Description
Book Synopsis During World War II, Kentuckians rushed from farms to factories and battlefields, leaving agriculture throughout the state--particularly the lucrative tobacco industry--without sufficient labor. An influx of Axis prisoners of war made up the shortfall. Nearly 10,000 German and Italian POWs were housed in camps at Campbell, Breckinridge, Knox and other locations across the state. Under the Geneva Convention, they worked for their captors and helped save Kentucky''s crops, while enjoying relative comfort as prisoners--playing sports, performing musicals and taking college classes. Yet, friction between Nazi and anti-Nazi inmates threatened the success of the program. This book chronicles the POW program in Kentucky and the vital contributions the Bluegrass State made to Allied victory.
Table of Contents
- Table of Contents
- delete Acknowledgments
- delete Preface
- delete 1. The Depression, World War II, and the Kentucky Home Front
- delete 2. Kentucky Enters World War II
- delete 3. Working for the Enemy: Axis Labor in Kentucky, 1942–1944
- delete 4. The POW Labor Program, 1945–1946: Critical Manpower Shortages, the End of the War, and Full Employment
- delete 5. Holes in the Barbed Wire: Escapes of Prisoners of War
- delete 6. Problems with the POWs: Violence, Murder, and Nazi Influence Behind the Wire
- delete 7. The Good Life: Camp Life, Coddling, and Fraternization
- delete 8. Repatriation and the Results of the POW Program in Kentucky
- delete Chapter Notes
- delete Bibliography
- delete Index
