Glasgow's POWs From Germany

With all of the unrest in the world today, I was reminded of World War II and the fact that Glasgow housed POWs from Germany. I know there are residents of Glasgow and surrounding areas that can still remember those times.

Of course, if you can remember that era, you can also remember the site of the old airport in Glasgow. This was the site of the POW camp. I understand that the Glasgow barracks housed at least 300 POWs.

Due to the number of young men serving their country, there was a shortage of agriculture workers in the state. Glasgow was just one of the areas in the state that was used for housing.

These German POW were not all actually German, but represented many of the countries Germany had invaded and conquered, requiring those young men to serve in Hitler's army. Most of these men were used for harvesting sugar beets (another "remember" – growing sugar beets).

I understand they were often marched from the airport to the downtown area for transportation by truck or train. During the march it was not uncommon for many of them to be in song, with some residents reporting that they had many fine singing voices.

Gwen welcomes your memories at 367-5582.