That one time in Michigan: When prisoners of war helped to fill a labor shortage

How thousands of POWs assisted in Michigan’s agricultural sector during World War II.

During World War II,  16 million US troops were sent overseas to fight against the Nazi regime—including more than 600,000 Michiganders.

As these soldiers fought overseas, the nation was faced with a severe labor shortage.

So, a solution was devised: Use prisoners of war.

Here’s a short history of how POWs in Michigan helped fill the state’s labor shortage.

Bringing prisoners of war to Michigan

As fighting raged on across multiple fronts throughout the 1940s, capturing prisoners of war was an inevitable part of combat.

Due to a housing shortage, the United Kingdom asked the United States for help taking on the hundreds of thousands of prisoners who needed somewhere to go.

The US government was less than excited about this ask for a few reasons—inexperience with housing such a high amount of prisoners, a lack of German-speaking Americans (most were overseas fighting), and lastly, a fear that having German troops in the US would cause fear and security issues. Ultimately, the US agreed.

The captured soldiers, however, ended up being pleasantly surprised by the treatment they received from allied soldiers, especially with how they were fed (a much better alternative to being captured by Soviet forces, which were infamous for their cruel treatment).

The prisoners were taken by boat to New York or Virginia, where they were processed for distribution to camps across the country.

More than 6,000 prisoners of war ended up in Michigan—about 5,000 in the Lower Peninsula, with an additional 1,000 or so being sent to the UP. Most of the prisoners that arrived in Michigan were German soldiers captured in North Africa.

After being processed at Fort Custer near Battle Creek, the government then assigned the POWs for placement at camps across the state.

According to history professor Gregory Sumner, efforts were taken to make sure that overt Nazis and fascists were removed from the general population—the majority of whom were just homesick young men.

A helping hand for agriculture

The war effort led to a severe labor shortage across the country, so the US government devised a solution: Under the Geneva Convention—a set of internationally agreed-to laws that determined how soldiers and civilians should be treated—prisoners could volunteer to work for compensation.

About 60% of the POWs in Michigan were contracted out to state farms, picking fruits and other crops. Some were sent to the UP to cut wood pulp in the forests, and in Detroit, Italian POWs helped with landscaping and road projects.

The compensation they received could be redeemed at their camp canteens for things like candy and cigarettes.

Honoring a mother’s grief

According to many accounts, the prisoners were well-behaved and respectful—with even escape attempts being rare. Sumner says prisoners would often befriend both guards and civilians (some of which would later act as sponsors for those that chose to immigrate to the US).

One account of these friendly relations was collected by Sumner in his book Michigan POW Camps in WWII.

Alice Lameroux was a mother to three young men who had been sent off to fight in the war. Living close to Camp Sparta—a POW camp in Kent County—some locals were worried about what having a camp so close to home would do to her.

Tragically, one by one, Lameroux would receive the news that her sons would not be coming home.

One day, upon hearing that Lameroux had received another “Regret to Inform” telegram, a group of men heading back to the compound after work broke off and marched to the front of her front porch. They then offered a long, solemn salute before returning to the camp.

Lameroux’s daughter would later say that she always took the camp’s presence in stride and that “despite her unimaginable grief, at no time did she display even the slightest trace of bitterness toward the enemy soldiers.”

The prisoners return home

At the end of World War II, the prisoners were returned to their home countries.

Some POWs maintained contact with friends made during their stay and wrote letters. Some even took the extra step of deciding to immigrate to the US.

Unfortunately, not all soldiers were able to make it back home. Several of those who died at the camps are buried at Fort Custer National Cemetery at Battle Creek.

All in all, there were 32 camps spread out across Michigan: