During World War II, Kentuckians rushed from farms to factories and battlefields, leaving agriculture throughout the state--particularly the lucrative tobacco industry--without sufficient labor. An influx of Axis prisoners of war made up the shortfall. Nearly 10,000 German and Italian POWs were housed in camps at Campbell, Breckinridge, Knox and other locations across the state. Under the Geneva Convention, they worked for their captors and helped save Kentucky's crops, while enjoying relative comfort as prisoners--playing sports, performing musicals and taking college classes. Yet, friction between Nazi and anti-Nazi inmates threatened the success of the program. This book chronicles the POW program in Kentucky and the vital contributions the Bluegrass State made to Allied victory.
Table of Contents
deleteAcknowledgments
deletePreface
delete1.The Depression, World War II, and the Kentucky Home Front
delete2.Kentucky Enters World War II
delete3.Working for the Enemy: Axis Labor in Kentucky, 19421944
delete4.The POW Labor Program, 19451946: Critical Manpower Shortages, the
End of the War, and Full Employment
delete5.Holes in the Barbed Wire: Escapes of Prisoners of War
delete6.Problems with the POWs: Violence, Murder, and Nazi Influence
Behind the Wire
delete7.The Good Life: Camp Life, Coddling, and Fraternization
delete8.Repatriation and the Results of the POW Program in Kentucky
deleteChapter Notes
deleteBibliography
deleteIndex
Antonio S. Thompson is a professor of history at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee. He is the author of four books on World War II Axis prisoners of war in the United States, has co-edited two books on American military and diplomatic history, and has also published on zombie popular culture.
