Thursday, September 26, 2024
During World War II, it was announced by Camp Hood (now known as Fort Hood or Fort Cavazos) that approximately 4,000 prisoners of war would be interned in the Gatesville area as of May 15, 1943.
Some 3,000 prisoners were assigned to the northern area of Camp Hood, just south of Gatesville in a prisoner of war camp, which included German and Italian prisoners. According to the Geneva Convention, prisoners had to be placed in the same climate and geographical terrain as where they were captured. Texas was a favorite area for POW camps since most of the prisoners that were transported to Coryell County were captured in North Africa and Italy, so the Southwest was an ideal location for their camps.
In The Gatesville Messenger in January of 1943, it was announced that “World War II would be coming a little closer to home” with the creation of the internment camp.
The internment camp was constructed in less than five months in a remote area of Coryell County. It was described as having barracks, latrines, shower buildings, an infirmary, mess halls, PX, recreational areas, store houses, workshops, and other facilities necessary to conduct the day-to-day affairs of a POW camp.
In addition, it was reported that there was one remote section that included a cemetery to accommodate the prisoners that died during their stay on Texas soil. One prisoner, Kurt Winkler, was buried in the cemetery on June 9, 1944, after he was reported to have drowned in the Cowhouse Creek while on a work detail.
It was later reported that evidence remained of the German cemetery, which contained flat pieces of sandstone to mark the graves, while other graves were marked by cedar posts about 18 inches high. Other reports mention that some of the German soldiers were buried at nearby Pleasant Grove Cemetery, but due to anti-German sentiments, they were buried outside the fence which surrounded the cemetery.
It was written that the prisoners escaped regularly, and that “Gatesville residents had to cope with German prisoners seeking freedom to the south in Mexico.”
Joe White, a former Coryell County sheriff, once said, “They would walk off from their work details while the guards weren’t looking. They never gave any trouble to the civilians in the area though, and I don’t recall any of them ever breaking into buildings or stealing autos.”
White continued, “Nearly all of them could speak English and I would have some interesting conversations with them while taking them back to the camp. Most of them just wanted to return home, and every one of them I ever talked to firmly believed that Hitler would come to rescue them and win the war.”
In June of 1943, four prisoners escaped while on work duty. With the help of bloodhounds and FBI involvement, the men were eventually captured – one of which Hans Massoueur, age 21, who was apprehended by three citizens of Flat.
A few months later, in September, it was reported in the newspaper that Bloodhounds from the State Training School were thrown into an intensive manhunt, which resulted in the capture of two escapees “who were quickly taken into custody and hurried back to the Camp Hood stockade.”
When the prisoners arrived at the POW camp in Coryell County, a headline appeared in The Gatesville Messenger which read, “War Prisoners Can Be Employed for Local Farm Labor.” With so many of the “local boys” overseas fighting in World War II, farms were in dire need for farm laborers.
Conditions were placed on the work program – farmers must furnish transportation and live within 30 miles of the prison camp. In addition, it was a rule that not less than 15 prisoners were to be sent out at one time to a farm, since a smaller number would necessitate too many guard details. Three guards were sent with a group of 15.
Feeding the workers, as well as guarding them, was the responsibility of the internment camp. Food was prepared and served by prisoners of war labor. It was also reported that the employer would pay prevailing wages for free labor – in no case was the amount paid to be less than 80 cents a day, plus the cost of an Army ration, which was then 64 cents.
According to the Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners, their labor could be used for purely non-military purposes, and the type of work done should not be dangerous or degrading.
Unwilling though they were, the German laborers were welcomed by farmers and ranchers in Coryell County to help restore life on the farm with so many young men who had been plucked from their homes and transformed into soldiers.
Walter Mack, who was a civilian guard, said, “Most of them [the prisoners] were very upset about being held in that camp, and they all wanted to go home, of course. There were all kinds in there, well-educated and not-so-well educated, just like you find in any Army. They came from all walks of life and were all just soldiers, just like out boys that happened to get captured.”
In addition to farm laborers, some of the prisoners exhibited craftmanship in various fields they were employed back in Germany. The Gatesville Museum and Historical Center has two items that were handcrafted by German craftsmen. A wooden chest of drawers is located in the museum, which was first purchased by Weldon and Ida Lee Rogers in the 1940s. They were told that it had been made by German POWs at Camp Hood. Some of the prisoners, who as civilians prior to the war, had made furniture.
Another item at the museum with ties to the Camp Hood internment camp is a painting, which was recently donated to the museum by the Scott family. The painting, which is 11x14 in size, depicts a “prayer station” with the Swiss Alps shown as a backdrop. Although it cannot be distinguished exactly who the German artist was, it appears to be someone named “Rudolph.”
Following the war, the internment camp fell victim to the rapidly-growing brushland, however, when the prisoners were moved out of the area in the mid-1940s and returned to their homeland, after the last Germans had departed, according to records found at Fort Hood, the camp became known as the Southern Branch of the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks where law-breaking American soldiers replaced the sons of Germany that had come to know the climate of Central Texas so well.
