SE*ED: Working With the Enemy: POWs in Iowa During the Second World War

As part of a relatively quiet and underpublicized government program, thousands of enemy soldier were brought to Iowa in 1943. Associate Professor of Education at Grandview University Chad Timm, PhD, will give a historical recount of Iowa’s role in WWII and its prisoners of war at Grinnell Regional Medical Center’s Senior Education Program on Monday, Aug. 10.

 This talk will focus on the creation of two Prisoner of War (POW) camps in Iowa during the Second World War: one in the northern Iowa town of Algona and one in the southwestern Iowa town of Clarinda. Timm will discuss life in a prisoner of war camp, community relations, the POW labor program, branch camps in more than 30 Iowa communities, and the arrival of Japanese prisoners at Camp Clarinda in early 1945.

Camp Clarinda was one of only two camps in the country to house Japanese soldiers. The story of POW interment in Iowa is a fascinating account of Iowans being confronted by the enemy – an enemy who could help them meet their wartime goals, but that also challenged Iowans to find the humanity in the eyes of the enemy.

This program is free and open to the public. It will be held in the Drake Community Library with refreshments beginning at 9:30 a.m.

Parking is available at the Drake Community Library, along Park Street, on Fifth Avenue, and in the First Presbyterian Church parking lot. Seniors needing transportation may call GRMC’s Communications and Development, 641-236-2593, by Thursday before the program.

If you are a person with a disability who requires special assistance, please call 641-236-2593. For more information about upcoming speakers check GRMC’s website at www.grmc.us.