From Algona to Muscatine: Iowa's POW Camps in World War II

Jim Wester

When Paul Kraushaar, longtime member of 33 Club presented a paper two years ago on underground railroads in Iowa, with a focus on Muscatine, it captured my attention, sparking my curiosity about lesser-known local history. That intrigue led me to jump ahead a couple of wars to World War 11, exploring the POW camps in Iowa and the stories of the men who lived and worked in them, particularly those in our area.

Before we begin it's important to highlight a few key dates. Importantly, the Geneva Convention took place on July 27, 1929, but was ratified on September 19, 1931. Additionally, Italy joined the Axis powers in June of 1940 and then later joined the Allied Forces on October 13, 1943, creating a conundrum. Other key dates included Pearl Harbor, which occurred on December 7, 1941, the Victory in Europe which was declared on May 8, 1945, and the Victory in Japan being declared a few months later on August 15, 1945.

Life in U.S. POW camps was governed by the rules and protections established under the Geneva Convention. The convention governing the treatment of prisoners of war was drafted in the aftermath of World war I and signed on July 27, 1929. It entered into force on June 19, 1931, and set standards for the humane treatment of POWs during World war II. These standards guaranteed prisoners certain rights, including adequate hygiene, medical care, sufficient food, housing comparable to that provided to U.S. service members, access to religious services, and opportunity for recreation.

You may wonder why Iowa was chosen to host POW camps. Between April of 1940 and July of 1942, more than 2 million men had left farms. By the end of the war, the population of the agricultural community decreased by 6 million. Thus, by the time the United States entered World War II, Europe had already been at war since Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, and Allied forces were running out of space to house prisoners of war. At the same time, Iowa had lost a significant portion of its farm workforce-roughly 70,000 men-to military service.

Iowa's population size, wide open spaces, and urgent need for labor made the state a practical solution for housing POWs. The state had both the capacity to accommodate prisoners and a pressing demand for workers to sustain farms and factories. For context, Iowa's population in 1940 was approximately 2.5 million. By 1943, with nearly 250,000 Iowans serving in the armed forces, the loss of tens of thousands of workers placed considerable strain on both agricultural and industrial production. Muscatine was no exception, with nearly 2,000 men sent to war of the 18,286 people living in town.

In 1943, the Women's Land Army was established to help address the nationwide shortage of farm labor. However, many Midwestern farmers were hesitant to employ women, citing concerns about their ability to operate heavy farm equipment. The labor shortage extended beyond agriculture: factories were also strained as men left for military service, leading to an increased reliance on women-symbolized by "Rosie the Riveter''-to keep industrial production moving.

First established in 1943 in the South and Southwest Regions of the US, Iowa's POW system followed in April 1944, with major camps established near Algona and Clarinda. POWs were initially transported to the United States by cargo ships. There were anywhere from 300-550 prisoners in a ship. POW camps had been established in 45 of the 48 U.S. states, with roughly 500 camps housing an estimated 425,000 prisoners. The only three states that did not establish POW camps were North Dakota, Nevada, and Vermont.

The work in Algona alone boosted local labor needs and created jobs for 79 civilians and 150 military guards. With roughly 290 acres of land each and costing nearly a million dollars for construction, Algona and Clarinda are located 2.5 hours north and south of Des Moines, respectively. Clarinda was one of only two base camps in the United States to house Japanese POWs, with the other being Fort McCoy in Wisconsin. Within months, the POW population in Iowa grew rapidly-from approximately 5,000 to as many as 25,000 prisoners.

Near Muscatine, several branch POW camps were established, including Fairport at the Fish Hatchery, West Liberty Fairgrounds, and Wapello Fairgrounds. Additional branch camps were located in Tabor, Eldora, Toledo, Clinton, Charles City, Audubon, and Shenandoah. The work assigned to prisoners varied according to local labor needs. For example, approximately 400 Italian POWs were sent to the Rock Island Arsenal, while about 300 POWs at the West Liberty branch camp detasseled corn for Pioneer Hybrid operations in Durant and Marengo. According to the Geneva Conference, the POWs were to be engaged in non-war activities.

The Fairport Fish Hatchery served as a branch camp operated from April 6 to November 1945 and housed roughly 310 POWs. Prisoners worked for H.J. Heinz, assisted on local farms, or performed maintenance at the hatchery. They slept in a former laboratory that had been converted into barracks. The facility had fallen out of use nearly a decade earlier, after being converted from a mussel operation to a fish hatchery. Several artifacts created or used by POWs from this camp are preserved today at the Muscatine Button Museum. Byron Buschele, one of our neighbors, remembers sneaking down to the camp to swim and talk with the prisoners. Similarly, Betty Hoffman, long time secretary at MHS, recalls working at Heinz with the POWs.

Across the Algona main camp and its branch camps, prisoners completed an estimated

$3,506,000 worth of labor. At Algona, between April 1944 and February 1946, approximately 10,000 prisoners passed through the camp system. The average monthly population was about 3,216, although the number of prisoners housed at any one time rarely exceeded 2,500. Most POWs at Algona were German. Branch camps throughout Iowa-including West Liberty, where 300 POWs worked on local agricultural tasks-supported farm and community labor needs.

Prisoners were also compensated for their efforts. Prisoners who worked outside of the camp were paid 80 cents a day, while those who worked at the camp were paid 1O cents a day.

Although the only POWs that had to work per the Geneva Convention were non-officers, many did work to make money. The pay was provided in coupons that could be redeemed at the canteen or as credit that would be settled at the end of the war. Items at the canteen included razors, candy, pop, cigarettes, toiletries, radios, classic literature, beer. They could buy up to 2 pints per day after they returned at night from work. Beer was 3.2% alcohol, which was standard for Iowa, but the Germans called it soft beer, as their beer was 8-14% alcohol. However, it is important to note that POWs could only fill positions off base that were not filled by community members.

Life in U.S. POW camps was governed by the rules and protections established under the Geneva Convention. The convention governing the treatment of prisoners of war was drafted in the aftermath of World war I. It set standards for the humane treatment of POWs during World War II. These standards guaranteed prisoners certain rights, including adequate hygiene, medical care, sufficient food, housing comparable to that provided to U.S. service members, access to religious services, and opportunity for recreation.

Upon arrival in the United States, POWs were fingerprinted, photographed, and medically screened for typhus, scabies, and lice. Each prisoner was issued a standard set of clothing, which included a belt, two pairs of cotton trousers, two pairs of wool trousers, a wool coat, an overcoat, a pair of shoes, four pairs of socks, four sets of underwear and undershirts, a raincoat, and a wool shirt.

Daily life followed a strict routine. Reveille sounded at 5:30 a.m., after which prisoners made their beds and ate breakfast by 6:30. Time was then allotted for showers and cleanup, and by 7:30 a.m., they were transported to their assigned work sites. Lunch was served at noon, followed by a return to the camp in the late afternoon, with dinner typically served between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m. The routine repeated the following day. POWs also participated in athletic events and music. The national YMCA shipped 50,000 musical instruments and 3,820 gramophones and 220,000 records to the various camps.

Despite their status as prisoners, relationships sometimes developed between POWs and guards. In one Muscatine-area camp, a prisoner even baked a wedding cake for a guard-an example of the unexpected human connections that emerged under wartime conditions.

Since most POWs in Iowa were either German or Italian, religious services were provided by civilian clergy with assistance from military chaplains. The Lutheran Church established the Lutheran Commission for Prisoners of War, while the National Catholic Welfare Conference organized the war Relief Branch to meet the spiritual needs of Catholic prisoners. John Manjoine's grandmother served as an Italian interpreter at the camps.

In contrast to the protections afforded to POWs held in the United States, the experience of American prisoners in Germany could be harsh and unforgiving. Muscatine has many POW stories, but this account focuses on Robert W. Chaudoin, as told by his daughter, Sheila. Robert was born on November 30, 1917, in Muscatine and entered military service on January 3, 1942, at the age of 24. After serving in the Civilian Conservation Corps from 1937 to 1939, he landed in France in October 1944 and was captured during the Battle of the Bulge on December 19, 1944.

Following his capture, Robert was transported by train, with approximately 60 prisoners packed into each railcar. He was held in Germany. Daily conditions were severe. Food consisted primarily of watery soup, sometimes made with grass, ersatz bread, cheese, and a coffee substitute. Shaving equipment was unavailable. After one month, he was transferred to Stalag

98 near Ziegenhain, Germany, where rations were limited to black, crusty bread and potato soup. There was no medic or dispensary.

Prisoners who refused to work in the fields received reduced rations, while those who worked sometimes had access to additional items such as candy and cigars, which could be traded for other privileges. Because of extreme cold, men shared bunks, with approximately 80 prisoners housed in each barracks. Each man was issued only one blanket and no change of clothing, and many suffered from frostbite.

Robert was liberated on March 26, 1945. During his three months of captivity, he lost approximately 60 pounds.

Altogether, about 25,000 POWs were held in Iowa during World War II. The final Iowa POW camps, Clarinda and Algona, closed on December 1, 1945, and in February 1946, respectively. Many of the prisoners held there near the end of the war-including Japanese POWs captured in the Pacific Theater-were transferred to facilities in California. At the Algona camp, the majority of POWs were German and were subsequently relocated to Fort Crook, Nebraska.

Across the United States, the last World War II POWs were repatriated on July 23, 1946, with approximately 435,788 prisoners returning to Europe. None were permitted to remain in the U.S.; all were required to return to their home countries.

Finally, left as a remembrance of their Christmas celebration, six POWs in Algona: Eduard Kaib, Horst Wendlandt, Eric Knoll, and three of their friends, built a nativity scene that cost over

$8,000 to make. The commander of the camp at that time was Colonel Lobdell. The nativity set is now located at the Camp Algona Museum, which was established in July 2004. They received their first donation from a former POW for $1,500.

Despite President Trump's characterization of POWs-most notably John McCain-as "losers," it is important to recognize that most prisoners of war were victims of circumstance, whether Allied or Axis. Those held in the United States were generally treated fairly, and in some cases even formed lasting friendships with local families.

I look forward to your thoughts and questions.

Sources:

1.    Pow in Iowa by Linda Betsinger McCann

2.    Discover Muscatine. August 2022.

3.    Iowa History Journal. September/October 2023. Volume 15.

4.    The Annals of Iowa. Published at uiowa,edu

5.    Iowa PBS