As WWII neared an end, German POWs streamed into Texas. Some landed in Fort Worth.

September marks the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II and recalls many stories about heroism, shared sacrifice, and the losses that war brings. One of the lesser known stories is that Fort Worth was, for a short time, the location of a prisoner of war camp for German soldiers.

Beginning in June of 1944, about 30,000 German POWs arrived every month in the United States. That number swelled to 60,000 per month as Allied forces gained the upper hand in Europe. Texas had twice as many POW camps as any other state, due largely to its wide open spaces. Most of the POWs worked in agriculture or East Texas’ lumber industry.

Fort Worth’s Quartermaster Depot, located at Hemphill and Felix was responsible for supplying troops with food, uniforms, and gear - everything they needed to survive. As World War II continued, most of America’s able-bodied young men were serving in the armed forces or working in essential industries.

Although women workers filled many positions aiding the defense effort, the Quartermaster Depot found that it had many low-skill tasks that went unfinished. In the spring of 1945, officers made a decision to transfer up to 500 German POWs from other Texas camps to the Quartermaster Depot to handle those jobs. The first arrived on May 10, only two days after VE or Victory in Europe Day, when the Allies accepted Germany’s unconditional surrender.

By early October 1945, 427 prisoners were housed in seven-person tents and barracks built out of lumber previously used for Civilian Conservation Corp camps. The compound was enclosed with a double barbed-wire fence, watch towers, and machine guns. All prisoners worked an eight-hour day, six days a week loading and unloading freight bound for the Pacific theater, doing building and grounds maintenance, and constructing their own barracks.

The prisoners’ attitudes were pretty much what one would expect. A reporter noted that they were, “like a labor gang that is furious with the boss – determined to do the job precisely as ordered, yet not a bit more.”

Geneva Convention regulations required that the prisoners be treated humanely and paid for their work. Cash wages were out of the question, because the money might be used in an escape attempt. Instead the prisoners received 80 cents per day in coupons that could be spent at the depot canteen.

A contingent of prisoners also cooked for the group. The meals were described as “monotonous fare,” containing enough calories and vitamins for a person doing manual labor but without any rationed food items. For example, while Fort Worth residents could sometimes get sugar with their ration tickets, the POWs got only corn syrup. Exceptions were made for holiday meals, including Thanksgiving – a celebration completely unknown to most Germans.

Beginning in November 1945, the POWs were slowly sent back to Europe. They didn’t return immediately to Germany, but spent a year or two in France and Great Britain helping rebuild infrastructure destroyed by the war. By February 1946, there were only 11 German POWs left at the Quartermaster Depot camp – and returning GIs were clamoring for their jobs.

Carol Roark is an archivist, historian, and author with a special interest in architectural and photographic history who has written several books on Fort Worth history.

This story was originally published September 19, 2020 at 7:00 AM.