Camp Atlanta (Atlanta, Nebraska)
Atlanta · Nebraska · World War II
History & Significance
The Atlanta Prisoner of War Camp was one of the major prisoner of war camps in Nebraska during World War II and had satellite camps in Alma, Benkelman, Bertrand, Elwood, Franklin, Grand Island, Hastings, Hebron, Kearney, Lexington, Weeping Water, and several locations in Kansas. The New Industries Committee of the Holdrege Chamber of Commerce and the Tri-County Water Users Association petitioned Nebraska's congressmen to help relieve a labor shortage, proposing to build a camp for Axis conscientious objectors; instead, a prisoner-of-war camp was built southwest of Holdrege near Atlanta.
The prisoners at Atlanta were German soldiers captured in the North Africa and Italian campaigns. Some 600 military and 130 civilian personnel provided security and maintenance.
Prisoners were hired out to local farms to help retrieve the increased crop production demanded by the war, and more than 30 local farmers sought assistance, paying the government for work done by the POWs. Some POWs took classes at the camp in a variety of subjects, with teachers often being fellow prisoners who had been school teachers in Germany, as part of a re-education program instituted by the army. By early spring of 1946, all the prisoners had left Camp Atlanta, and that summer, the buildings were sold to locals for salvage.
Key Facts
Map
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🧳 Visiting
What you’ll see when you visit:
- Ruined water tower and two chimneys from a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp
- Site held ~3,000 German POWs captured in North Africa, 1943–1946
- Minimal structural remains reflect camp's original hospital, chapel, theater, and repair shops
- Agricultural labor history connects camp to local farming communities
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Atlanta
- https://history.nebraska.gov/marker-monday-atlanta-prisoner-of-war-camp/
- http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Nebraska_Historical_Marker:_Atlanta_Prisoner_of_War_Camp
- https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/series-media/non-series-video/atlanta-revisited-50002035/
- https://mynehistory.com/items/show/402?tour=5&index=23
- https://nebraskastudies.org/en/1925-1949/pows-far-from-the-battleground/