Chapter I

Prisoners Of War In The United States During World War II

Immediately after the outbreak of World War II the United States planned for the internment of enemy alien civilians. As early as December 9, 1941, preparations were started for the construction of a permanent alien enemy camp on the Florence Military Reservation in Arizona. While work was proceeding on this camp, ten emergency camps were established on Army posts strategically located on each coast and land frontier of the United States. In January, 1942, two additional three thousand-man camps were authorized. In an effort to move many of the alien enemy civilians from California, the Provost Marshal General and the Quartermaster General selected sites for additional camps in the Southwest, authorized the construction of nine other permanent alien camps, and planned for fourteen more alien camps.[1]

By December, 1942, there were only about four thousand enemy aliens interned in the United States instead of the March prediction of one hundred thousand.  As a result of this miscalculation numerous camps under construction were later converted to prisoner-of-war camps.[2]

Early in 1942, the War Department directed the transfer of all captured enemy personnel to the United States in an effort to relieve overseas forces from the problems of guarding, feeding, and housing prisoners of war. However, very few prisoners were captured by United States forces in 1942, and by December 31 of that year only 1,881 prisoners had been interned in the United States.[3]

In August, 1942, Great Britain proposed the transfer of one hundred and fifty thousand British-captured prisoners of war to the United States. At that time Great Britain held twenty-three thousand German and two hundred and fifty thousand Italian prisoners and believed that wholesale captures would strain facilities in their country; therefore, Britain suggested that the United States intern fifty thousand of these prisoners on one month’s notice and the other one hundred thousand on three months’ notice. The United States Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Joint Staff Planners agreed to accept the one hundred and fifty thousand prisoners of war with the understanding that the War Department would be given one month’s notice before the acceptance of the first shipment of fifty thousand and one month’s notice for each consignment thereafter.[4]

This decision to accept prisoners of war in the continental United States changed the activity of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from enemy alien civilians to the internment of prisoners of war. Plans were thus initiated for the necessary construction of prisoner-of-war camps.

The Provost Marshal General held administrative supervision over prisoner-of-war operations and functioned as the staff agency of the Commanding General, Army Service Forces.[5] The Prisoner of War Division of the Provost Marshal General included the P. 0. W. Information Bureau, Camp Operations Branch, Legal Branch, Work Projects Branch, and Field Liaison Branch.[6]

In September, 1942, the Provost Marshal General submitted construction plans for the distribution of the first fifty thousand prisoners among existing facilities and new facilities for the second group of one hundred thousand. The Provost Marshal General decided to utilize the unused camps in the Southwest (Eighth Service Command) which had been constructed or were under construction for enemy aliens. These camps could handle three-fourths of the first shipment of fifty thousand prisoners. At that time permanent and temporary camps could house only thirty-two thousand prisoners; therefore, the Provost Marshal General advanced the completion date of other camps in order to provide accommodations for an additional 22,500 internees. Temporary housing on military installations was sought to handle approximately twenty thousand more prisoners of war.[7]

The following were completed, permanent internment camps and their prisoner capacity in the United States on September 15, 1942: Camp Clark, Missouri (3,000); Florence, Arizona (3,000); Camp Forrest, Tennessee (3,000); Huntsville, Texas (3,000); Camp Livingston, Louisiana (5,000); Lordsburg, New Mexico (3,000); and Stringtown, Oklahoma (400). The prisoner capacity of these camps totaled 26,40O.[8]

Eight permanent camps, with a 22,500-prisoner capacity, were under construction: Alva, Oklahoma (3,000); Crossville, Tennessee (1,500); Hearne, Texas (3,000); Hereford, Texas (3,000); Mexia, Texas (3,000); Monticello, Arkansas (3,000); Ruston, Louisiana (3,000); and Weingarten, Missouri (3,000).[9]

The following six permanent camps were authorized on September 9, 1942: Tonkawa, Oklahoma (3,000); McLean, Texas (3,000); Como, Mississippi (3,000); Aliceville, Alabama (6,000); Concordia, Kansas (3,000); Florence, Arizona (increase of 3,000). These camps could accommodate twenty-one thousand prisoners.[10]

Ten temporary internment camps, originally intended for civilian aliens, could accommodate 8,318 prisoners. These were: Camp Blanding, Florida (200); Fort Bliss, Texas (1,350); Fort Bragg, North Carolina (140); Fort Devens, Massachusetts (1,000); Fort Meade, Maryland (1,680); Camp McCoy, Wisconsin (100); Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia (948); Fort Sam Houston, Texas (1,000); Camp Shelby, Mississippi (1,200); Fort Sill, Oklahoma (700). The total capacity of all internment camps for prisoners of war amounted to 78,218.[11]

The second phase of the prisoner-of-war construction program was geared to the next consignment of one hundred thousand prisoners. The majority of these were to be located in the South and Southwest, which consisted of the Fourth, Seventh, and Eighth Service Commands.[12]  The Fourth Service Command was composed of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The Seventh Service Command consisted of Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and Wyoming. The Eighth Service Command was composed of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.[13]

Security was the primary consideration in the location of prisoner camps in the South and Southwest. Security regulations restricted the selection of possible camp sites in the eastern and western coastal zones of the United States. The location of internment camps in mild climate areas kept construction costs to a minimum, and the idea of future employment of prisoners of war in agricultural areas might also have been a consideration in the selection of these camps in the southern sections of the United States. In order to accommodate the expected shipments of prisoners, the Provost Marshal General recommended that additional camps be built to intern 144,000 prisoners of war.[14]

The expected one hundred and fifty thousand British-captured prisoners never arrived, however, and by the end of December, 1942, there were only 1,881 German, Italian, and Japanese prisoners of war interned in the continental United States.[15] The successful North African campaign, nevertheless, drastically changed this picture, and by mid-August of 1943 the total number of prisoners in the United States exceeded one hundred and thirty thousand. Part of this increase occurred from an agreement between Britain and the United States to consider all prisoners captured in northwest Africa "American" owned.[16]

As the war progressed the total number of prisoners of war interned in the United States greatly increased and ultimately reached 425,806 by the end of June, 1945. Of this total, 371,505 were Germans, 50,052 Italians, and 4,249 Japanese. From 1942 through 1946 the highest number of Germans interned in the United States was 371,683, reached in May, 1945. Italian internees reached a high of 51,156 in November, 1944, and Japanese prisoners totaled 5,413 in August of 1945. The repatriation of all prisoners of war from the United States was completed by June 30, 1946, except for one hundred and forty-one Germans, twenty Italians, and one Japanese who were serving prison terms in penal institutions.[17]

With the arrival of large numbers of prisoners in 1943, the Provost Marshal General segregated prisoners according to the following categories: German Army anti-Nazi prisoners, the remaining German Army prisoners, German Navy anti-Nazi prisoners, the remaining German Navy prisoners, Italian prisoners, and Japanese prisoners.  Officer prisoners were incarcerated in the same camps but in different compounds from the enlisted personnel. Also, the Provost Marshal General authorized the Army Service Commands to transfer the prisoners within their commands but not to mix the categories described above.[18]

In an effort to supplement the rules of the Geneva agreement of 1929 and to provide an official handbook for the Army, the War Department published a manual entitled "Enemy Prisoners of War." It defined prisoner-of-war camps as installations in the zone of the interior established for the internment of prisoners and located on, or independent of, other military installations).[19]  These camps were either processing stations, base camps, or branch camps. Processing stations were utilized for the temporary detention of prisoners pending assignment to base camps and were usually located in coastal areas of the United States. Prisoner-of-war base camps were established on a permanent basis for the complete administration of prisoners. Branch camps were organized on a permanent or temporary basis and were administrated and supervised by their respective base camps.[20]

As the war continued the Commanding General of the Army Service Forces was assigned the authority and responsibility in all matters pertaining to enemy prisoners in the continental United States. His jurisdiction included the custody, control, utilization, care, treatment, repatriation, security, and location of the prisoners of war.[21]

The number of base camps and branch camps fluctuated in the various sections of the country during the war. By August 31, 1943, there were seventy-two base and branch camps, and by June 1, 1944, the number had reached approximately three hundred. By April, 1945, the number had increased to one hundred and fifty base camps and three hundred and forty branch camps throughout the United States.[22]

According to the Geneva Convention of 1929, the construction of prisoner-of-war camps had to be equivalent to that provided for United States troops. Camps built from new materials had to be approved by the Commanding General, Army Service Forces, and in accordance with construction plans for prisoner camps prepared by the Office of the Chief of Engineers.[23] The basic feature of the standard layout plan was the compound. The camp generally consisted of one or more of these compounds surrounded by two wire fences and separated from each other by a single fence. Four companies of two hundred and fifty prisoners each were housed in each compound.  In accordance with Article 10 of the Geneva Convention, housing and messing facilities had to be equivalent to those furnished to United States troops at base camps and usually consisted of five barracks, a latrine with showers and laundry tubs, a mess hall, and an administrative building for each company. In addition, each compound was to provide a recreation building, canteen, infirmary, station hospital, chapel, work shop, and an outdoor recreation area.[24]

Base camps converted from existing facilities had to meet certain requirements. Buildings or tents had to be sufficiently lighted and heated. Officers quarters had to contain one hundred and twenty square feet per man and those of enlisted men forty square feet per man. The camp had to contain sanitary facilities, latrines, adequate drainage and water supply (including hot water) , and one laundry tub for every twenty-five men. Indoor recreation space had to be provided on a basis of two square feet per man at year-round camps, and an outdoor recreation area based on two hundred square feet per man. A prisoner-of-war canteen had to be built on a basis of two square feet per man, and a separate building for religious services was recommended. Infirmary facilities had to be situated in each compound, and hospital facilities had to he located either at the camp or in the immediate area. The camp also had to have single or double barbed wire fences, warehouse space, and sentry boxes or guard towers. In addition the camp had to furnish guard house detention facilities, adequate lighting of fences and grounds, and fire protection devices.[25]

Certain security measures and specifications were also recommended for base camps. A minimum of five hundred feet from any boundary, public road, or railroad to all fenced areas must be upheld. Also there must be a minimum of seventy-five feet from the inner fence to buildings inside the stockade and a minimum distance between buildings of thirty feet. A fire station was usually situated within one and a half to two miles from the camp, and an auxiliary lighting system and prisoner work shop were recommended. However, a possible camp site was not rejected due to the lack of one or more of the above specifications.[26]

Branch camps were constructed on a permanent or temporary basis to fulfill a definite work need. Generally, those that provided prisoner labor for private contractors could not be erected at the expense of the War Department, but camps could be established if the estimated net income to the United States Government during the duration of the contract (not in excess of a six-month period) exceeded the costs of camp construction or conversion.[27] Specific rules governed the conversion of existing housing for camps and the utilization of prisoner labor in the erection, conversion, maintenance, and dismantlement of security and housing facilities. In almost every case, the base camps administered and supplied their respective branch camps.[28]

The final processing of prisoners occurred after they were transported by rail to their designated base camps in the United States. A basic personnel record was prepared in triplicate for each internee. The original copy remained at the prisoner-of-war camp, and the other two copies were sent to the Enemy Prisoner of War Information Bureau, Provost Marshal General’s Office, Fort Meade, Maryland. This record contained the prisoner's name, serial number, photograph, fingerprints, and an inventory of personal effects.[29]

At the time of capture, each prisoner was assigned a serial number by the capturing command. The first component consisted of a number symbol designating the command in which the prisoner was captured, such as 81 for the United States Army Forces in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (formerly the North African Theater). The second symbol was the first letter of the name of the enemy country in whose armed forces the prisoner was serving, such as "C" for Germany, "J" for Japan, and "I" for Italy. The second component was an individual number assigned consecutively to each prisoner processed. For example, the tenth German prisoner processed by the United States Forces in the North African Theater of Operations received the serial number of 81G-10.[30]

If a prisoner was not assigned a serial number by the capturing command, the service command at the base camp was required to do so. This serial number consisted of a number that represented the service command involved, the letter "W" that represented the War Department, the first letter of the country that the internee had served, and the number assigned to each prisoner processed. For example, the first German prisoner processed in the Eighth Service Command would be 8WG-1, and the tenth prisoner (if an Italian) processed in the same service command would be 8WI-10.[31]

Prisoners were allowed to retain certain personal effects, while other articles were temporarily removed but returned as soon as "practicable." Some articles were confiscated and not returned to the prisoner during internment. These included large sums of money and any commodities which might facilitate an escape.[32]Prisoners wore their own uniforms or renovated discarded United States Army uniforms.[33] Except for hats and national uniforms, outer garments had to be marked with the letters "PW". All shirts, undershirts, jackets, and coats had to be marked across the back with the letters "PW" six inches high and on the front of each sleeve (between the elbow and shoulder) with the same letters four inches high. Trousers and shorts were imprinted with the letters "PW" four inches high across the back and below the belt. The front of each leg above the knee was marked with four-inch high letters. Clothing and equipment allowances were issued to the prisoners to enable them to work in the stockade and on work projects outside the camp.[34]

The types and quantities of food provided for the prisoners were prepared according to a menu guide by the Office of the Quartermaster General. This guide was used in the preparation of the monthly menus for the service commands. The quantity of food was based on the activity of the prisoners. Prisoners not actively employed on Sundays or other days were fed meals that contained 2,500 calories. Regulations were issued to prohibit the accumulation of foods for special occasions and to reduce the wastage of certain items. Monthly frequency charts were prepared to reveal the issuance of rations, and reports were made concerning the quantities of garden products delivered from prisoner-of-war gardens to the mess. Rye bread for German prisoners and native-type stick bread for Italians could be baked by the prisoners at Army posts with bakery facilities. In addition to bread, other foods were incorporated into the prisoners menus, such as frankfurters, salami, bologna, cheese, fish, cabbage, lettuce, potatoes, sauerkraut, and leafy greens.[35]

In order to provide articles not issued by the United States Army or the Red Cross, canteens were established in base camps, branch camps, and hospitals designated exclusively for prisoners of war. The canteens were authorized to purchase commodities from the nearest Army exchange on a ninety-day credit basis but were separated from any army exchange and maintained separate sets of books and records. Usually, the canteens were operated by prisoner personnel and were responsible for all revenue-producing activities within the prisoner compound. Canteens could only stock articles that were included in the restricted list.[36] In August, 1945, beer (3.2 percent alcohol) , cookies, crackers, and soft drinks were removed from this list of items.

Only coupons could be used to purchase merchandise from prisoner canteens. They were redeemable only at the camp of issuance and were valid for a period of two calendar months after the end of the payroll month. New series of coupons were printed on different colored paper and were issued on or about July 25 and January 25 of each year. All dividends from canteen profits were transferred periodically to the local prisoner fund.[37]

During internment the prisoners could participate in educational classes, lectures, studies, and discussion groups within the camp and enroll in correspondence courses from fourteen educational institutions in the United States. The educational programs sponsored by each camp usually emphasized such basic courses as reading, writing, geography, mathematics, languages, music, arts, history, and literature. These courses were usually taught by the prisoners and assisted by civilians who were approved by the camp commander and the Provost Marshal General.[38]

Prisoners of war could participate in sports and athletic contests. Prisoner funds could be utilized for the purchase or rent of recreational equipment, handicraft tools, motion picture films and projectors, public address systems, fine arts, and theatrical accessories.  The prisoners could also maintain a library and reading room, which could only contain censored reading material.  Plays and musical concerts could be performed by the prisoners with the approval of the camp commander. Prisoners could attend censored motion pictures and possess and operate a standard radio receiver that was incapable of shortwave reception. Prisoners were also allowed to attend religious services within the camp and were permitted to receive visitors twice a month who were related to the prisoner as wife, child, parent, brother, sister, grandparent, uncle, or aunt.[39]

Civilian visitors to the prisoner camps were strictly supervised, and only authorized information was released from the camp. Interviews with prisoners were not permitted, but articles could be written describing the activities of the camp, excluding details of guard and security systems. Names of prisoners could not be released to news media except in cases of escapes, recaptures, or death. Public relations officers at the camps were authorized to release information pertaining to escapes and recaptures, deaths, and work projects, including contracts let, employers, location of work projects and branch camps, and availability of prisoners for work.[40]

The discipline of prisoners were strictly managed by the laws, regulations, and orders in force in the United States Army and the articles of the Geneva Convention. In the performance of his duties, the camp commander could admonish or reprimand (oral or written) withhold privileges (including restrictions on diet), and discontinue pay and allowance (ten cents daily allowance up to two dollars a month) . Disciplinary measures could entail extra fatigue duty, hard labor without confinement (except officers and noncommissioned officers) overtime work not to exceed four hours a day, and withhold pay for one week. The camp commander could impose a maximum disciplinary punishment of thirty days confinement and fourteen days on bread and water. Except for officers, prisoners could be tried by summary court martial with the sentence not to exceed thirty days in duration.[41]

The fourth chapter of the War Department Technical Manual TM 19-500 dealt with the finances of the prisoners.  Trust fund accounts of prisoners were maintained by the Treasury of the United States and under the direction of the Comptroller General. This fund was entitled "Trust Fund 218915--Deposits, Funds of Civilian Internees and Prisoners of War".[42] Money found in the possession of a prisoner and the balance of a prisoner s monthly allowance were credited to this trust fund. With the approval of the camp commander, a prisoner could withdraw from his account any amount not over the total amount to his credit.  Enlisted personnel, however, could not take out more than thirty dollars per month to defray personal expenses. On the fifteenth of March, June, September, and December, each prisoner received a statement of the total amount of his deposit.[43] Prisoners of war were paid a monthly credit allowance from the date of capture, which had to be verified from a source other than the prisoner. If the date of capture was not known, the prisoner was credited from the date of embarkation to the United States. German and Italian officer prisoners of war received a monthly allowance according to their grade in their respective armies. This monthly allowance was twenty dollars for lieutenants, thirty dollars for captains, and forty dollars for majors and above.[44]

Prior planning for the expected hordes of enemy alien civilians and British-captured prisoners provided adequate facilities for the internment of war prisoners from northwest Africa. As the war continued a steady influx of prisoners arrived in the United States for internment and resulted in the construction of new base and branch camps throughout the country. All of the prison camp activities were governed by the rules and regulations of the United States Army in accordance with the Geneva Convention. These camps were established to provide security and later were located to assure maximum employment for this potential labor force.

[1] U.S., Department of the Army. History of Prisoner of War Utilization by the United States Army. 1776-1945, by George G. Lewis and John Mewha, Department of the Army Pamphlet No. 20-213 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1955) , p. 82. (Hereinafter referred to as Lewis and Mewha, Prisoner Utilization.)
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid., p. 83.
[4] Ibid.
[5] U.S., War Department, "Enemy Prisoners of War," War Department Technical Manual TM 19-500 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1944), p. 1.3. (Hereinafter referred to as TM 19-500.)
[6] Lewis and Mewha, Prisoner Utilization, pp. 80-81.
[7] Ibid., p. 84.
[8] Ibid., pp. 84-85.
[9] Ibid., p. 85.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Ibid., p. 86.
[13] "War and Postwar Policies," Monthly Labor Review. LXI (November, 1945), 911.
[14] Lewis and Mewha, Prisoner Utilization, p. 86.
[15] Ibid., p. 83.
[16] Ibid., p. 90.
[17] Ibid., p. 91.
[18] Ibid., pp. 91-92.
[19] TM 19-500, p. 2.1.
[20] Ibid.
[21] Ibid., p. 1.3.
[22] Lewis and Mewha, Prisoner Utilization, p. 111.
[23] TM 19-500, p. 2.2.
[24] Maxwell S. McKnight, "The Employment of Prisoners of War in the United States," International Labour Review, L (July, 1944) , 50.
[25] TM 19-500, p. 2.2.
[26] Ibid.
[27] Ibid.
[28] Ibid., pp. 2.3-2.4.
[29] Ibid., pp. 2.4-2.5.
[30] Ibid., p. 2.5.
[31] Ibid., p. 2.6.
[32] Ibid., p. 2.7.
[33] Ibid., p. 2.13.
[34] Ibid., pp. 2.13-2.15.
[35] Ibid., pp. 2.19-2.21.
[36] See Appendix A.
[37] bid., pp. 2.29-2.30, 4.6.
[38] Ibid., pp. 2.26-2.27.
[39] Ibid., pp. 2.27-2.28.
[40] Ibid., pp. 2.35-2.36.
[41] Ibid., pp. 2.30-2.32.
[42] Ibid., p. 4.1.
[43] Ibid.
[44] Ibid., pp. 4.3-4.5.

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