TRINIDAD PRISONER OF WAR CAMP COLLECTION
Scope and Contents
In 1990, Lynn Taylor, a member of the Western History Department staff, sent numerous letters, requesting material donations from those who served as staff at the Trinidad Prisoner of War Camp. Letters went to former staff members whose names appeared on a reunion list. This collection is a result of responses to those requests. Many of the respondents each donated a few items, which generated this collection. Several of the replies included in the collection are written by former prisoner of war camp staff, who describe their experiences at the Camp.
The Trinidad Prisoner of War Camp Collection consists of correspondence, publications, reports, ephemera, photographs and programs. Photocopies comprise approximately half of the material donated. The material spans the years 1939-1946 and 1968-1990.
Papers consist of correspondence, a biography, diary, map, reports and publications. Publications include newsletters, newspapers and pamphlets produced for the staff at the Prisoner of War Camp and a few newspaper articles about the Camp. Inspection and transfer reports were generated while the Camp operated during the war. Most of the correspondence dates from the 1990s when Denver Public Library staff contacted former Camp personnel for material to create the collection. The letters include recollections of assignments and life at the Camp.
Material comprising the ephemera series includes: sales tax tokens, French coins, a coffee sack, a Lieutenant’s Bar, a needlepoint sign and two items made by prisoners of war (dagger, inlaid desk set).
Documentation of reunions held by both former prisoners and camp staff comprises the series. Material includes programs, pamphlets, correspondence and newsletters.
Two research papers on prisoner of war camps comprise the series.
The series includes one b/w photographic print depicting two German military officers at the camp and one b/w photographic print showing a surgical operation at the camp hospital. Numerous additional b/w photographic prints document a camp staff reunion.
Dates
- 1939-1993
- Majority of material found within 1942-1946
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Copyright
All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from material in the collection should be discussed with the appropriate librarian or archivist. Permission for publication may be given on behalf of the Denver Public Library as the owner of the physical item. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained by the customer. The Library does not assume any responsibility for infringement of copyright or publication rights of the manuscript held by the writer, heirs, donors, or executors. Reproduction restrictions are decided on a case-by-case basis.
Biographical / Historical
In December 1942, the U.S. Army transferred sixty military personnel from Fort Omaha, Nebraska to open the Trinidad Prisoner of War Camp. At its peak, 1,000 soldiers and 140 civilian personnel staffed the camp. It operated from June 1943 to February 1946.
The camp housed approximately 3,000 German enlisted troops and 1,000 officers from Rommel’s Afrika Corps captured in Tripoli, Libya. Located eight miles east of Trinidad, the camp’s agrarian site proved to be a strategic placement. Prisoner of war labor replaced American men fighting the war in Europe. They worked area farms harvesting potatoes, onions, sugar beets and cutting firewood.
Today, only outlines of building foundations and stone markers remain.
Extent
1 box (1 linear ft.)
Language of Materials
English
Immediate Source of Acquisition
In 1990 and 1991, twelve individuals donated material for the Trinidad Prisoner of War Camp Collection. These individuals include: Karlhorst Heil, Dee Best, George Deaville, Dale Fellows, Marie M. Kuhr, Richard W. Kendrick, Kurt Landsberger, Louis Neisen, Roberta Leibin, Betty Scherer, Rose Marie Price and Rose Passarelli.
PROCESSED BY:
Ellen Zazzarino
January 2001
REVISED AND ENCODED BY:
Cynthia Rand
July 2004
Dennis Hagen
December 2008
PROJECT MANAGER:
Ellen Zazzarino
- Correspondence. Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Ephemera. Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Newsletters. Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Newspapers. Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Photographic prints. Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Prisoner-of-war camps -- Colorado -- Trinidad -- History. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Prisoners of war -- Colorado -- Trinidad -- History. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Trinidad prisoner of war camp -- Archives.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Colorado -- Prisoners and prisons -- History. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Title
- TRINIDAD PRISONER OF WAR CAMP COLLECTION
- Date
- Revised 2004, 2008
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Denver Public Library, Western History and Genealogy Repository
