WHAT YEARS DID THE CAMP OPERATE?
The McLean Permanent Alien Internment Camp, also known as the 1871st Service Command Unit, was authorized on September 9, 1942 and closed July 1, 1945.
WHAT NATIONALITY, AND HOW MANY PRISONERS WERE HELD?
The camp was a standard 3,000 prisoner layout with facilities for American Officers and guard personnel. The first prisoners were German troops captured in North Africa, the second group were Germans captured in the Homeland.
DID ANY PRISONERS ESCAPE FROM THE CAMP?
There were several attempts but on the bare plains of Texas there was nowhere to go. All were recaptured and seemed glad to return to the prison.
HOW DID THE CAMP AFFECT THE LOCAL COMMUNITY?
The camp provided many jobs for local citizens. A work program using prisoners helped out the labor shortage caused by WWII. The war cost McLean nineteen young men's lives lost on the battlefields and twelve young women who married camp guards and moved away.
HOW MANY PRISONERS WERE HELD IN THE UNITED STATES?
At the end of WWII there were 175 Branch Camps serving 511 Area Camps containing over 425,000 prisoners of war. The camps were located all over the U S but were mostly in the South because of the expense of heating the barracks. More information is available in the book, "Nazi Prisoners Of War In America" by Arnold Krammer or by contacting the U S Military History Institute in Carlisle, Penn.
HOW CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT THE McLEAN P.O.W. CAMP?
A book entitled "The McLean P.O.W. Camp" by Delbert Trew, is available by clicking on Museum Mercantile. The 8 x 11 inch paperback contains 44 pages of history text and 71 original photographs and illustrations about the camp, as well as Red Cross records and personal interviews from camp personnel and prisoners. The author may be contacted by e-mail at trewblue@centramedia.net.
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WHAT SITES ARE AVAILABLE FOR VISITOR VIEWING?
Site #1 is located inside the McLean / Alanreed Area Museum at 116 Main Street in McLean. A display depicting a prison stockade shows many original photographs of the camp and a variety of souvenirs and artifacts. One large notebook contains stories and history written by Americans who worked at the camp. A second notebook contains stories and correspondence from former German prisoners. Several have came back to visit the sites.
Site #2 is located two miles east of the city, then north one mile to the SW corner of the old camp. A Texas Historical Marker has been erected on a parking area telling the brief history of the camp. The site is all weather accessible for cars and busses.
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MORE MILITARY HISTORY IS SHOWN IN THE DEVIL'S ROPE MUSEUM IN McLEAN, TEXAS BY VIEWING THE WARWIRE DISPLAY.
