World War II Prisoner of War Camp at McLean
McLean, Gray County, Texas
Marker Inscription
A permanent alien interment camp (prisoner of war camp) in the 8th Service Command was established here during World War II. Construction began in September 1942 and American military personnel and German prisoners began to arrive in July 1943. The site included 25-30 buildings to accommodate the military and civilian personnel required to operate the camp. Three large compounds housed the prisoners of war. Other structures included warehouses, engineering and fire departments, carpenter shop, and water plants. Facilities for the military were comprised of barracks, nurses' and bachelor officers' quarters, officers' club, post exchange and commissary, theater, laundry, and barber shop. A small hospital was shared by the American military and the prisoners of war. The first group of prisoners brought to McLean were members of the famed Afrika Korps commanded by General Erwin Rommel and were captured in North Africa. By October 1944 the camp exceeded its official capacity of 3,000 prisoners. The community was closely involved with the camp, and many local citizens formed lasting friendships with some of the German prisoners. The camp closed in July 1945. (1997)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
During World War II, the government built a sprawling prisoner-of-war camp outside McLean in the Texas Panhandle, with construction beginning in 1942 and prisoners arriving in July 1943. The first inmates were captured members of Rommel's famed Afrika Korps, and by late 1944 the camp held more than its official capacity of 3,000. Complete with compounds, workshops, a hospital, and a theater, the camp drew the surrounding community into daily contact — and lasting friendships — with the German prisoners before closing in 1945.
Why it matters
It is a striking reminder that the global war reached deep into rural America, where captured enemy soldiers lived, worked, and formed bonds with the very towns they had once fought against.
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Related people
- · Erwin Rommel
Themes & tags
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