What’s Left Of The POW Camp In Douglas Wyoming?

During WWII, Douglas, Wyoming, was home to a major German/Italian prison camp. It might seem odd to ship captured soldiers all the way to Wyoming from Europe. But where were they going to go when dropped into America's least populated state?

The camp was built on a 687-acre site on the outskirts of Douglas.

The camp operated from 1943 to 1946 and housed both Italian and German POWs.

Where is that camp now?

Camp Douglas is no longer standing, but the former officers' club building remains as a historic site. The site of the former camp is now the Douglas Fairgrounds. You can find the Officers' Club State Historic Site, located at 115 S Riverbend Dr.

No one successfully escaped from Camp Douglas in Wyoming; all documented escape attempts were unsuccessful, and the prisoners were recaptured. There were several escape attempts, including one where prisoners hid in garbage cans and were caught three days later, and another where a prisoner was killed during an attempt.

Honestly, think about how escaping would work and why anyone would do it.

The camp was clean. The prisoners were well fed and cared for. What was outside of the camp was nothing but many hundreds of miles of open land with nowhere to find food, water, or shelter. It may make more sense to just stay put and wait out the war in safety.

After World War II, prisoners from Camp Douglas in Wyoming were repatriated to their home countries. The process began in November 1945, and the camp officially closed in February 1946.

Some POWs were temporarily moved to branch camps throughout Wyoming for agricultural work, and a portion of their earnings was saved to be given to them upon their release.