Statesboro in Bulloch County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)
World War II Prison Camp
Photographed By David Seibert, January 23, 2017
1. World War II Prison Camp Marker
Inscription.
World War II Prison Camp. . In 1943-45, German and Italian prisoners of war harvested peanuts for Bulloch County's farmers, as well as pulling corn, collecting pecans, cutting cane, and helping with general farm jobs. Georgia was suffering from a severe labor shortage with so many local men serving in the armed forces. The Fourth Service Command authorized POWs for use in areas with the most acute shortage. On this location in 1944, the War Department built a camp to house approximately 150 POWs and soldiers with the 475th Military Police Escort Guard Company during the harvest season. The prisoners worked for 12-14 hour days and were paid between 40-80 cents per day in canteen benefits. In 1944, they harvested 57,000 stacks of peanuts and 110,000 1945., Peanuts were an unfamiliar crop to the Germans and Italians and some hoped to take seeds home with them after the war. The local paper noted that though they worked together, Bulloch Countians found “themselves more tolerant of those foreign elements whom we may have heretofore regarded merely as monsters with horns.” Labor remained scarce in 1946 and without POWs, some Bulloch County farmers invested in the first mechanical harvesters for peanuts.
In 1943-45, German and Italian prisoners of war harvested peanuts for Bulloch County's farmers, as well as pulling corn, collecting pecans, cutting cane, and helping with general farm jobs. Georgia was suffering from a severe labor shortage with so many local men serving in the armed forces. The Fourth Service Command authorized POWs for use in areas with the most acute shortage. On this location in 1944, the War Department built a camp to house approximately 150 POWs and soldiers with the 475th Military Police Escort Guard Company during the harvest season. The prisoners worked for 12-14 hour days and were paid between 40-80 cents per day in canteen benefits. In 1944, they harvested 57,000 stacks of peanuts and 110,000 1945.
Peanuts were an unfamiliar crop to the Germans and Italians and some hoped to take seeds home with them after the war. The local paper noted that though they worked together, Bulloch Countians found “themselves more tolerant of those foreign elements whom we may have heretofore regarded merely as monsters with horns.” Labor remained scarce in 1946 and without POWs, some Bulloch County farmers invested in the first mechanical harvesters for peanuts.
Erected 2016 by The Bulloch County Historical Society, sponsored by the Jack N. & Addie D. Averitt
Location. 32° 27.717′ N, 81° 46.217′ W. Marker is in Statesboro, Georgia, in Bulloch County. Marker is on East Parrish Street (U.S. 301) 0.1 miles east of Shelby Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 16988 East Parrish Street, Statesboro GA 30458, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on October 12, 2017. It was originally submitted on October 12, 2017, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. This page has been viewed 452 times since then and 25 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on October 12, 2017, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia.