Fort Stewart POW camps - Hinesville, GA
N 31° 51.697 W 081° 36.738
17R E 442077 N 3525260
During World War II, Camp Stewart was used as a prisoner of war camp. In 1943 a section of the reservation was used to hold German and Italian prisoners of war captured in the North African campaign.
Waymark Code: WM3ERR
Location: Georgia, United States
Date Posted: 03/24/2008
Views: 70
No trace of the pow camps exist any longer. The coordinates are to the Fort Stewart Museum where there is information about the camps. In order to visit the Museum, all adults need a government issued picture ID card to gain access to the Fort. If you drive onto the post, you also need current registration and proof of insurance.
An informational sign at the Fort Stewart Museum reads:
"During World War II, Camp Stewart was used as a prisoner of war camp. In 1943 a section of the reservation was used to hold German and Italian prisoners of war captured in the North African campaign. The military POWs were used by the military in construction projects on the base and laundry detail and local farmers used them for clearing land and harvesting crops.
These excerpts were taken from Jack Austin, a soldier assigned to the 4406 Service Command Unit at Camp Stewart on 15 November 1944. He worked at a few of the POW camps located in Georgia.
"There was a fairly large sign posted facing the main road into the base that read:
WARNING: MOTORISTS & PEDESTRIANS WILL NOT MOLEST OR PASS REMARKS TO OR ABOUT PRISONERS. TO DO SO WILL BE CAUSE FOR SEVERE DISIPLINARY ACTION BY ORDER OF THE COMMANDING OFFICER
"The Germans had built a bandstand near the fence along the main road and Sunday afternoons they would give a concert to the people parked along the road in their cars. The band was really very good and they had beautiful instruments." One such band was called "Stille Nacht".
"The prisoners were all enlisted men at Chatham Field so there was no problem about working them. If they had been officers, they would have to volunteer to work. Those that worked were paid eight cents an hour or 64 cents a day."
"After the war was over we packed up everything and the prisoners and took all to Ft. Benning. After a few days we loaded the prisoners on trains and took them to Camp Shanks, New York to be returned to Germany."