The Sterling-Rock Falls Historical Society's November meeting will be held on Sunday,November 11th at the Lincoln Learning Center, 611 3rd Street, Sterling, IL at 2:00 PM.
Carol Chandler, a retired hospital nurse and a member of the Lee County Historical and Genealogical Society Board of Directors. will present a program titled
"German POW's in Northern Illinois."
During WW II, many of young men were fighting overseas leaving our factories and farms without the needed labor. Thousands of young German Prisoners of Wars were sent to the U.S. and their hard work had a profound effect on our prosperity, especially in the Midwest where agriculture is a mainstay. The program will show you, surprisingly, how these young men fit into our society
These German POWs were a very much-needed labor force as there was an acute shortage of production workers. At first they were housed in former Civil Conservation Corps camps; fairgrounds; sports halls; schools; other public buildings. As prisoner numbers increased, they were held at military bases.
News coverage of the camps was intentionally limited until the end of the war. Initially, prisoners worked in camps doing construction and maintenance. The National labor shortage soon led to requests from business owners for help in canneries, mills, farms, and other places not related to National security. Many camps were in the South, because heating costs were lower there. To make labor available where it was needed, the U. S. Army added 511 "branch camps" to the existing 156 main camps at military bases. Some prisoners lived in the homes of the farmers who needed their labor. From August 1943 to May 1945, prisoners at Camp Grant could work 12 hours a day. Other examples of local POW work are:
Sunday Nov 11, 2018
2:00 PM - 2:00 PM CST
815-622-6215
Printed courtesy of www.saukvalleyareachamber.com/ – Contact the Sauk Valley Area Chamber of Commerce for more information.
211 Locust Street, Sterling, IL 61081 – (815) 625-2400 – knoble@saukvalleyareachamber.com