Did you know that the largest German POW camp in the United States during World War II was built and operated in Aliceville, Alabama?  The camp experience brought about many unlikely friendships between captor and captive that continued and were celebrated in Aliceville and beyond.

On Wednesday, August 1 at noon, the Pell City Public Library will welcome author Ruth Beaumont Cook who will speak and share from her book, “Guests Behind the Barbed Wire– German POWs in America: A True Story of Hope and Friendship.”  It explores the nature of war, peace, and the nature of human dignity.

As German prisoners were captured in 1942 as part of the U.S. Army’s North African Campaign, Prisoner of War Camps were built in the United States to house these prisoners.  By mid-1945, 150 such camps had been established in the United States, and 340 work camps. 

The camp in Aliceville, Alabama was the largest in the United States, containing 400 buildings, and the ability to house 6000 prisoners and 1000 American military and civilian personnel.  It was known for its humane treatment of prisoners, following the Geneva Convention “to the letter.”  Prisoners received food and medical treatment and even the same square footage of living space as was afforded the military personnel.  

Hospitals, bakeries, chapels, theatres, and greenhouses were located inside the barracks.  Inside the camp, prisoners were allowed to have a newspaper, participate in plays, form music bands, and even take classes.  Some sorting and shifting was necessary, however, because those prisoners who embraced the Nazi platform often terrorized non-Nazi German soldiers.

Conditions for German POWs in America worsened, eventually, due to American anger over how badly our own soldiers were treated, and over the discovery of the death camps.  Some German prisoners were used in labor battalions, primarily in agriculture and logging, due to the huge labor shortage everywhere.

Ruth Beaumont Cook has investigated the story of the POW camp in Aliceville well, interviewing those who were still alive and getting down the historical record. Her presentation will include fascinating footage and interesting stories from survivors and residents of the area gleaned from this research.

The event is free and open to the public, and is part of the 2018 Adult Summer Reading series.

Ruth Beaumont Cook grew up in Bedford, Ohio, and graduated from Ohio State University. She has lived in Alabama since 1970, currently residing in Birmingham.  In addition to the featured work, Ms. Cook has written another book entitled, “North Across the River”, published by Crane Hill Publishers in 1999, and penned four corporate histories, and numerous magazine articles.