The Brown County Historical Commission will dedicate a Texas Historical Marker to memorialize the German Prisoners of War at Camp Bowie on Monday, April 16th at 10:30am. The public is invited and encouraged to attend the dedication which will be located on Hwy 45 at the T.R. Havins Unit in Brownwood at the log cabin entrance.
According to the Texas State Historical Association, a prisoner of war camp was established July 10, 1943 which was located just east of the Brownwood Country Club dam. This facility was designed to accommodate up to 3,000 prisoners and housed German prisoners of war and was one of 21 permanent camps in the state of Texas. There were approximately 20 temporary camps in addition to the permanent camps.
According to information from the Brown County Historical Commission, the camp, built in 30 days by Galveston contractor Charley Oehler, had wooden military style barracks, mess halls, medical facility and a command building. By September 1943, the camp housed 2734 POWs. Prisoners arrived by train at the Santa Fe Depot and marched 3 ½ miles to the camp.
Prisoners experienced Central Texas hospitality, education and entertainment while at the camp. They attended classes teaching English, shorthand, farming, forestry, building, metal work, electrical, radio, bookkeeping, political economy, law, history, geography, and education. They also had facilities for entertainment and other activities such as a theater, woodworking shop, ping pong tables, billiard tables, three card tables, soccer fields and tennis courts, canteen building and beer garden.
In 1945, the camp was changed from Army POWs to a camp for German Naval personnel.
A mural in an old Camp Bowie building located near Gordon Wood Stadium which was also used as the City of Brownwood Senior Citizen’s Center still contains an mural painted by these POWs.
