Camp Algona POW Museum

We toured this museum with a group from our church. We tied our visit in with a trip to see the Nativity Scene at the fairgrounds during the month of December. We were greeted by very friendly staff and shown a 15 minute video to give us the necessary background that was helpful when browsing through the museum exhibits. There is a lot of reading here, so be prepared to take your time while touring. It is a self guided tour. They offer a few books as well to sell on the POW subject. Very informative and interesting. It is well worth the stop if you are ever in the Algona, Iowa area. There is a small fee to gain entrance.

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Like my Dad, I’m a bit of a history buff, especially when it concerns WWII Internment Camps. I’ve been humbled at both the old Nazi Concentration Camp at Dachau (near Munich) and Manzanar, where American Citizens of Japanese origin were sent when the fear of enemy aliens were at its peak. Another twist on this theme is the Camp Algona POW Camp, which was «home» for 10,000 German prisoners from April 1944 — February 1946. There were also many branch camps throughout the Midwest. These prisoners also worked for local farmers and light industry, and contributed about $ 4 Million to the various associated economies at that time.
Camp Algona is long gone and was located where the airport is now. It consisted of 287 acres and was initially built by Italian POWs. Soon after the Camp was built, Italy surrendered, and those happy POWs wisely chose to stick around rather than being sent back to Europe. The Germans came soon after and with the Geneva Conventions rigorously applied.
On our recent drive from Ames to Spirit Lake, I prevailed on Gayle and the Kid to stop at the Camp Algona POW Museum. It was a typical hot and humid Iowa day, and all they wanted to do was get to the Lake and cool down. I also remember Gayle giving me the «evil eye» as we paid the modest admission charge and the Docent began a long (and very informative) history of the Camp. By the time we left an hour later, everyone was better educated, impressed, and grateful that I dragged them here.
The Museum is basically divided in thirds. On the left side is Camp related information, including various interesting pictures and displays. There were also lots of personal stories presented. I was particularly intrigued by a story about a German prisoner that was reunited with his brother, who had immigrated to Algona years earlier. An even better example were the 5 Iowans who had been held by the Germans in their prison camps. Once these men were brought back to the States, they came to Camp Algona as guards of German prisoners.
In the middle of the Museum are examples of the various art pieces that the prisoners produced. That includes paintings and some pretty impressive wood pieces, including furniture, intricate boxes, etc. Prisoners also made the famous Nativity Scent that is located at the Kossuth County Fairgrounds.
On the right side is a tribute to local folks who served their Country. Their story of sacrifice is a compelling parallel to the existence of Camp Algona. So if you’re in the area, please stop, visit, and reflect. One personal takeaway I experienced was how we treated POWs then, compared to the related political discussions today.

«No, no, Kimberly, the Prisoners were NICE. They were just happy to be alive and doing something productive.»
«Every Christmas we would go to see the most enormous Nativity Scene you have ever seen… all hand carved wood, exquisite in detail and size.» My dad would get tears in his eyes telling these stories. «German Prisoners of War used their work earnings to create this gift to Algona. It was just amazing.»
«We could purchase handcrafted wood furniture from the prisoners and they were always so pleased to sell an item that they had worked on for hours.» A small wooden step stool, handcrafted and still in perfect 1944 condition, has always graced my parent’s home and dad would tell stories that really just sounded like made-​up tales… Too fantastic to be true.
Among the top highlights of a recent trip with my dad to his hometown in Iowa was going to visit this homage to the prisoner of war camp.
During WW2 England ran out of places to keep Prisoners Of War so the USA decided to create camps… mostly in small towns where escape meant running through easy-​to-​view cornfields for days at a time.
While the City of Algona, Iowa was greatly impacted by the 10,000 German prisoners housed here from 1944 – 1946, nothing exists today on those 287 acres from the Camp which is why it has always felt like a fantasy story to me… until my visit to this POW museum with my pop.
Photographs, clothing, trunks, journals, guns… fascinating detritus from another age. The buildings, however, were disassembled and sold for materials in 1946.
Long ago my sisters and I would jump out of the car and run to the farmland fence once we approached Algona. We were little, but we knew the drill. The first one to get a cow to come to the fence wins. Dad would get out of the driver’s seat and slowly walk to the fence, mooing. He had the best moo, too. Dad ALWAYS won.
For years, I thought that was the most exciting thing to happen in Algona. I thought he was pulling my leg with stories of Prisoners (Colonel Klink!) just to make his hometown sound more exciting.
Now I know the truth. Dad doesn’t lie.
Moooooooooo.