Prisoner of War Camps in Virginia - World War II

German prisoners of war arriving to work at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia, 5 May 1944.
German prisoners of war arriving to work at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia, 5 May 1944
Source: UnCommonwealth blog, Library of Virginia, Prisoners Of America (March 20, 2023)

During World War II, German prisoners were brought to the United States through Hampton Roads ports. About 17,000 were kept at 41 prisoner of war facilities, 23 camps where farmers and businesses could rent prisoner labor temporarily, plus an intelligence debriefing site at Fort Hunt near Washington, DC.

At Fort Eustis, efforts to de-Nazify prisoners included teaching a six-day course in democracy1

During World War II, some German prisoners were shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to Virginia. One of the locations for incarcerating them was Coffee Pot Bottom, along Stroubles Creek near Radford. Some were tasked with maintaining the grounds at the Radford Ordinance Work (now the Radford Army Ammunition Plant).2

Albemarle Barracks

Civil War Prisons

Virginia and Prisoners of War in the American Revolution

Prisons in Virginia

Links

References

1. "Prisoners Of America," UnCommonwealth blog, Library of Virginia, March 20, 2023, https://uncommonwealth.virginiamemory.com/blog/2023/03/20/common-ground-2/ (last checked Mach 21, 2023)
2. "At 75, Radford arsenal continues to churn discussion and propellant," The Roanoke Times, December 11, 2016, https://www.roanoke.com/news/local/montgomery_county/at-radford-arsenal-continues-to-churn-discussion-and-propellant/article_a837a7cd-4d85-5905-95e2-174bd777fb90.html (last checked June 29, 2018)

The Military in Virginia
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