German Prisoner of War Camp, Hoopeston, Illinois
| Company type | Military prisoner-of-war camp |
|---|---|
| Industry | Prisoner of war housing and labor |
| Founded | 1944 |
| Defunct | 1945 |
| Headquarters | Hoopeston , United States |
| Products | Agricultural and canning labor |
The Prisoner-of-war camp located in Hoopeston, Illinois was among 21 facilities in Illinois designated for housing German prisoners of war in the United States during World War II.
Industry
Hoopeston's agricultural and canning sectors experienced workforce shortages during the war as many residents enlisted in the armed forces. To mitigate this, the War Manpower Commission arranged for German POWs to fill labor demands. In March 1944, a group of 50 delegates convened with the Commission to explore the implementation of prisoner labor under controlled guidelines.
Housing
The initial group of 75 prisoners arrived in Hoopeston on April 26, 1944, and were temporarily accommodated in storage rooms and mule barns at the Illinois Canning Company farm location (present-day M&N Pallet). By July, the camp expanded to house more than 1,250 POWs, with additional facilities such as a tailor shop, laundry services, and a general store established within repurposed barns.
Employment
German POWs were assigned to work for the Illinois Canning Company, Stokely Van Camp, Chanute Air Force Base, and various farmers throughout Vermilion County. Their labor contributed significantly to seasonal harvesting and canning efforts from April 1944 until November 1945.
Escapes
Shortly after their arrival, three inmates—Rudi Scholz, Julius Janisch, and Herman Kuzel—managed to escape by slipping beneath the camp's perimeter fence. Their objective was to travel to South America via Florida. The absence of these prisoners was first detected during an evening headcount on June 7, 1944. They had cleverly evaded detection by sneaking out during roll calls over multiple days. During their breakout, they also stole a local vehicle and some garden produce.
Two of the escapees were captured near Carlisle, Indiana on June 11, while the third was apprehended near Brazil, Indiana on June 13.
Other employees
Besides German POWs, the Illinois Canners Association sourced additional labor through the War Manpower Commission throughout 1944 and 1945. In 1944, twenty workers from Bridgetown, Barbados were brought in to assist with packing asparagus and corn. The following year saw the replacement of these workers by eighty Jamaican laborers who were housed in company bunkhouses alongside German prisoners residing in temporary barracks.
Prisoners in other states
Approximately 359,100 German POWs were interned throughout the United States during the war. Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, and Vermont were the only states without prisoner-of-war camps. Camps for Japanese POWs existed in Wisconsin and Iowa, while Italian detainees were held in states including Utah, Texas, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Colorado, and California. A notable case involved Georg Gärtner, a German escapee who remained at large until he voluntarily surrendered in 1985.
Within Illinois, three primary base camps—Camp Ellis near Peoria, Camp Grant south of Rockford, and Fort Sheridan—served as labor sources for numerous satellite camps such as Hoopeston and others scattered across the state.