The Donaldsonville Camp: Escape Attempts
jacob levron staff Glenn Falgoust lives in Napoleonville, Louisiana, and has researched the Donaldsonville German POW camp extensively. Stan Duvall
Childhood Memories of the Bayou POW Camps
jalaysia sanders podcast editor The POW camps shut down in 1946 — 79 years ago, leaving few who have personal memories from the camps. But some in the Bayou Region have memories as children. Stan Duvall Richard Barker David Plater
German POWs: A Day in the Life
Axis vs. Allied POW Camps
madison blanchard staff writer During World War II, thousands of American and German soldiers were held as prisoners of war (POWs). American POWs held in Germany, Italy and Japan endured much harsher treatment than German POWs held in the United States. More than 90,000 American POWs were held in Germany, while about 450,000 Axis prisoners […]
U-boat POWs
aynsley andras staff writer German U-boats (submarines) targeted merchant vessels in the Gulf of Mexico in an effort to disrupt the Allies’ supply lines. This campaign had a significant impact on Louisiana’s coast and the prisoners of war captured from the U-boats. The U-boats specifically targeted defenseless tankers and transport ships to cut American oil […]
POWs and the Economy
aynsley andras staff writer Faced with a wartime labor shortage that threatened Louisiana’s sugarcane industry, they turned to prisoners of war to keep the crops, and the economy, growing. World War II led about 280,000 young men and women from Louisiana to help in the war, leaving a shortage of workers in local industries, says […]
Guards & Camp Workers
aynsley andras staff writer Inside the prisoner-of-war camps, a team of guards, workers, and overseers ensured the prisoners were well-supervised and cared for, with many duties extending beyond maintaining order. Many people worked inside the prisoner-of-war camps, from staff in the kitchen and dining hall to those providing medical services and guarding the prisoners. Tall […]
Camp Activities
aynsley andras staff writer Prisoners of war engaged in a variety of recreational and creative activities during their time in captivity. From playing soccer and card games to painting and woodworking, these activities offered the prisoners both physical and mental respite. For most of the day, the prisoners of war worked in fields and were […]
Eating at Camp
kade bergeron features editor During World War II, over 2,000 prisoners of war were confined in Louisiana’s Bayou Region, where they faced unfamiliar climates, terrain, and conditions. Yet, one aspect of normalcy remained — their food. Camps had dining halls, sometimes called “mess halls,” that were primarily used for dining and communicating. These spaces served […]
Louisiana Camps
jacob levron staff videographer The Place Bar served as the dining hall for the POW Camp in North Thibodaux. Photo Credit: Jacob Levron, staff photographer The POW camp in Valentine, Louisiana, in 1943. Photo Credit: Nicholls Archive The Thibodaux camp’s POW soccer team. Photo Credit: Nicholls Archives Tents at the North Thibodaux POW camp. Photo […]