Camp Fannin Internment Camp World War II P.O.W. Camp

Camp Fannin was also the site of an internment camp, with the first prisoners of war (POWs) from Germany's Afrika Korps arriving in Oct. 1943. By early 1944, the military designated the site a POW base camp that administered a number of smaller branch camps in east Texas. As a result of a home front wartime manpower scarcity, upon the request of local representatives, the War Department allowed the use of POW labor in forestry and agriculture in East Texas. During its existence, the camp efficiently processed many thousands of POWs and held more than 1,000 at this location. After repatriating the POWs, the camp closed on May 10, 1946. Texas in World War II - 2008