Handbook of Texas Online
When the United States went to war in 1941, what to do with enemy prisoners of war was among the last considerations of a country reeling from a Japanese attack and preparing for war in Europe.
The nation had never held large numbers of foreign prisoners and was unprepared for the many tasks involved, which included registration, food, clothing, housing, entertainment, and even reeducation.
But prepared or not, the country suddenly found itself on the receiving end of massive waves of German and Italian prisoners of war.
More than 150,000 men arrived after the surrender of Gen. Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps in April 1943, followed by an average of 20,000 new POWs a month.
From the Normandy invasion in June 1944 through December 30,000 prisoners a month arrived; for the last few months of the war 60,000 were arriving each month.
When the war was over, there were 425,000 enemy prisoners in 511 main and branch camps throughout the United States.
Texas had approximately twice as many POW camps as any other state, first because of the available space, and second, curiously, because of the climate.
The Geneva Convention of 1929 requires that prisoners of war be moved to a climate similar to that where they are captured; apparently it was thought that the climate of Texas is similar to that of North Africa.
In August 1943 there were already twelve main camps in Texas, and by June 1, 1944, there were thirty-three.
At the end of the war Texas held 78,982 enemy prisoners, mainly Germans, at fourteen military installations: Camp Barkeley (Taylor County), Camp Bowie (Brown County), Camp Fannin (Smith County), Camp Hood (Bell County), Camp Howze (Cooke County), Camp Hulen (Matagorda County), Camp Maxey (Lamar County), Camp Swift (Bastrop County), Camp Wolters (Palo Pinto County), Fort Bliss (El Paso County), Fort Brown (Cameron County), Fort Crockett (Galveston County), Fort D. A. Russell (Presidio County), and Fort Sam Houston (Bexar County).
The main camps were generally built to standard specifications: they were military barracks covered by tar paper or corrugated sheet iron; inside were rows of cots and footlockers.
A potbellied stove sat in the center aisle. Each camp held an average of 3,000 to 4,000 prisoners.
The only real differences between these POW camps and any normal army training installation were the watchtowers located along a double barbed-wire fence, floodlights, and, at some camps, dog patrols.
Guards were kept to a minimum number and were usually GIs who, for reasons of health, lack of training, or psychological makeup, were not needed overseas.
The actual discipline among the prisoners was rigidly enforced by German officers and sergeants themselves.
However uncomfortable, the POW camps were sometimes considered too good for the captive Germans, and many a Texas community called its local camp the "Fritz Ritz.
"Branch camps sprouted up in Kaufman, Princeton, Navasota, Alto, Chireno, Humble, Denison, Milam, Kirbyville, Liberty, Orange, Anahuac, Alvin, Rosenberg, Angleton, Forney, Wharton, El Campo, Ganado, Eagle Lake, Bannister, Patroon, Kenedy, Mont Belvieu, Center, China, Lufkin, Bay City and Garwood.
Camp Bay City was a branch of Camp Swift in Bastrop County.
It was in the northwest part of town, near where the Legacy Campus is today off 12th Street.
Camp Hulen prisoner of war camp was established on November 11, 1943, as a branch of Hearne POW camp but became an independent camp February 15, 1944.
It was rather small for a base camp, having a capacity of only 250 German POWs.
Late in 1944, plans were considered for converting all the facilities at Camp Hulen to a prisoner of war camp. The basic plan called for Hulen to be vacated of American troops, and the anti-aircraft facilities closed and moved to another base.
At POW Camp Bay City in Matagorda County, prisoners often made extra money tanning snakeskins and selling them as bookmarks and other souvenirs to the guards and farmers.