WWII PRISONERS OF WAR CAMPS IN THE U.S., EMPHASIZING THOSE IN ALABAMA

OLLI of Greater Birmingham presents WWII Prisoners of War Camps in the US, Emphasizing Those in Alabama. Instructor Joanne Brea, retired history faculty, Jacksonville State Univ.

Some 435,000 POWs came to the U.S. to be interned during World War II. The presentation will give an in-depth look into the daily lives of the POWs, the American guards, and the local people. The prisoners ranged from staunch Nazis and battle- hardened veterans to draftees conscripted from the ranks of school-aged boys and civilians. Some were not even Germans, but men from countries allied with or annexed to Germany. They were individuals with varied hopes, dreams, and beliefs.