Camp Hearne, located in

Hearne, Texas Hearne ( ) is a city in Robertson County, Texas, Robertson County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city population was 4,544. The city is named for a family that settled in the area in the 19th centur ...

was a

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Commissioned in 1942, Camp Hearne was one of the few camps that housed prisoners from all three

Axis powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

during the conflict. After its decommissioning and piecemeal sell-off by the United States government, the site remained abandoned for 70 years. Today there stands a single replica of a

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

on the site of the former camp, which contains a museum. The camp also served as the central prisoner of war postal service, "responsible for the distribution of all mail to POWs in the United States." According to Krammer, in their spare time, the German

POWs A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

"painstakingly constructed replicas of old German castles - waist high - down to the detailed turrets and moats, and a curious visitor to the old camp site can still examine a medieval little

schloss ''Schloss'' (; pl. ''Schlösser''), formerly written ''Schloß'', is the German term for a building similar to a château, palace, or manor house. Related terms appear in several Germanic languages. In the Scandinavian languages, the cogn ...

rising just above the weedtops in a corner of the empty landscape where the camp used to be." Unfortunately, the period was marred by at least one escape attempt, a suicide, and a murder of a perceived American collaborator. Some residents said that the German prisoners of war were treated too well and therefore called the camp "The

Fritz Fritz is a common German language, German male name. The name originated as a German diminutive of Friedrich (given name), Friedrich or Frederick (given name), Frederick (''Der Alte Fritz'', and ''Stary Fryc'' were common nicknames for King Fred ...

Ritz Ritz or The Ritz may refer to: Facilities and structures Hotels * The Ritz Hotel, London, a hotel in London, England ** Ritz Club casino * Hôtel Ritz Paris, a hotel in Paris, France * Hotel Ritz (Madrid), a hotel in Madrid, Spain * Hotel Ritz ...

" in reference to the luxury hotel chain. The German writer Hannes Köhler put Camp Hearne and the events among German prisoners of war at the centre of his 2018 novel "Ein mögliches Leben" (One possible Life)."One Possible Life" (sample translation)
/ref>

References

{{coord, 30.8863, -96.6194, type:landmark_region:US-TX, display=title Prisoner-of-war camps in the United States Museums in Robertson County, Texas 1942 establishments in Texas

See also

References