Did you know that Woods County during World War II served as a location for two camps for German prisoners of war (POW)?
A traveling exhibit about German POW camps by the TRACES Center for History and Culture in St. Paul, Minn., will visit the Waynoka Public Library from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday.
“It’s a traveling museum,” said librarian Carolyn Baird. “They use 10 narrative panels and films that tell about the POW camps from World War II.”
Baird said the exhibit was pertinent to Waynoka because of the POW camps in Woods County, including one that was located near Alva.
“The exhibit is trying to get to some of the states who had camps in them,” she said, noting that is why “They thought this would be a good place to do (a showing).”
Baird said there is a following of the history of the old POW camps because people are fascinated by the horrors that went on in the war.
“People are fascinated with the people in the camps,” she said, because “the POWs were German war criminals.”
According to information provided by Baird, by the end of WW II, about 425,000 German, Italian, and Japanese POWs found themselves imprisoned in more than 660 base and branch camps located throughout the the United States.
Millions more Axis and Allied POWs were held in other camps in Europe, the Soviet Union, Canada, Australia and Africa, she said.
The POWs in the United States -- roughly 372,000 of them -- harvested or processed crops, built roads and waterways, felled trees, roofed barns, erected silos, laid city sewers and constructed tract housing, she said.
They also washed laundry for the U.S. Army and performed other wartime tasks.
To learn more about life in the POW camps, visit the TRACES traveling museum at the Waynoka Public Library this Thursday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The library is located at 1659 Cecil St. in Waynoka.
Local News
Traveling exhibit on POW camps to visit Waynoka
- Local News
-
-
VFW to hold Memorial Day ceremony
Memorial Day is a day for people to remember and honor those who have fought and fallen in all of our nation's wars.
-
Voter registration deadline approaching
Those wanting cast a ballot in the June 26 Primary Election need to be registered to vote by June 1.
-
Alabaster Caverns sets science camp
FREEDOM - Alabaster Caverns State Park and the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) are teaming up to provide a summer science camp.
-
Giving kids a reason to smile
SHARON - An area organization wants to give children affected by the April 15 tornado a reason to smile.
Knowing how much many families lost during the tornado, the newly formed "Make a Child Smile" program seeks to help replace the children's beloved items that were stolen by the storm. -
Oklahoma House narrowly passes annual budget bill
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma House on Thursday narrowly approved a $6.8 billion general appropriations bill to fund state government, just hours after the same bill failed, avoiding the need to return for a special session.
-
Farmer’s Market opening up Saturday
The Woodward Farmer's Market Association will be back this summer.
-
Officials expect busy weekend on highways
OKLAHOMA CITY - AAA Oklahoma expects over 500,000 state residents to be on the road for the Memorial Day holiday. That's a 2.2 percent increase from last year, said Chuck Mai, AAA public affairs vice president.
-
Busy summer at library
The Woodward Public Library will be staying busy in months to come with several summer reading programs.
-
Quinlan event set
QUINLAN - The annual Quinlan Alumni and Former Quinlan Students' covered dish supper is Saturday at the Quinlan Fellowship Hall.
-
Big numbers expected at area lakes, state parks
Memorial Day weekend is the annual kickoff of the summer season and area parks and recreation areas are expecting big numbers of visitors, including Fort Supply Lake.
- More Local News Headlines
-
VFW to hold Memorial Day ceremony



