“Stalag in Wisconsin”

A Book Review published online in the Door County Compass

On June 18, 2004

(1,039 Words)

“Grabbed and carried up the ladder to the top of the stack of pea silage by a tall husky German prisoner, six year old Stuart Olson was terrified. He struggled to get free. For what seemed like forever to the boy, the POW squatted down, holding Stuart tight as he rubbed his head. Eventually, the prisoner started to cry. A conversation took place between this POW and others still on the ground. One prisoner spoke enough English to make Stuart and his horrified older friends, Lowell and Dale Fradeen, understand the situation. Stuart reminded the POW of his own little boy left behind several years ago, and the man just could not resist hugging this small child.”

This poignant anecdote typifies only one of countless others related to Betty Cowley by Wisconsin residents and survivors of World War II. A retired history teacher, she compiled this detailed regional thread to the war to convince skeptical students that German POW’s really did stay at a camp in their hometown of Altoona in 1945.

The first POW’s reached Wisconsin shores in November 1942, in response to this country’s grudging benevolence toward Britain. They, alone, resisted Hitler, in Europe and, as the war progressed, their borders swelled with German prisoners. Soon, rumors spread that Hitler might drop weapons on the English troops who held them, so the U.S. agreed to “take custody” of all their prisoners who were captured after that date. This option eliminated the need to send equipment and troops to guard prisoners in Britain and also provided thousands of workers who filled labor shortages vacated by the soldiers who now served overseas.

As baby boomers, some of us may not realize that Wisconsin, in fact, housed over 20,000 POW’s during the war. Germans, Japanese, and other Asian nationalities often worked harmoniously with local residents, harvesting crops or performing any number of other manual labor jobs. Hard to believe? “The reader should remember the two different worlds Americans lived in at the time,” Cowley said. “In the world of the combat soldier, terror and death lurked everywhere…In the world of the Wisconsin home front, such personal dangers were very generalized, remote, and dubious.” To further complicate matters, about one-third of Wisconsin’s population comprised those of German ancestry. In effect, during the mid-1940’s, one might infer that Wisconsin was at war with its own people, since several anecdotes reveal local residents in shocked encounters with their POW relatives.

Cowley gives us a unique perspective of the World War II enemy, as seen through the eyes of Wisconsin residents during that time. Through personal anecdotes, vintage photos, and illustrations, the reader glimpses a view of life inside Wisconsin POW camps, regional accounts of residents’ interactions with and reactions toward prisoners, and a broader historical accounting of the United States’ treatment of prisoners, as a result of the Geneva Convention.

The author takes us inside camp life—the liberties prisoners received, the often-lax security during work details, and the fascinating relationships that developed between prisoners and residents, even though the government prohibited fraternization. The reader sees the personal power hierarchies that existed between different nationalities and even various military branches. The book delves into the diverse types of work performed by POW’s here, their contributions to the local economy and the nation as a whole, as well as revealing escape attempts.

The latter half of the book summarizes highlights from the thirty-eight branch camps in Wisconsin, including Camp Sturgeon Bay. Described as a “temporary camp,” Camp Sturgeon Bay held over 2000 POW’s in 1945, scattered across the peninsula, all waiting to go home. Locations of the seven POW groups here included Martin Orchard, Door County Fairgrounds, Reynolds Bros. Orchard, the M.W. Miller place, Goldman Orchard, Camp Witte, and Friedman Orchard. At one point, prisoners refused to work, so guards quickly enforced a “No work, no eat” policy, which restored peace to the camp in short order, but also may have contributed to rumors of rioting there. No fatalities ever occurred, however.

Cowley relates Jim Robertson’s recollection of two interactions with POW’s and their attitudes toward him, while home on leave. “Before, the prisoners…assumed I was a farm boy helping in the harvest…Now (when seen in his uniform), I was no longer a farm boy but a member of the powerful U.S. Navy that had helped to destroy their illusion of a master race.”

It is interesting to note that after the war ended, “only the president’s firm hand forced total repatriation…” of the prisoners by June 30, 1946. Many stayed on to complete the harvest, before the government returned them to their home countries. Out of over 450,000 POW’s nationwide, only 477 died in this country. In fact, they received such humane treatment at the hands of our military that many requested permission to stay here. Although the government’s negotiated peace treaty denied all such requests, an estimated 5,000 POW’s found work sponsors and immigrated back to the U.S. during the 1950’s.

Cowley’s emphasis on historical detail balances nicely with the personal recollections she relates, giving this book an appeal to both the average reader and the historian. I wondered, however, why the author chose to separate Camp McCoy’s chapter from the other thirty-eight Wisconsin camp chapters, and found the sheer volume of endnotes rather distracting. Some facts were repeated in certain chapters, as well. The book’s regional flavor and inside information, however, make up for its minor flaws.

It is ironic that the propaganda that fueled hatred and racism toward Hitler’s regime inspired such benevolence from government officials and locals, when brought face to face with its POW population. Although residents expressed mixed reactions toward POW’s, many people regarded the prisoners with awe and almost a celebrity status. With the dramatic unfolding of news regarding isolated treatment of POW’s during the Iraqi occupation, it seems doubtful that POW’s could exist here so amicably now, as they did during World War II. Stalag Wisconsin uncovered a generation of Americans who treated their enemy with respect and pride, stripping away the differences between them and revealing the basic qualities we all share, as human beings.

Stalag Wisconsin is available at online book retailers and may also be ordered through Passtimes Books or Book World.