered and having her singing career soar were some of the high points. Due to her being only 4’10” and nervous, the nightclub owner gave her the stage name Le Mome Piaf (The Little Sparrow) and so she became known as Édith Piaf. The nightclub owner was murdered on April 6, 1936 by a mobster with previous ties to Piaf. Being accused as an accessory was a low point for Édith, however she was acquitted.

She went on to record songs, have songs written specifically for her, and starred in movies. Her popularity grew, and she became a French national treasure. She was known for singing torch songs. She had various lovers and said that mingling with the prostitutes in her grandmother’s brothel gave her a weakness for men.

During the German occupation of France in WWII, Piaf’s fame and career gained momentum. Then a unique opportunity presented itself. Édith was asked to sing for the German soldiers. She agreed but insisted the French prisoners be allowed to watch too. This must have been a great morale booster for them. However, she didn’t stop with simply entertaining. She smuggled compasses and maps to her countrymen while touring prison camps. When near Berlin at Stalag III-D camp, she insisted upon having her picture taken with the inmates. Her influential friends used them to make ID papers for the POWs, which declared each was a free French worker living in Germany. She then returned to the camp for another performance and delivered their new documents. Her efforts enabled up to 300 prisoners to escape. They and their families had to be so grateful to this true heroine.

After the war, she recorded more songs and starred in movies. She became internationally known and traveled around the world. She appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show eight times and at Carnegie Hall on two occasions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHezdRiqQwo

She married twice and was in more than one car accident which led to her abuse of pain killers and alcohol for years. She died on October 10, 1963 at age forty-seven. Though there was no autopsy, the cause of death was ruled liver failure due to cirrhosis and liver cancer. On the day of her burial, Paris was brought to a standstill by tens of thousands of mourners in the streets who turned out for the funeral procession. Her coffin was draped with the tri-color flag—her country’s highest honor.

Here are some interesting parallels.
~Like her own mother, Édith abandoned her daughter.
~Like herself, Édith’s daughter contracted meningitis but unfortunately succumbed to it.
~Like her name sake Edith Cavell, Piaf also helped hundreds of war prisoners escape.

One final word. Eyebrows?

Discovering Edith Cavell while researching Édith Piaf makes me want to learn more about her. So, since I’ll be reading about her for fun, I’ll create a post on her next month.

MRS. WITHERSPOON GOES TO WAR (Heroines of WWII series)

A WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) flies a secret mission to rescue three soldiers held captive in Cuba.

Margaret “Peggy” Witherspoon is a thirty-four-year-old widow, mother of two daughters, an excellent pilot, and very patriotic. She joins the WASP. As she performs various tasks like ferry aircraft, transporting cargo, and being an airplane mechanic, she meets and develops feelings for her supervisor Army Air Corp Major Howie Berg. When Peggy learns of U.S. soldiers being held captive in Cuba, she, Major Berg, and two fellow WASPs devise an unsanctioned mission to rescue them. With Cuba being an ally in the war, they must be careful not to ignite an international incident.

Get it HERE!

MARY DAVIS, bestselling, award-winning novelist, has over thirty titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her latest Quilting Circle release is THE DÉBUTANTE'S SECRET (The Quilting Circle  4), THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (The Quilting Circle  3) is a Selah Award Winner. Some of her other recent titles include; THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT (The Quilting Circle  1), THE DAUGHTER'S PREDICAMENT (The Quilting Circle  2), “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in The MISSAdventure Brides Collection , Prodigal Daughters Amish series, and "Bygones" in Thimbles and Threads. COMING IN OCTOBER 2022 THE LADY'S MISSION (The Quilting Circle  5).

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of thirty-seven years and one cat. She has three adult children and three incredibly adorable grandchildren.

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References:
Who Knew? Women in History by Sarah Herman
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89dith_Piaf
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edith-Piaf
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0681191/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
https://www.liveabout.com/how-did-edith-piaf-die-3552707
https://www.biography.com/musician/edith-piaf

 

Is there a rosy side to some WWII POW history?

When we think of prisoners of war during WWII, we naturally think of death camps, starvation, abuse, and a long season of suffering. We don't usually think about prisoners of war held here in the United States — of Germans and Japanese soldiers sitting out the war on American soil.

We might think of internment camps, of the tragic affair of American-born families of Japanese heritage who were taken from their homes, families, and businesses and housed behind fences, feared as "threats". Americans of German descent were scorned and ridiculed, and some of them were arrested and confined as well.

Yet, we rarely consider the many thousands of prisoners shipped here from overseas to be incarcerated in camps and the tens of thousands of those men who were sent to work in American fields and factories. Yet they were.

Image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay

When I wrote my novel Season of My Enemy which releases on June 1st, I was inspired by many accounts of the lives of those prisoners and of the Americans who were affected by their presence here. Here are just a few of the true stories/incidents that gave me inspiration for my novel:

• Clem Batz of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin watched the prisoners work. He said, “I was about 11 years old at the time, so it would have been 1945. There was a crew of German prisoners for the farm, and the fellows picked the corn by hand. It was all picked by hand ‘til the 50s, so they’d pick the corn and throw it in the wagon. At noon, they’d bring lunch for them (from the branch camp) and they’d always bring a guard. That was kind of funny because they never had a guard while working. My dad spoke German fluently, and he’d have them quit a little early to relax and visit a little bit.”

• Ruth Barrette was a teenager during the summer of '45 she spent picking cherries with German prisoners — boys about her own age — in her family’s orchard. She called that season a turning point in her life. As pails filled with ripe fruit, the boys shared with her the longing they had of returning home to families torn apart by a war they never asked for. Residents of rural farm communities like the one where Miss Barrette lived soon came to learn the German prisoners who were allowed to work were not Nazis at all, but young men and boys drafted into Hitler's reign of terror. Here in Wisconsin, where about a third of the population is of German descent, many of those prisoners might have been distant relatives, a fact that was not lost on Wisconsinites.

• Unlike what Japanese-Americans endured in the western coastal states, the German prisoners in the upper Midwest were treated with a certain degree of hospitality. David Rumachik, a preteen at the time, remembered his father hiring German men and boys as young as thirteen to pick their family's 60 acres of tomatoes. He said, “My mother talked to them and set out bowls of fruit for them. They were people, just like us, so it was hard for me to look at them and think that they were the enemy."

• In my coming novel, Fanny O'Brien's mother sets out lunch for the prisoners and sometimes gives them slices of baked bread after working the pea harvest. That bit of inspiration came from situations like that of Marge Lind who recalls her father hiring workers to help with the pea harvest on the Linds' farm. Due to a lack of the usual migrant workers during the war, the soldiers who were housed in a large cattle barn near the Baptist Church were trucked in to work the fields. The POWs cut and loaded pea vines onto a truck sent to the viners. Then the peas would be gleaned off and shipped on to a local cannery. Lind said that at noon the men gathered at the family's dooryard where lunch was served. "They were just teenage boys, nice kids that my mother baked bread for,” she said in later life. “For years my folks got letters from some of the boys after they returned home. There was that kind of a connection.”

• Another woman whose mother grew up during that time states, "My mother lived at Mike Miller's orchard/picking camp as a girl. Her dad managed it. She has always told us stories of talking with these men behind the fence. They would show her pictures of their own children and get teary-eyed. If grandma baked cookies the girls would sneak them through the fence. When the men were gone working in the orchard, grandpa would take the girls in the mess hall to sweep and clean."

• Military chaplains or local ministers held services for German prisoners, and it was not uncommon for nearby congregations to allow military guards to truck PWs to services. Be that as it may, the army kept most prisoner locations on the low-down, as not not everyone was keen on having the prisoners in their areas or working alongside American men and women in their communities. Many American soldiers who fought in horrible conditions overseas or were captured themselves, gave a good deal of kickback in their opinions about the supposed "cushy life" of the German prisoners. After the war, many records from the camps were destroyed.

In an effort to protect photograph copyrights, I don't include a lot of pictures in this post, but here's a link to 22 historic photos of German soldiers who worked in Wisconsin's fields and factories during WWII and formed relationships with citizens, including a photograph of Kurt Pechmann whose story I share below.

22 HISTORIC PHOTOS

Not to give an incomplete picture, yes, there were Nazis taken as prisoners. Camp McCoy in west-central Wisconsin housed 5000 German prisoners, and some of them were known Nazi sympathizers. The camp also housed 3,500 Japanese and 500 Koreans and a number of Italians also. McCoy even held America's first World war II POW, Kazuo Sakamaki — America’s first World War II POW — captured during Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. Sakamaki was a Japanese naval officer whose midget submarine ran aground. Out of the ten men operating five such two-man subs, only Sakamaki survived. After unsuccessfully attempting to scuttle his sub, he collapsed unconscious on a beach where he was found by American soldier David Akui and taken into custody.

Sakamaki in U.S. custody

Outside of Camp McCoy, however, approximately 13,000 more German soldiers were placed at some thirty-eight make-shift camps all over the state — and this is just speaking of Wisconsin. 511 such camps existed in states all across the Union, camps dedicated to housing prisoners who worked in the agriculture industry. Here, they set to work harvesting all manner of crops including sugar beets — a critical commodity used for making the industrial alcohol needed to manufacture munitions and synthetic rubber.

• Probably one of the most well-known accounts of a German prisoner, one that had a strong influence on my novel Season of My Enemy, is the story of Kurt Pechmann, a German granite cutter who had been drafted into the army and assigned the inglorious task of digging ditches. When his infantry division was moved to Russia, he said that lice helped keep them awake and alive as temperatures fell as low as eighty below zero. After surviving frostbite and being transferred to Italy, he stole olives to survive, but he was eventually captured by British forces. Because he'd always been told and believed that Americans, British, and Russians were bad, he was convinced he must be a Nazi. However, after arriving in the U.S. and enjoying his first meal of smoked bacon and "bread that tasted like cake", he began noticing the differences in life from what he'd always been told.

Sent to work in a Wisconsin canning factory along with his fellow prisoners, he enjoyed coffee and chocolate donuts topped with sprinkles as a snack handed out to those working the midnight shift. Working on a farm, he and his fellows were complimented for their work ethic, given a feast from the farmer, and in another town a truck even brought them a keg of beer once a week.

Kurt Pechmann in Camp Hartford in 1945 

 

Many prisoners shared a camaraderie with the guards, were allowed to form soccer teams, and even enjoyed films which at first consisted of propaganda but later included popular entertainment. Some even took college courses and acquired degrees.

After the war, all prisoners were repatriated back to Germany, but as many as 5000 Germans who'd previously been prisoners like Pechmann emigrated back to America through proper channels, and their descendants live here today.

After Pechmann was repatriated, he married and came back to America with his new wife Emilie. Here, he established himself as a businessman in stone masonry and memorials. Along with creating tombstones, he also went on to build and repair monuments to American veterans. He was later recognized in a letter from President Ronald Reagan and given an honorary Purple Heart.

 

WHAT ABOUT SABOTAGE AND TROUBLE-MAKERS?

In my research, I discovered that only compliant prisoners were allowed to work outside of the main or branch camps. Within the branch camps themselves, comrades disciplined trouble-makers. As in my novel, some prisoners might stage work stoppages for some reason, but only a very few made attempts at sabotage or escape. Usually, if there was an escape, it turned out to be one or two men who walked off the compound in search of a beer or some women.

The more sensible prisoners preferred being well-fed, well-treated, and not being shot at. Some guard did uncover weapons such as wire cutters, hand saws, hammers, knives, or sharpened screwdrivers. If an undetected SS officer joined other PWs, he usually tried to stir up trouble and resistance. (Another inspiration for my story.) Trouble-makers were usually quickly spotted and rooted out. 

MY NOVEL IS ROMANTIC, BUT DID AMERICAN WOMEN REALLY FALL FOR PRISONERS?

Well, you tell me. I'll point out that it was illegal for a POW to marry in the U.S.; however, after the war Washington enabled the fiancés of former POWs to set sail for Italy on surplus troop transports with a chaperone such as an aunt or mother. Each war bride carried two trunks of personal luggage along with the documents required for a legal marriage in Italy. By marrying in Italy, the women could then legally bring their new husbands back to America to live. Do you think that answers the question?

So is there a small, rosy side to WWI history? While I don't under-emphasize the horrors and atrocities of that or any war (including in my novel), to see that in at least one small aspect there was a time and place where people remembered that their enemies were human beings with hearts as aching and wanting as their own, well . . . that is a good thing. 

With that, I'll conclude. Here are a few other resources I used while writing my novel, which may interest you also:

fa

"Stalag Wisconsin: Inside WWII Prisoner-of-War Camps" by author Betty Cowley features more than 350 interviews, and serves as a comprehensive history of Wisconsin camps. This book was a real treasure as I wrote Fannie's story. 

An article that encapsulates much of the German POW experience:

Washington Post: Enemies Among Us: German POWs in America

For my fellow Wisconsinites, here is a list of all the WWII branch camps in Wisconsin and their locations. 

Season of My Enemy

The realities of WWII come to a Wisconsin farm bringing hope and danger.

Only last year Fannie O’Brien’s future shone bright, despite the war pounding Europe. Since her father’s sudden death however, with one older brother captured and the other missing, Fannie has had to handle the work of three men on their 200-acre farm, with only her mother and two younger siblings to help. That is until eight German prisoners arrive as laborers and, as Fannie feared, trouble comes with them.

Crops take precedence, even as accidents and mishaps happen around the farm. Are they leading to something more sinister? Suspicion grows that a saboteur may be among them. Fannie is especially leery of the handsome German captain who seems intent on cracking her defenses. Can she manage the farm and hold her family together through these turbulent times, all while keeping the prisoners—and her heart—in line?

Keep updated on Season of My Enemy and my other books, and get in on some monthly drawings by signing up for my newsletter right here.