Annotation Between 1943 and 1945 nearly fifty thousand German Prisoners of war, mostly from the German Afrika Korps, lives and worked at seventy POW camps across Texas. Camp Hearne, located on the outskirts of rural Hearne, Texas, was one of the first and largest German prisoner-of-war camps in the United States. Waters and his research teams tell the story of the five thousand German soldiers held there during World War II. The book reveals the shadow world of Nazism that existed in the camp, adding darkness to a story that is otherwise optimistic and in places humorous.

“The cement slabs and decaying fountains obscured by vegetation at the site of Camp Hearne echo a time forgotten of a bustling city of nearly 5,000 men brought together by world conflict.” The oral histories, archival research, and archaeological data compiled by author Michael Waters and his team of researchers tells the story of 5,000 German soldiers held as prisoners of war in rural Texas during World War II. Camp Hearne, located on the outskirts of Hearne, Texas, was one of the first and largest POW camps in the United States. Between 1943 and 1945 nearly 50,000 German prisoners, mostly from the German Afrika Korps lived and worked at seventy POW camps across Texas. The story of Camp Hearne told here offers the first in-depth look at one of these camps and includes an archaeological study of the treatment and conditions of the German prisoners. Drawing on newspaper accounts and official records from the time, and the recollections of surviving POWs, guards, and local residents, Waters and his team have constructed a detailed description of life in the camp: educational opportunities, recreation, mail call, religious practices, work details, and the food provided. Also revealed are the more serious issues that faced the Americans inside the POW compounds: illegal alcohol distillation, suicides, escapes, hidden secret shortwave radios, and the subversion of postal services. Fascinating artifacts recovered from the site and from the collections of local residents add concrete details. Waters also discusses the national policies and motivations for the treatment of prisoners that prescribed the particulars of camp life. The shadow world of Nazism in the camp is revealed, adding darkness to a story that is otherwise optimistic and in places humorous. The most sinister and brutal example of Nazi activity was the murder of Corporal Hugo Krauss, a German-born New York–raised volunteer in the German army. Captured in North Africa after service in Russia, Krause was attacked seven months later by six to ten fellow prisoners and beaten with clubs, nail–studded boards and a lead pipe. The dramatic recounting of the murder and the ensuing investigation illustrate much about the underlying political tensions of camp existence. This book makes a unique and notable contribution to Texas history. The narrative is enriched by numerous photographs and drawings. It will engage those interested in Texas history and World War II and hold particular interest for avocational and professional historical archaeologists.

Presents an analysis of the prisoner of war program as it was carried out in Texas during World War II, looking at how camps were selected and constructed, camp routine, the treatment of prisoners, and the problems encountered with the pro-Nazi prisoners.

"'Discovering Texas History' is a historiographical reference book that will be invaluable to teachers, students, and researchers of Texas history. Chapter authors are familiar names in Texas history circles--a 'who's who' of high profile historians. Conceived as a follow-up to the award winning (but increasingly dated) 'A Guide the History of Texas' (1988), 'Discovering Texas History' focuses on the major trends in the study of Texas history since 1990. In part one, topical essays address significant historical themes, from race and gender to the arts and urban history. In part two, chronological essays cover the full span of Texas historiography from the Spanish era to the modern day. In each case, the goal is to analyze and summarize the subjects that have captured the attention of professional historians so that 'Discovering Texas History' will take its place as the standard work on the history of Texas history"--

During World War II, many Georgians witnessed the enemy in their backyards. More than twelve thousand German and Italian prisoners captured in far-off battlefields were sent to POW camps in Georgia. With large base camps located from Camp Wheeler in Macon and Camp Stewart in Savannah to smaller camps throughout the state, prisoner reeducation and work programs evoked different reactions to the enemy. There was even a POW work detail of forty German soldiers at Augusta National Golf Course, which was changed from a temporary cow pasture to the splendid golf course we know today. Join author and historian Dr. Kathryn Roe Coker and coauthor Jason Wetzel as they explore the daily lives of POWs in Georgia and the lasting impact they had on the Peach State.

In 1991 Walter L. Buenger and the late Robert A. Calvert compiled a pioneering work in Texas historiography: Texas Through Time, a seminal survey and critique of the field of Texas history from its inception through the end of the 1980s. Now, Buenger and Arnoldo De León have assembled an important new collection that assesses the current state of Texas historiography, building on the many changes in understanding and interpretation that have developed in the nearly twenty years since the publication of the original volume. This new work, Beyond Texas Through Time, departs from the earlier volume's emphasis on the dichotomy between traditionalism and revisionism as they applied to various eras. Instead, the studies in this book consider the topical and thematic understandings of Texas historiography embraced by a new generation of Texas historians as they reflect analytically on the work of the past two decades. The resulting approaches thus offer the potential of informing the study of themes and topics other than those specifically introduced in this volume, extending its usefulness well beyond a review of the literature. In addition, the volume editors' introduction proposes the application of cultural constructionism as an important third perspective on the thematic and topical analyses provided by the other contributors. Beyond Texas Through Time offers both a vantage point and a benchmark, serving as an important reference for scholars and advanced students of history and historiography, even beyond the borders of Texas.

Examining the largest prisoner-of-war handling operation in U.S. history, this book offers a meticulous account of the myriad history, this book offers a meticulous account of the myriad problems—as well as the impressive successes—that came with problems—as well as the impressive successes—that came with housing 371,000 German POWs on American soil during World War II. Antonio Thompson draws on extensive archival research to probe the various ways in which the U.S. government strove to comply with the Geneva Convention’s mandate that enemy prisoners be moved from the war zone and given food, shelter, and clothing equal to that provided for American soldiers. While the prisoners became a ready source of manpower for the labor- starved American home front and received small wages in return, their stay in the United States generated more than a few difficulties, which included not only daunting logistics but also violence within the camps. Such violence was often blamed on Nazi influence and control; however, as Thompson points out, only a few of the prisoners were actually Nazis. Because the Germans had cobbled together military forces that included convicts, their own POWs, volunteers from neutral nations, and conscripts from occupied countries, the bonds that held these soldiers together amid the pressures of combat dissolved once they were placed behind barbed wire. When these “men in German uniform,” who were not always Germans, donned POW garb, their former social, racial, religious, and ethnic tensions quickly reemerged. To counter such troubles, American authorities organized various activities—including sports, arts, education, and religion—within the POW camps; some prisoners even participated in an illegal denazification program created by the U.S. government. Despite the problems, Thompson argues, the POW-housing program proved largely successful, as Americans maintained their reputation for fairness and humane treatment during a time of widespread turmoil.