WW II German POWS in Wisconsin
(scroll down for video recording and slide show)
PROGRAM PRESENTER: Bob Block is a resident of Oregon, WI. He retired after working With the Wisconsin Crime Lab in Madison, WI for 34 years before retiring as head of the drug identification unit having testified in courts of law 500 times as an expert witness. Bob is an active member of the Oregon Area Historical Society and has an interest in historic topics.
PROGRAM SUMMARY: Bob presented on Wisconsin POW camps during World War II, sharing the global scale of POWs during the war, noting that 1,929 Wisconsin U. S. soldiers and seamen were captured, with many dying in Japanese camps. The presentation included discussion of the Bataan Death March and other harsh conditions faced by U. S. POWs, particularly those held by the Japanese. Bob explained how the U.S. agreed to take enemy POWs beginning in 1942 after Britain had reached capacity. He describes compliance with Geneva Convention and Red Cross rules, lax security, humane conditions, escape attempts, recaptures, and deaths at Wisconsin camps, including stories of consorting teen girl U.S. residents, Nazi officers and conscripts from 39 mostly agricultural Wisconsin communities, as well as Camp Sherman (IL) and Camp Papago Park (AZ), where 25 German Navy POWs escaped through a tunnel but were eventually recaptured. Bob also covered Wisconsin's POW history, focusing on Camp McCoy, which held up to 5,000 German POWs, 3,500 Japanese POWs, and 500 Korean POWs at its peak, and remained operational from 1942 to 1946.
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION (content used herein with permission of the copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. No part of this presentation may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. COPYRIGHT © 2026, RCGS. Use of data from this page is limited to the membership of the Rock County Genealogical Society exclusively for the purpose of advancing her or his individual education.
(scroll down for video recording and slide show)
PROGRAM PRESENTER: Bob Block is a resident of Oregon, WI. He retired after working With the Wisconsin Crime Lab in Madison, WI for 34 years before retiring as head of the drug identification unit having testified in courts of law 500 times as an expert witness. Bob is an active member of the Oregon Area Historical Society and has an interest in historic topics.
PROGRAM SUMMARY: Bob presented on Wisconsin POW camps during World War II, sharing the global scale of POWs during the war, noting that 1,929 Wisconsin U. S. soldiers and seamen were captured, with many dying in Japanese camps. The presentation included discussion of the Bataan Death March and other harsh conditions faced by U. S. POWs, particularly those held by the Japanese. Bob explained how the U.S. agreed to take enemy POWs beginning in 1942 after Britain had reached capacity. He describes compliance with Geneva Convention and Red Cross rules, lax security, humane conditions, escape attempts, recaptures, and deaths at Wisconsin camps, including stories of consorting teen girl U.S. residents, Nazi officers and conscripts from 39 mostly agricultural Wisconsin communities, as well as Camp Sherman (IL) and Camp Papago Park (AZ), where 25 German Navy POWs escaped through a tunnel but were eventually recaptured. Bob also covered Wisconsin's POW history, focusing on Camp McCoy, which held up to 5,000 German POWs, 3,500 Japanese POWs, and 500 Korean POWs at its peak, and remained operational from 1942 to 1946.
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION (content used herein with permission of the copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. No part of this presentation may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. COPYRIGHT © 2026, RCGS. Use of data from this page is limited to the membership of the Rock County Genealogical Society exclusively for the purpose of advancing her or his individual education.
Speaker, Bob Block, has graciously allowed RCGS to publicly post his YouTube video of this presentation.