December 12, 1942

Camp Opelika opened as one of four major prisoner-of-war camps in Alabama during World War II. The camp ultimately housed more than 2,700 German POWs during the war and followed parameters for humane treatment of prisoners outlined during the 1929 Geneva Convention. Prisoners often worked at nearby farms and businesses or at the camp itself, earning 80 cents a day. They also enjoyed several leisure activities, including organized soccer games, a camp newspaper, art studios, college courses and a camp orchestra featuring several professional musicians led by a professor from the Musical Conservatory of Hanover. Today, the Museum of East Alabama in Opelika preserves valuable artifacts and records from the camp.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Local residents, shown in the background, watch as German prisoners of war arrive at Camp Aliceville in Pickens County. An estimated 16,000 POWs were held in 24 Alabama camps during the war. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Alabama Department of Archives and History)

German prisoners formed in lines to march to Camp Aliceville in Pickens County, ca. 1943. Enemy soldiers in Alabama prisoner of war camps experienced generally comfortable and humane conditions, in line with the 1929 Geneva Conventions. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Alabama Department of Archives and History)

In addition to their work duties, prisoners at the Opelika camp enjoyed leisure-time activities such as sports and music. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Museum of East Alabama)

Most of the prisoners of war in Alabama camps were German, but a small number of Italian soldiers were held at Fort Rucker in southeastern Alabama. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of U.S. Army Aviation Museum)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.