Nativity Remains From World War 2 Camp in Iowa
WW2 History Museum Tells Story of German P.O.W. Camps
Mar 11, 2009
During World War 2, German prisoners of war held in Algona Iowa made a nativity set that remains an inspiration to the community more than 60 years later.
World War II History In Algona Iowa
Camp Algona opened in August of 1943 and closed in February 1946, but its story is well told in perhaps the only museum in the United States dedicated entirely to this era of American history.
When the camp closed, everything sold at a surplus auction, yet an impressive number of artifacts have surfaced to help the community rebuild this piece of history. A door to a guardhouse was found in a local barn; original bunk beds had sold to a family with 17 children; portions of the camp entrance sign had been used as siding in an area home; and a guitar that a German prisoner had played, accompanying Christmas carols and other music in the camp, was returned to Algona by that former prisoner, still alive today in Germany.
These are now on display in an 8000 square foot building at 114 S. Thorington in Algona, a tiny little town in northwest Iowa near the Minnesota border. In addition to these artifacts, the museum includes video taped interviews with civilians that tell about the devotion and love the American families developed for the Germans who worked on their farms.
Many sent care packages after the war, helping the Germans recover in their homeland. Others offered to sponsor the Germans to bring them back to the United States as permanent citizens. Many Iowa families eventually traveled to Europe to visit the prisoners who had all but become a part of their family.
The museum is open only on weekends from 1 to 4 p.m. Call 515-295-7241 to schedule a visit for other times.
Nativity Set Built by German Prisoners of War
The P.O.W. story in Algona has survived longer here than in other communities in large part because of the Algona nativity.
Eduord Kaib was a non-commissioned German officer captured by U.S. forces near Nice, France who soon found himself transported to the middle of Iowa farm country as a prisoner of war. An architect in civilian life, Kaib cheered his fellow countrymen that first holiday season by constructing a tabletop sized crèche – a traditional German holiday decoration.
The camp commander, Col. Arthur Lobdell, saw the crèche and saw with it an opportunity to improve the morale of American and German soldiers under his supervision. Lobdell encouraged Kaib to design and construct a much larger nativity for the next holiday season.
The Geneva Convention of 1929 required that prisoners of war be paid ten-cents an hour for their labor and have access to recreational activities. So Kaib and a small group of prisoners used their earnings from working on area farms to purchase wood, concrete, chicken wire and plaster of paris to build 65 figures at half of life size. The lambs, donkeys, camels and cattle exhibit impressive detail and the considerable talent of their creator.
It took Kaib and his group more than four months, working during their free time, to create the nativity. Today, the nativity remains well cared for in a building at the Kossuth County Fairgrounds. It’s open for tour during December. Call the Algona Methodist Church to see it any other time of the year. 515-295-7241.
German POWs were also held in Alberta Canada, among other places.
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