The Western Front in the Backyard: The Excavation of Camp Howze, American Training and German Detention in Rural Texas, 1942-1946
Author(s): Dave W Scheidecker
Year: 2013
Summary
Created shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Camp Howze located in Gainesville, Texas served not only as a training base for American infantry and artillerymen, but also as one of the many detention centers within the United States for German prisoners of war. The base was quickly built and swiftly dismantled when the Army had no more need for the camp, although some of the buildings still stand today. Archaeological investigations of the site are focusing on defining the layout of extant features related to the barracks and housing of POWs. Camp Howze, located within a predominantly German Texas community, is contrasted with other POW and interment camps across the U.S. in order to place the site within a broader context. Ultimately, however, this study seeks to explore the unique conditions that defined the POW experience within the United States.
Cite this Record
The Western Front in the Backyard: The Excavation of Camp Howze, American Training and German Detention in Rural Texas, 1942-1946. Dave W Scheidecker. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Leicester, England, U.K. 2013 ( tDAR id: 428572)
This Resource is Part of the Following Collections
Keywords
General
Detention
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German
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Military
Geographic Keywords
North America
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United States of America
Temporal Keywords
World War II
Spatial Coverage
min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;
Individual & Institutional Roles
Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology
Record Identifiers
PaperId(s): 523