Louisiana residents are learning more about their little known and important legacy in World War II.
A rolling Bus-eum visited the city this week jam packed with history as part of an exhibit called "Traces: German POWs in the Midwest." It was brought to town by the Traces Center for History and Culture of St. Paul, Minnesota. The mobile exhibit, which is housed in a refurbished school bus, features narritive panels and films. It was stationed at the American Legion Post 370 at 420 Kelly Lane in Louisiana on Monday and Tuesday.
You might not know it but during World War two there were 660 Prisoner of War or POW camps throughout the United States. More than 372,000 POWs were held in American during the War.
One of those camps was located on the Southwest side of Louisiana, near what is now the intersection of 15th and North Carolina Streets. The first prisoners were Italians who arrived in August of 1943 and left in April of 1944. A month later 63 German POWs were brought in. They stayed until the end of the war. Most of those prisoners worked at Stark Brothers Nurseries which was founded in 1816 and is still in business today.
Prisoners in other places worked harvesting or processing crops or building waterways and roads.
Educators on board the Bus-eum told visitors all prisoners were treated well by their captors in the U.S., even as Americans were fighting and losing their lives against German forces. Prisoners earned wages for their work. Thousands returned to the states after the war to become U.S. citizens.
War criminals like those found working inside of concentration camps were not allowed to work or leave the POW camp.
Educators inside the Bus-eum say they hope visitors take away two things from their experience.
1) How you treat people can either make you friends or enemies.
2) We all owe a debt of gratitude to the men and women who served in World War II. Their sacrifices gave us the freedoms we have today.
Other P-O-W camps were located in the Tri-State towns of Hannibal, Lewistown, Illinois and Wapello, Iowa.
The visit was sponsored by the Louisiana Area Historical Museum with financial contributions from local businesses, residents and veterans' groups. The mobile exhibit leaves town Wednesday morning, but you can learn more about Louisiana's part in World War Two in the Louisiana Area Historical Museum.
Starting in June the museum will be open Monday through Friday from 1p.m. to 4p.m. and Saturdays from 10a.m. to 1p.m.
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